How Technology Will Forever Change Business Structure

John Markoff is a HAI Affiliate and research affiliate at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), where he focuses on projects related to the future of work and artificial intelligence. With a rich background in journalism, he previously served as a reporter at The New York Times, specializing in technology and computer-related topics. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting as part of a New York Times project on labor and automation. Markoff is also a published author, co-writing several books on technology and its impact on society, including "Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier" and "Machines of Loving Grace: The Quest for Common Ground Between Humans and Robots." He holds a masters degree in sociology from the University of Oregon and graduated from Whitman College in Washington.

Shuo Chen is a General Partner at IOVC, where she has invested in 60-plus seed-stage startups focused on the future of work. She is also on the faculty of UC Berkeley College of Engineering and Singularity University, where she has taught and mentored hundreds of students since 2010. Chen's investments have been acquired by companies from Goldman Sachs to Instacart, and she's helped close deals with the likes of Amazon and NASA. She serves as one of 13 voting members on California's Mental Health Commission, and has served as Chair of the Board of Decode, an innovation community co-hosted with UC Berkeley and Stanford. Chen previously worked at Goldman Sachs and PwC, and co-authored a book on financial regulations in 2019. Chen was recognized as Forbes 30 under 30 in the Venture Capital category in 2022.

Joyce Sidopoulos is Co-Founder and Chief of Operations at MassRobotics, an innovation hub, collaborative workspace, and laboratory for robotics startups whose mission is to enable and grow the next generation of robotics companies. In her role, she works on initiatives to expand the breadth and depth of the robotics ecosystem and develops high-impact programs, highlighting startup technology, matching startups with funders and customers, engaging with robotics adoption, connecting talent to employers, and working with academia to commercialize research. Sidopoulos is also a mentor and judge at accelerator and university entrepreneurship programs. Prior experience includes 14 years of civil service with the USN's Naval Undersea Warfare Center as Chief Scientist for Acoustic Prediction Systems, Systems & Test Engineer, and Sonar Systems Analyst. Sidopoulos also held senior BizDev and Engineering & Technical Resource Manager roles at General Dynamics and defense contractors. She holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University.

Cory Hymel leads all things Web3 as the Vice President of Product & Research at Gigster, a company dedicated to helping businesses develop software applications with the speed of a startup, coupled with the quality and expertise of the most innovative global talent. Cory also manages academic partnerships to help further research into distributed teams and the future of work. Cory's career started with providing enterprise strategy to large enterprises in the early days of the iPhone. He then moved into hardware development to help bring innovative IoT platforms to market.

Meghan Keaney Anderson is a writer and marketing executive with twenty years of experience at the intersection of brand, product marketing and demand generation. She currently runs Marketing for Jasper, an AI platform that helps companies create on-brand AI content anywhere. Prior to Jasper, Meghan was in executive marketing roles at HubSpot and The Wanderlust Group. She helped HubSpot grow from a start-up to a publicly traded global company over the course of 10 years. Outside of work, Meghan serves on the board of directors of FamilyAid, an organization working to prevent homelessness for thousands of families in Boston. She's been known to be bribed for marketing consulting in exchange for a donation to their important work.

Vivek Mehta is a visionary leader and innovator in the field of AI-powered employee engagement software. As the CEO of Weeve, a groundbreaking company focused on eliminating workforce burnout in hospitals, Vivek is on a mission to build strong employee-leader relationships at scale. With a background in engineering and a passion for leveraging technology to drive positive change, Vivek's work is transforming the way organizations approach employee retention and well-being.

With a deep understanding of the power of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), Vivek is at the forefront of exploring how Web3 technologies can revolutionize the future of work. His expertise lies in utilizing AI and machine learning to optimize processes, facilitate data-driven decision-making, and enhance the overall employee experience.

Through Weeve, Vivek is empowering hospitals to create more meaningful connections with their staff, foster a culture of collaboration and support, and drive lasting improvements in employee satisfaction. As an influential thought leader in the space, Vivek continues to pave the way for the intersection of technology and human-centric approaches to transform the modern workplace.

Dr. Liz Wilke is a principal economist at Gusto, where she researches the state of work and business in the modern economy. She has extensive experience in both the technology and government sectors, having directed research programs and public spending that support companies and workers across the globe. Previously, she worked at LinkedIn as the tech policy and future of work researcher, where she led the public policy team's engagement with the rest of the business on AI fairness policy and initiatives.

Before joining LinkedIn, Liz served as the director of economic analysis at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, where she led country-level economic analyses across diverse teams to design and execute investments and governance reforms programs for equitable growth in middle- and low-income countries. Throughout her career, she has built synergies among work streams and increased cross-pollination of best practices and ideas. Liz holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil from the Pardee RAND Graduate School of Public Policy and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Shermin Voshmgir is a prominent figure at the intersection of technology, agriculture, art, and social science. As the author of the book "Token Economy" and the founder of Token Kitchen and BlockchainHub Berlin, Shermin's expertise lies in making technology accessible to a non-tech audience, enabling them to actively participate in decision-making processes related to the technology they use.

In the past, Shermin served as the director of the Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics at the Vienna University of Economics, which she co-founded. Additionally, she played a significant role as a curator for the renowned TheDAO (Decentralized Investment Fund) in 2016. Currently, Shermin is engaged in a groundbreaking initiative in Portugal, where she is setting up a data-driven farm alongside her partner. The project focuses on investigating the tokenization of agricultural assets and sustainable ecosystem services, such as soil quality or CO2 capture, supported by hardware wallets and sensor technology.

Shermin's passion for Web3 and tokenized applications stems from her belief that they can fundamentally shift the dynamics of socioeconomic systems. She sees a crucial need for a thorough understanding of these technologies and their applications to facilitate the co-creation of a new collective infrastructure that empowers individuals to actively engage with and shape this transformative landscape.