Stephen Witt
Bestselling Author of The Thinking Machine, Financial Times Business Book of the Year
Stephen Witt
Bestselling Author of The Thinking Machine, Financial Times Business Book of the Year
Biography
New Yorker contributor Stephen Witt is one of the leading historians of artificial intelligence. His book The Thinking Machine, a history of Nvidia, hit the bestseller lists in multiple countries, and features half-a-dozen exclusive interviews with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Stephen has unparalleled insight into what made Jensen the most successful businessman of his era, and what made Nvidia the most valuable corporation on Earth. And he can explain how Jensen’s counterintuitive strategies—like the “speed of light,” or the “zero-billion dollar market”—can be applied to any organization, with transformative results.
A clear and direct communicator with a humorous, conversational style, Stephen worked in finance for a decade before turning to journalism, and has practical, hands-on knowledge of what makes businesses succeed. He has interviewed almost every major figure in the field of AI, and has deep, intimate knowledge of the technologies and people that have made modern AI possible. His presentations blend original research with narrative history to weave irresistible stories about the most important technology of our time.
Stephen is also an award-winning television producer, and his previous book, How Music Got Free, told the story of the underground mp3 revolution. He has unique insight on how AI will affect the creative industries, and how creative producers should position themselves to take advantage of this generational technological shift. He can speak directly to the challenges AI presents to writers, musicians, filmmakers, and creatives of all kinds.
Stephen continues to write full-time about AI. He recently covered the data center boom, and the nascent market for AI risk analysis. In addition to his work with the New Yorker, Stephen appears regularly on NPR and in the opinion pages of the New York Times. He can tailor his presentations to meet the needs of almost any audience, and deliver clear and actionable insights across a wide variety of fields.
Speech Topics
What I Learned From Jensen Huang
In this talk, Stephen tells the story of how a small-time vendor of video-game hardware transformed itself into the most valuable corporation on Earth. He delves into the incredible story of Nvidia founder Jensen Huang, and his rise from Denny’s dishwasher to the emperor of AI. He reveals the secret strategies Jensen learned along the way, and how his counterintuitive business philosophy produced the most revolutionary technology of modern times. This fascinating story shares lessons that businesses can apply to their own organizations and how you can leverage Jensen’s philosophy in your own life.
Future-Proofing Your Career in the Age of AI
New AI tools threaten to overturn entire industries and eliminate entire categories of jobs. How should you respond? In this talk, Stephen explains how musicians, chess players, radiologists and computer programmers are reinventing themselves in the age of AI. He also reveals how you can position yourself to take advantage of this technological revolution, and turn AI from your competitor into your collaborator.
Is AI a Bubble?
In the 19th century, railroads transformed the American economy and created great national prosperity—but they also fueled repeated speculative manias, followed by painful busts. Is something similar happening with AI today? Stephen explains why so much money is crowded into a small handful of AI stocks, and examines whether AI has gotten ahead of itself. He also reveals the one critical metric investors need to pay attention to when navigating this white-hot market.
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