All Things AI (Live)

Generative AI is powerful, but it shouldn't be your hammer for every nail. This talk explores how to reclaim speed and precision by offloading specific tasks to specialized, local models. We will demonstrate how to combine the raw speed of ModernBERT and Isolation Forests with the reasoning capabilities of local LLMs and the eyes of computer vision. Walk away with a blueprint for building private, "air-gapped" agents that can see, analyze, and report in real-time.

You'll learn:

• The "Specialist" Stack
  How to architect a pipeline that offloads specific tasks to deterministic models—using ModernBERT for instant classification and Isolation Forests for statistical anomaly detection—to reduce hallucinations and improve accuracy.
• Edge Economics
  Strategies for processing high-volume video and log data locally for near-zero cost, only engaging the "expensive" LLM reasoning layer when synthesis is required.
• Live Blueprint
  A practical guide to orchestrating a multi-modal agent that can "see" (Vision), "detect" (ML), and "speak" (SLM) simultaneously on consumer-grade hardware without touching the cloud.

This workshop is for leaders, managers, and professionals who: Rolled out Copilot and saw adoption stall. Have teams with "access" but aren't getting value, and are paying for unused seats. Tried group training and watched it fade after two weeks. Need to show ROI on AI investments.

Quick question: How many people in your organization actually use their Copilot licenses? If you're like most companies, the answer is somewhere between "almost nobody" and "we have no idea."

You're paying $30/month per seat. Most companies see 5-10% adoption. Here's what happened: IT rolled out licenses with an email announcement. Maybe you did a 60-minute group training. Usage spiked for a week, then dropped to zero. Six months later, executives are asking: "Why aren't people using this?"

Implementation is the missing piece. In this 60-minute workshop, you'll see exactly why 90% of Copilot users never get past basic chat and the specific steps to fix it. We'll walk through the 3 failure patterns that kill adoption, the 5 levels of Copilot maturity (most organizations are stuck at Level 1), and 3 real case studies of professionals who went from unused licenses to saving 5-8 hours per week. You'll see what actual workflows look like: meeting documentation automated, compliance reporting streamlined, risk monitoring that flags exceptions automatically.

• Learn How To Get Unstuck with Copilot
  You'll see why your current approach stalled and what to do differently. You'll learn the 5 levels of Copilot maturity and assess where your organization actually sits (not where you think you are).
• Get Situational Awareness of Your Copilot Usage
  You'll get diagnostic questions to assess your adoption (Can you name 3 workflows your people built? Do you know usage %? Has it increased or flatlined?)
• Create Your First Useful Workflow Automation
  You'll learn what makes a good first workflow: repetitive work that takes 5-8 hours/week, follows patterns, and the person understands well. You'll see what a pilot program actually looks like—how to select champions, what timeline is realistic, what investment is required.

Save the Date – All Things AI 2026
March 23–24, 2026
Durham, NC – Carolina Theatre & Durham Convention Center
Two days. One mission: Deliver the best AI event for users and practitioners.

All Things AI returns in 2026—4x bigger than before.

Day 1 – March 23: Training Day
Deep-dive sessions for professionals who want to sharpen their AI skills fast. Whether you’re in marketing, product, operations, or development, you’ll leave with workflows, tools, and tactics you can apply immediately.
Day 2 – March 24: Conference Day
Hear from industry-leading speakers—builders, researchers, and business leaders—sharing what’s next in AI and how to use it now. Expect hard-hitting keynotes, candid panels, and real-world case studies.
What’s New in 2026

• More Speakers: Broader perspectives from AI pioneers and practitioners.
• More Space: The Carolina Theatre and Durham Convention Center combined for bigger networking and collaboration.
• More AI Learning: Hands-on, applied content you can take back to your work the very next day.