Technology, business collide during Technology Summit

Who knew the internet would become so yesterday.

“We’re moving into the AI era,” Robert Daigle, director and global artificial intelligence business leader at Lenovo, told East Carolina University students at the Technology Summit.

Daigle, a two-time ECU alumnus from the College of Business, served as the keynote speaker of the summit, which tied business and technology together through breakout sessions and panel discussions.

Students organized the event, with Kevin Cruz-Torres and Matt Lewis from The Association of Computing Machinery in the Department of Computer Science and Savanna Pulver and Cole Miller from the College of Business Student Leadership Board taking the lead. The program featured 18 business and technology experts who addressed technology trends, business strategies, leadership development, and what jobs look like today and will look like tomorrow.

“I like to be an asset to these students, and I like to tell them how it is,” said presenter Angelena Brack, an ECU alumna who is an executive director with J.P. Morgan. “I want to be able to share that with them so they can learn from having a peek into what is post college.”

Brack participated in a leadership panel discussion where she told students to be confident but humble. Discussion also included the importance of personal growth and the development of good mentorship.

“I can’t stress enough the importance of good mentorship as you go on your careers,” Daigle told students.

Robert Daigle, director and global AI business leader at Lenovo, speaks to students at the Technology Summit. Daigle, an ECU alumnus, served as the keynote speaker for the event that focused on technology and business. (Photos by Ken Buday)

About 250 students from the College of Engineering and Technology and the College of Business attended the summit.

“I think it’s a great networking opportunity, and it’s also fun to hear things from an industry perspective,” said Gabrielle Stein, a computer science graduate student from Raleigh. “In our sphere, we’re used to hearing things from an academic perspective like research and learning aspects rather than what the industry is looking for.”

She said she enjoyed Daigle’s keynote address on artificial intelligence.

“My thesis is on AI, so I’m familiar with a lot of the things he talked about,” Stein said. “I think he’s spot on that AI isn’t going anywhere.”

Angelena Brack, executive director at J.P. Morgan, speaks to students during a panel discussion at the Technology Summit.

In his presentation, Daigle told students we’re moving out of the internet era and into the AI era. He said artificial intelligence is nothing to be feared and is already in use every day, such as through autocorrect functions on cell phones.

“AI is behind the scenes quietly enriching our lives,” he said.

He said AI is becoming more affordable, which makes it attractive for business. He noted a survey that revealed that just half of companies in 2019 planned to deploy AI solutions, while today, that number has increased to 82%.

“Everyone is getting in the game,” Daigle said.

That has led to job opportunities for today’s college students. He cited statistics that show a projected job growth rate of 23% in the next 10 years in the AI field, with a median salary of $136,000.

“Many of you may not go into an AI field, but you are going to work with artificial intelligence,” he told students.

Though AI draws concern for data privacy and as a job destroyer, Daigle pointed to positive uses, such as a retail company that employs AI to prevent theft. He also cited examples that included an environmental nonprofit that uses AI to track endangered and invasive species. He told the story of a woman suffering from ALS — a neurodegenerative disease that eventually causes paralysis and death — who is using AI to create a digital avatar so her voice will not be silenced as the disease progresses.

“It’s a really powerful way we can use AI for good,” Daigle said.

He concluded by telling students to be curious and bold, and to make AI their superpower.

“You’re going to be the pioneers of this new age,” Daigle said. “AI offers us a canvas as large as our imaginations.”

With undergraduate and graduate degrees from the College of Business, Daigle said he was happy to do what so many alumni do — give back to ECU by presenting at the summit.

“Most of my family graduated from East Carolina. My mother, my sister, my brother did his undergrad and graduate program here, so any chance I get to support ECU I’m happy to,” he said. “It was really exciting for me to participate and almost like a homecoming for me too to come back.”

Michael Rudd contributed to this story.

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