More than 300 industry leaders and researchers will speak this month at WeaveSphere, Canada’s preeminent technology innovation conference

TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2022 /CNW/ - Today, WeaveSphere announced its speaker roster and media interview availability for its upcoming technology innovation conference hosted at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre November 15-17, 2022.

Keynote speakers include Dr. William Barry, an artificial intelligence (AI) ethicist whose AI teaching assistants will join him on stage for the first ever keynote delivered by a human and three AI “beings.” Professor Gillian Hadfield, director of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, will discuss regulating the safety, security, and responsibility of technology through the lens of policy design. Marcel Mitran, IBM Fellow, IBM Master Inventor and the CTO for Cloud Platform for zSystems and LinuxONE, will discuss thinking differently about technology and the impacts of responsible computing.

WeaveSphere is an experiential space for academics, developers, and industry partners to co-create technology solutions that solve challenges facing our world today and in the future. It is a multi-day conference that facilitates knowledge sharing by curating learning and collaboration opportunities designed to integrate diverse perspectives and realize ideas and opportunities.

In addition to the three keynote speakers, 11 featured speakers from organizations including Unity, MMH Technology Group, Ontario Brain Institute, Yahoo Finance, Fuel Media, IBM Canada, Ocean Falls Blockchain and Clearco will share their thoughts on how innovation can solve real-world problems.

As one of the most revered technology and innovation conferences in North America, WeaveSphere attracts more than 1,000 attendees and offers:

• 170+ industry speakers
• 155+ university speakers
• 25 workshops
• 55 exhibits
• Insights from internationally recognized research
• A start-up pitch competition where one company will take home a $50,000 prize

WeaveSphere 2022 educates and explores 18 emerging streams of technology including AgTech, AI & Robotics, Blockchain, Crypto & NFTs, EnergyTech, Cloud, EduTech, eSport & Gaming, FinTech, Web3 & The Metaverse, HealthTech, NeuroTech, Privacy & Security, SpaceTech, Quantum Computing, RetailTech & eCommerce, Software Engineering, IoT and Data.

"Now, more than ever, technology is creating the security, stability and resiliency people and businesses need to solve the problems of today and secure a position of strength for the future," says Marcellus Mindel, Head of Advanced Studies, IBM Canada Lab. "Across the globe, individuals and businesses are embracing a data-driven approach to decision making and partnerships that enable the change and growth our world needs." Mindel goes on to say, "WeaveSphere brings the brightest minds in academia, development and industry together to apply their knowledge, share ideas and have meaningful conversations that often become the impetus for transformative technology that solves problems today and tomorrow."

IBM Canada has a long and proven history of fostering a robust academic community in computer science and software engineering including an ongoing relationship with York University. In 2020 York launched SAVY - York’s Student Virtual Assistant, an initiative with IBM Canada using IBM Watson Assistant. In 2021 SAVY won the Canadian University Council of Chief Information Officers (CUCCIO) Innovation award and the Gartner Eye on Innovation award for higher education. Since the launch of SAVY, 35,000 students have had more than 83,000 conversations about more than 500 York-related topics.  Working with IBM Canada, York will send more than 200 students to the WeaveSphere conference this year.

"The learning pathways and collaboration opportunities with academics and industry is vital to the development of our students," says J.J. McMurtry, Dean, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), York University. "The ideas and possibilities students have exposure to, and the relationships they make, enrich their learning experience and create bridges into limitless career paths." McMurtry adds, "Technology-focused curriculum is now at the very epicenter of almost all learning experiences, and by encouraging students to think collaboratively and apply an enterprise design thinking lens to problem solving, WeaveSphere offers a distinct growth opportunity that curates very real outcomes."

In its 32nd year, WeaveSphere is a collaboration between IBM Canada's academic and research technology conference (previously called CASCON) and Evoke Canada's industry-focused developer conference. In 2019 the organizations merged to pursue the mission of connecting industry professionals with academia, developers, and students.

SOURCE WeaveSphere

To request interviews with keynote or featured speakers, or to arrange a media pass, contact: Claire Poole, CLAIRIFY Communications Inc., [email protected], 403.831.6311