Tech Trends for 2024 (and Beyond)

This event will be held in person and online.

Event Summary

Technology capabilities advance at rapid, often exponential, rates, making it challenging to know which technologies to invest time and resources in—and when and how much—for maximum benefit for our companies, organizations, education, and personal lives. So, understanding technology trends is more than just fun: it is important for updating vision statements and strategic plans, developing and updating operational goals and plans, optimizing productivity and operational efficiencies, making new innovations and discoveries, and more.

As Austin’s largest and most comprehensive technology series, the Austin Forum on Technology & Society kicks off every year with a preview of the technologies that we believe will become much more important in the year (and sometimes, years) ahead, why, and what you should do now to take advantage of these potentially high impact technologies. Please join us for the popular annual event, led by Austin Forum founder and executive director Jay Boisseau who will be joined by several noted technology experts and thought leaders weighing in, to be announced in December!

Please join us in person or online to learn about which technologies you will want/need to know about for 2024. If attending in person, please stay afterward to network with other technology leaders and professionals who can help you and your company/organization better track, evaluate, and utilize these technologies in 2024 and beyond!​

Registration and Attendance Instructions

In-person

Join us at the Austin Central Library, 710 W. César Chávez St. where you will be checked in at the front desk. Parking information can be found here.

In-person attendees, please join us from 5:15 to 6:15 for networking and food. We look forward to chatting with you face-to-face!

Virtual

Once you register via Ticketbud, you will receive the direct Zoom link on your PDF ticket attached to your confirmation email. You will also receive the Zoom link in a reminder email two days before the event.

About the Moderators

Jay Boisseau, Executive Director, ​Austin Forum on Technology & Society

Jay is the executive director and founder of The Austin Forum on Technology & Society, which he started in 2006 and is now the leading monthly technology outreach and engagement event in Austin--and starting to attract national and even international attendees online. The Austin Forum is one of the pillars of the Austin tech scene, providing connections to information, ideas, collaborations, and community overall. Through Vizias, Jay also founded the Austin Smart City Alliance (July 2015, formerly Austin CityUP Consortium) and currently serves as the Executive Director, with a vision of creating an integrated smart city fabric throughout Austin—leveraging mobile devices and IoT data collectors, as well as supercomputers and AI for predictive analytics and scenario simulation—in the years ahead to address city issues, empower city planning, and improve city life in general.

Nancy Giordano, Founder and CEO, Play Big Inc

Nancy built a formidable career at several of the most influential ad agencies in NY, Chicago, and LA and for more than a decade has been the Founder/CEO of Play Big Inc., a strategic inspiration company. Her current work dives deeply into the emerging intersection of tech, business, and society. Her expertise and experiences range from AI to frozen foods, to reinventing the internet, and all of her projects have a key common denominator: transitioning away from the extractive operating systems and outdated business thinking that no longer holds up... to create more sustainable, inclusive, and dynamic solutions the future demands.

Author of the Amazon bestselling book Leadering: The Ways Visionary Leaders Play Bigger, Nancy is a frequent panelist at South by Southwest, global keynote speaker, Singularity University guest lecturer, and the world’s first TEDx licensee. She is recognized as one of the world’s top female futurists and is co-founder of the Femme Futurists Society.

Bryon Jacob, CTO, data.world

Bryon Jacob, CTO of data.world, is an experienced leader in the Austin tech community with a career spanning over 20 years. He has held leadership roles at Trilogy Software, Amazon, and HomeAway (now Vrbo), where he was instrumental in the company's growth and eventual sale to Expedia. Bryon's education in Computer Science at Case Western Reserve University, including graduate studies in AI, has fueled his interest in integrating knowledge representation and machine learning. His current endeavor, data.world, aims to revolutionize enterprise-scale data management and integration using advanced technologies in graph databases, AI, and linked data. Bryon is also an active contributor to the tech community, advising several companies and frequently sharing his insights at technology conferences.

Jay Williams, President and CTO, ARCatar

​Jay Williams has been a chief technology officer and consultant to many of the Fortune 500. As a consultant, he has developed a highly refined process for managing a company’s technology infrastructure, including applications, security, and network assets. Jay is a highly sought-after, enterprise systems architect and problem solver. He has advised a number of high-profile technology companies on their products and is known for a rare combination of deep technology expertise, expert problem-solving ability, and business acumen. Jay is widely respected by peers and has influenced many pivotal technology consortia and industry steering groups. He regularly consults with senior technology and business executives and is frequently consulted by venture and capital investors for analyses of new technology strategies.