Sami Mäkeläinen Book as a speaker/entertainer for your next event

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Key Points for Sami Mäkeläinen

  • Sami has 25+ years of professional experience, including a Master’s degree in Computer Science and is a certified Foresight Practitioner.
  • Sami has written on topics such as on innovation, foresight, and automation in a variety of publications, such as Sydney Business Insights, Telstra Exchange, Kauppalehti, and Institute for the Future.
  • Sami is a regular speaker and a podcast guest, such as giving presentations at RMIT and Deakin University events, and making appearances on podcasts like MIT Technology Review’s In Machines We Trust and Itonic’s Innovation Rockstars.
  • Sami is a strong leader and expert in the foresight domain, known for simplifying complex technology trends into digestible insights for various stakeholders, from C-suite executives to industry peers. His thoughtfulness and in-depth expertise are admired, and he is regarded as a thought leader in technology foresight and innovation.
  • Sami has exceptional abilities in strategizing technology insights and envisioning disruptive future scenarios. He is skilled at translating these into tangible business use-cases. His inquisitive nature and proactive approach help him stay ahead of technology curves and offer fresh perspectives.
  • Sami represents an exciting conjunction of broad-scale experience, deep knowledge, and an insatiable curiosity, all aimed at ushering individuals and organizations into the future with confidence and insight.

Topics for Sami Mäkeläinen

  • Generative AI primer
    Bring your organization up to date on the world of generative AI; what is it, what isn’t it, what can it do, what can’t it do.
    Gain an understanding of the potential of the new AI capabilities, the challenges, and pitfalls they present. Get additional perspectives on how to think about AI’s impact on jobs and roles.
    Key takeaways:
    • Where does the impact of these technologies come from, and why is it different this time around (vs previous technology hypes).
    • A simple framework for getting started with working with the technologies, and some of the key questions an organization needs to ask as they embark on this transformative journey.
    • Practical examples of how some of the new tools can be used, and how one can integrate them to work together as an even more powerful whole.
  • The secret cyborgs
    Whether we like it or not, we are all cyborgs to a greater or lesser extent; we rely on technology to get through every day.
    There is however a class of more sophisticated cyborgs emerging, and they are mostly hidden from organizations. All medium and large organizations have people who are ‘secret cyborgs’; individuals who are using AI tools for work, even if explicitly forbidden by the organization, forming a sort of Shadow AI operation. There are good reasons why people keep this hidden. At the same time, this Shadow AI is a source of significant untapped potential for organizations.
    Key takeaways:
    • Reclaiming the word ‘cyborg’ from its negative connotations; all of us are already cyborgs.
    • The best source for innovation and for dealing with the new GenAI tools is your Shadow AI organization.
    • Instead of banning it and trying to root it out, organizations should harness its transformative power and unique innovations.
  • Managing conspiracy theories
    Conspiracy theories, including anti-vaccination attitudes and beliefs linking 5G technology to COVID-19, have widespread, damaging effects worldwide. These aren't niche beliefs; approximately half or more of the population in many countries hold such beliefs, with a trend of increasing prevalence. This talk explores the eight main drivers behind such conspiratorial beliefs. While confronting these beliefs is complex, the talk also uncovers useful strategies at all levels, ranging from immediate, individual initiatives to broader, long-term societal changes, to contain and manage the prevalence of the theories.
    Key takeaways:
    • The fallacies of conspiracy theories, including that only “stupid” people believe in them or that they are a niche phenomenon.
    • The underlying reasons for widespread conspiracy beliefs are many and varied, and the beliefs give rise to are real material negative consequences.
    • Despite the complexity of the phenomenon, there are effective strategies for dealing with them. What are they, and how can you implement them?
  • What aviation can teach the other industries
    Aviation is one of the very few industries that successfully and safely operates a system that is both tightly coupled and complex.
    For the past 20 years, through connectivity, IOT, and automation, the world has gradually been remaking all systems tightly coupled and complex – but have been doing so without any of the supporting scaffolding that has afforded aviation to manage the space safely. What can we learn from how the aviation industry has done this to start reducing the now-high risk of systemic failures?
    Key takeaways:
    • Through continuous seeking of efficiencies, our world has become one filled with intertwined webs of tightly coupled and complex systems. This is a highly brittle and dangerous mix, especially heading into an era that requires resilience more than efficiency.
    • The aviation industry has managed this transition successfully through very specific procedures, systems, and cultures. What can we learn from them to reduce systemic risks?
    • How can individual organizations refocus their systems and processes to produce more resilient outcomes?

Testimonials for Sami Mäkeläinen

I've known Sami for several decades, we worked in the telecommunication industry, he is a leading thinker in our industry. I asked Sami to keynote at my event TADSummit, the thought-leadership conference in programmable communications / telecoms for over 10 years. Sami gave an excellent and prescient keynote on "Mindful Connections". His presentation continues to be highly relevant given the rise of weak AI systems like ChatGPT and Bard. I continue to use his 3 core recommendations with many clients: Not every connection is a good connection – what could go wrong?; Avoid creating brittle systems by focusing purely on efficiency, embrace purposeful inefficiency; Help change the culture to be more like safety critical industries. People’s privacy, confidentiality, safety, well-being are critically important to your business.
Founder
TADHack, TADSummit

Thank you for being part of our recent customer event as a keynote speaker.Your Generative A.I. presentation was very informative, engaging, and thought provoking! You shared great insights and highlights of the risks and potential power of A.I. for our audience to consider.
Telstra Wholesale