AI has a profound ability not just to improve the way we work but to fundamentally enhance human capacity. This requires moving beyond using machine learning models simply as time saving substitutes for people and designing collaborative tools that cultivate essential qualities like perspective-taking, creativity, and resilience — tools that change us even after we've powered them down. This transformative implementation of AI doesn't settle for simply making our lives easier; it actively participates in shaping individuals and societies with heightened capabilities, greater self-awareness, and a deeper sense of purpose. Dr. Ming will share stories of her work ranging from LLMs designed to generate “productive friction” to ground-breaking causal models capable of predicting postpartum depression to a “match-maker” AI that dynamically connects people in a social network to maximize collective intelligence and innovation. In every case, the goal is to move far beyond artificial intelligence and into a future of augmented intelligence.

Frequently featured for her research and inventions in The Financial Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Quartz and the New York Times, Dr. Vivienne Ming is a theoretical neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and author. She co-founded Socos Labs, her fifth company, an independent institute exploring the future of human potential. Dr. Ming launched Socos Labs to combine her varied work with that of other creative experts and expand their impact on global policy issues, both inside companies and throughout our communities. Previously, Vivienne was a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley's Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, pursuing her research in cognitive neuroprosthetics. In her free time, Vivienne has invented AI systems to help treat her diabetic son, predict manic episodes in bipolar sufferers weeks in advance, and reunited orphan refugees with extended family members. She sits on boards of numerous companies and nonprofits including StartOut, The Palm Center, Cornerstone Capital, Platypus Institute, Shiftgig, Zoic Capital, and HUMM. Dr. Ming also speaks frequently on her AI-driven research into inclusion and gender in business. For relaxation, she is a wife and mother of two.