Peter Norvig

Peter examines the dual nature of AI's trajectory, the remarkable progress that has surprised even longtime researchers, and the real risks we must navigate from misinformation to income inequality to empowering bad actors. Drawing lessons from past technologies like social media and the internal combustion engine, he offers a grounded perspective on how we can harvest AI's benefits while building the social safety nets and governance structures needed to manage its disruptions.

Peter draws from his experience co-teaching the groundbreaking 2011 Stanford AI course that enrolled 160,000 students and helped launch the MOOC revolution, exploring both sides of AI's educational impact: what learners need to know about AI today, and how AI can transform how we teach all subjects. His vision: an automated tutor for every learner and an automated teaching assistant for every teacher—not to replace human connection, but to amplify it.

Drawing from over four decades in AI, from early neural network experiments to today's large language models, Peter explores why "predicting the next word" isn't true intelligence and what comes next. He makes the case that genuine AI should pause, consider possibilities, and self-critique before responding, and argues that building "complementary" rather than "substitutive" technology isn't just philosophically sound, it's economically smart. Attendees will walk away with a grounded perspective on designing AI that augments humanity, lifts employment, and creates genuine human connection.