The Chief Minister of Kerala and his leadership team offer a special welcome to attendees and will describe the ambitious plan for establishing Kochi and the state of Kerala as a worldwide centre for generative AI innovation.

Speakers:

• Shri. Pinarayi Vijayan, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala
• Shri. P Rajeeve, Hon’ble Minister for Industries, Coir & Law, Government of Kerala
• Dr. V Venu IAS, Chief Secretary of Kerala

Dinesh Nirmal, Senior Vice President of Development, Software for IBM and Kerala native, will detail the unprecedented momentum created by watsonx, IBM’s generative AI platform for Enterprise AI. He’ll share IBM’s strategy and what differentiates it from other offerings and show examples of generative AI innovation in action for business and public sector organizations around the world.

Speaker:

• Dinesh Nirmal, SVP Products, IBM Software, IBM

Demoers:

• Watson Orchestrate: Rinu Thankachan, QA Engineer- watsonx Orchestrate, IBM
• InstructLab: Sudheesh Kairali, STSM & Master Inventor - Data & AI, IBM

Join this exclusive panel discussion featuring tech leaders from diverse industries who are pushing the boundaries of what's possible with gen AI. Examples include Sevilla Football Club, using watsonx to find emerging athletic talent, Comparus reimagining customer engagement for banks with conversational AI, Boston Consulting Group advising clients on gen AI strategy, and S&P Global on the trends impacting gen AI deployment. Panelists will dive into their watsonx implementations, sharing best practices and lessons learned. You'll walk away with a deeper understanding of how to integrate watsonx into your development workflows, leverage its advanced AI capabilities, and build innovative applications that create tangible business value.

Moderator:

-     Dinesh Nirmal, Senior Vice President Products, IBM Software, IBM

Panellists:

-     Dr. Elias Zamora, CTO, Sevilla Football Club

-     Dmitri Gamarnik, CEO, Comparus

-     Abishek Tomar, Chief Data Officer, S&P Global Market Intelligence

-     Amit Kumar, Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group

With the exploding demand for generative AI talent, the world is looking to India and its stellar reputation for excellence in hi-tech. This panel discussion will feature examples of AI innovation developed in India for Indian organisations, with insights on implementation strategies and value creation from a consulting perspective. The discussion will explore how Indian businesses can leverage AI to drive growth, improve efficiency, and maintain a competitive edge in the global market. Panelists will also address the challenges of AI adoption, talent development, and the role of public-private partnerships in fostering India's AI ecosystem.

Moderator:

-     Amith Singhee, Director IBM Research, India, IBM

Panellists:

-     Hari Sankar IPS, Superintendent Cyber Operations, Kerala Police

-     Ankit Bose, Head of NASSCOM AI

-     Ankur Puri, Partner, McKinsey

With the rapid adoption of AI across industries, staying ahead of the curve requires tapping into the power of open-source collaboration. In this session, Sriram Raghavan, Vice President, AI Research at IBM, will share his insights on how the Open Source AI Alliance is revolutionizing the way businesses innovate with AI. Discover how the alliance, founded by IBM and Meta, brings together a diverse ecosystem of enterprise AI leaders, including Hugging Face, Intel, NASA, Stability AI, and top universities. By fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing, the alliance enables businesses to access cutting-edge AI tools, frameworks, and best practices.

Speaker:

• Sriram Raghavan, VP of AI Research, IBM

One of the world’s leading experts at the intersection of robotics and artificial intelligence will present the latest perspective on this rapidly expanding discipline – with novel insights into how data-driven embodied systems will change the way we live and work.

Speaker:

• Professor Sethu Vijayakumar, Director for Robotics and AI at The Alan Turing Institute, UK & Chair Professor at School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK

Steve Smith is a technology executive and a former NASA astronaut, who soared to space four times as a mission specialist and ventured out of the space station seven times for walks in space.  He has received many awards, including a NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal and NASA Exceptional Service Medal.

Speaker:

• Steve Smith, NASA (Retired)

Join the day’s speakers, special guests and your peers for light snacks and beverages. Experience watsonx with interactive demos and live software challenges. Meet and talk with experts in generative AI from IBM, policymakers in the Kerala government, and organizations creating value with AI.

Kerala’s government leaders have a vision for making Kochi and Kerala the first destination for worldwide generative AI development. In this opening keynote, they’ll describe the investments being made and the policies being instituted in the state to support and grow business and create unlimited opportunities for skilled generative AI talent.  

Speakers:

• Shri. P Rajeev, Hon’ble Minister for Industries, Coir & Law, Government of Kerala
• Shri. A P M Mohammed Hanish IAS, Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce
• Shri. Rathan U Kelkar IAS, Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology Department

This conversation offers the perspective of local University leaders, entrepreneurs and business leaders on Kerala’s readiness to excel in generative AI development. What infrastructure, training and manpower is already in place and what more is needed?  This important discussion will illuminate the strong start made in Kerala and priorities for moving forward.

Moderator:

-     Shri. Hari Krishnan R. IRTS, ED, KSIDC

Panellists:

-     Prof. (Dr.) P. G. Sankaran, Vice Chancellor, CUSAT

-     Dr. Saji Gopinath, Vice Chancellor, DUK

-     Shri. Anoop Ambika, CEO, KSUM

-     Shri. K. P. Sreekumar, Vice President, Tata ELXSI

-     Smt. Anu Kumari IAS, Director, KSITM

Usha Srikanth, Managing Partner and Client Innovation Centre (India) Leader, IBM, will moderate a panel of prominent women working as executives, developers, and AI practitioners in India. They will recount their experiences and offer advice for women looking to advance their careers in AI as well as for men who can help as allies.

Moderator:

• Usha Srikanth, Managing Partner and Client Innovation Centre (India) Leader, IBM

Panellists:

• Shalini Warrier, Executive Director, Federal Bank
• Dr. Elizabeth Sherly, Distinguished Professor, Digital University Kerala
•  

The IBM Atlas is a comprehensive forecast developed by Research at IBM for key strategic technologies like Quantum, Automation, and AI over the next 3, 5, and 10 years. With a particular focus on the rapidly evolving field of generative AI, this session will provide developers with a detailed roadmap of the skills, tools, and experiences that will be essential for success in the emerging AI-driven economy. Whether you're a seasoned AI practitioner or just starting your journey, this session will equip you with the knowledge and guidance needed to navigate the exciting and transformative landscape of generative AI.

Speaker:

• Trent Gray-Donald, IBM Fellow, IBM Research

Dinesh and a representative from the Government of Kerala will co-present a special celebration, where the top three student and start-up winners of the GenAI Conclave watsonx Hackathon demonstrate their winning entries. They’ll share their experiences and lessons learned working with watsonx and take a much-deserved bow for work well done.

Speakers:

-     Dinesh Nirmal, Parul Mishra, Hackathon Winners, Kerala Minister

-     Kerala Minister

A conversation with the leading Indian Business Leader on AI momentum in India and the profound impact that generative AI is projected to have on the Indian Economy.

Speakers:

• Vishal Chahal, Vice President, IBM India Software Lab,  IBM
• Vidya Krishnan, Deputy Managing Director, State Bank of India

While AI research is essential, so too is the methodology required to successfully design, deliver, and deploy generative AI solutions. Sachin Varma, Managing Partner, Global BPO Delivery leader for Consulting at IBM, will present his views on the Best Practices and opportunities ahead for the people and organisations required to realize business value from AI solutions.

Speaker:

• Sachin Varma, Managing Partner, Global BPO Delivery Leader, IBM

As developers race to harness the power of Generative AI (GenAI), concerns around deepfakes, fraud, and intellectual property (IP) infringement loom large. In this session, Manish Bhide, IBM Distinguished Engineer for watsonx.ai and watsonx.governance, will shed light on how IBM is tackling these challenges head-on. Bhide will delve into the technical and legal safeguards embedded within the watsonx platform, which enable developers to build generative AI applications with confidence and mitigate associated risks. Attendees will gain a deep understanding of IBM's commitment to ethical and transparent AI, and how this translates into concrete tools and frameworks for responsible generative AI development. Developers will walk away with practical insights and best practices for operationalizing applications that prioritize trust, accountability, and legal compliance, empowering them to innovate with generative AI while navigating the complex IP and ethical landscape.

Speaker:

• Manish Bhide, Distinguished Engineer for watsonx.ai and watsonx.governance, IBM

To close the Conclave, Dinesh will be joined by Kerala government officials to provide a summary and turn to the opportunities ahead for Kerala-based developers, students, businesses, and learning institutions. Generative AI is projected to grow by more than 30% every year for the next 6 years. With Kerala and IBM’s commitment to creating a world class AI hub in Kerala, the road forward brings excitement and promise for Keralites.