Theme: AI and Technology

TEDxUWMadison hosted its annual event this year with the theme: "Balancing AI and Technology in the Modern World." We aimed to explore how advancements in AI and technology have the potential to either perpetuate or mitigate our society. Additionally, we delved into the profound ways in which these innovations have transformed human interaction and societal dynamics.

Tripp Commons at Memorial Union
800 Langdon St
Madison, Wisconsin, 53706
United States

Lori Mazor

CEO of Synthetivity

At the intersection of artificial intelligence and creativity, Lori Mazor leads SYNTHETIVITY as its CEO. This trail-blazing venture is dedicated to enlightening today's and tomorrow's leaders about the transformative power of Generative AI, revolutionizing traditional paradigms in executive education. Lori's unique interdisciplinary background in architecture and business, along with her forward-thinking approach to technology, has equipped thousands with the know-how to leverage Generative AI. Internationally recognized for her groundbreaking work in embedding Generative AI into education, workforce development, and business ecosystems, Lori's expertise is changing the contours of the AI landscape. Currently,Her talks are not just informative but transformative, sparking innovative thinking while unveiling the human-centric capacities of AI.

Martin Lichtman

Quantum Computing Researcher

Martin Lichtman Ph.D. is a zealous and optimistic explorer of light and matter. Martin's research in quantum computing sits at the boundary of atomic physics and information science. With these tools, we can both probe the nuance of our natural world, and also harness its complexity to solve big problems. Our civilization is now poised to use nature's own tools to unlock that marvelous potential. Martin earned his Ph.D. at UW-Madison, did post-doctoral research at the Joint Quantum Institute, and is now a Senior Quantum Physicist at Infleqtion, a quantum hardware company that harnesses the precision of lasers and atoms for timekeeping, sensing, and computing. Martin is passionate about Wisconsin's winters, and is a two-time age-class U.S. national champion in short track ice speed skating.

Patrick Mcdaniel

Tsun-Ming Shih Professor of Computer Sciences in the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Patrick McDaniel is the Tsun-Ming Shih Professor of Computer Sciences in the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Professor McDaniel is a Fellow of IEEE, ACM and AAAS, a recipient of the SIGOPS Hall of Fame Award and SIGSAC Outstanding Innovation Award, and the director of the NSF Frontier Center for Trustworthy Machine Learning. He also served as the program manager and lead scientist for the Army Research Laboratory's Cyber-Security Collaborative Research Alliance from 2013 to 2018. Patrick's research focuses on a wide range of topics in computer and network security and technical public policy. Prior to joining Wisconsin in 2022, he was the William L. Weiss Professor of Information and Communications Technology and Director of the Institute for Networking and Security Research at Pennsylvania State University.

Scott Rosen

Senior Director at Getty Images

Scott is an experienced Senior Director at Getty Images who has worked 15+ years helping clients find and license the best imagery to tell their stories. His strong interpersonal skills and deep knowledge of photography and content rights result in customer loyalty and increased revenue for his employers. Internally, he wors tirelessly to bring the best out of his team and organization, creating cost-saving efficiencies while always connecting dots across departments to make the company work smarter. He leads with good humor and understanding, a tenacious work ethic, and a commitment to always push for positive proactive change.

Sharon Li

Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Sciences

Sharon Yixuan Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2017, advised by John E. Hopcroft. Subsequently, she was a postdoctoral scholar in the Computer Science department at Stanford University. Her research focuses on the algorithmic and theoretical foundations of AI safety in the open world. She has served as Area Chair for ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML, and Program Chair for Workshop on Uncertainty and Robustness in Deep Learning. She is the recipient of the AFOSR Young Investigator Program (YIP) award, NSF CAREER award, MIT Technology Review "Innovator of the Year", Forbes30Under30 in Science, and multiple faculty research awards from Google, Meta, and Amazon. Her works also received a NeurIPS Outstanding Paper Award, and an ICLR Outstanding Paper Award Honorable Mention in 2022.