Strategic foresight leader who founded Telstra's foresight practice and now runs Transition Level
Sami Makelainen founded Telstra's strategic foresight practice and now runs Transition Level, his own Australia-based consulting firm. He brings more than 25 years from global companies including Nokia and Telstra, a master's degree in computer science and certification as a Foresight Practitioner. His perspective was shaped by years inside a complex telecommunications business that had to bet on which technologies actually mattered — and which were noise — across the entire post-iPhone era.
What he brings to a corporate stage is unusual: a futurist who is also a working strategist. He speaks on emerging technology, responsible AI development and AI governance, the impacts of conspiracy theories, and a particular focus on mindful automation — helping organisations calibrate strategy rather than react to each new tool. He has published through the Institute for the Future, Sydney Business Insights and Kauppalehti, speaks regularly at RMIT and Deakin, and has appeared on MIT Technology Review's In Machines We Trust. His keynotes are clean, dry and free of futurist showmanship — the kind audiences trust because the analysis stands up.
Sami is a strong fit for technology, financial services and senior strategy audiences who want a serious read on what is coming, not a slide deck full of speculative graphics.
Sami Makelainen is a keynote speaker based in Victoria who speaks on artificial intelligence, innovation and sustainability & ESG. Book through Executive Speakers Australia.
Generative AI is different from all the previous technology hype cycles we've seen — it’s an emerging set of transformational tools that equips us all with unparalleled superpowers, but also presents us with superproblems. In this compelling session, Sami breaks down the art of the possible and the opportunities as well as challenges of Generative AI, offering a pragmatic approach to harnessing its potential. Attendees will learn how to think about Generative AI in a useful manner that doesn't require deep technical knowledge, how to manage the ethical and operational issues it brings, and most importantly, how to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive landscape. As supercompetition accelerates, those who master GenAI will thrive, while others risk falling behind.
Bring your organization up to date on the world of generative AI; what is it, what isn’t it, what can it do, what can’t it do.
Gain an understanding of the potential of the new AI capabilities, the challenges, and pitfalls they present. Get additional perspectives on how to think about AI’s impact on jobs and roles.
Key takeaways:
• Where does the impact of these technologies come from, and why is it different this time around (vs previous technology hypes).
• A simple framework for getting started with working with the technologies, and some of the key questions an organization needs to ask as they embark on this transformative journey.
• Practical examples of how some of the new tools can be used, and how one can integrate them to work together as an even more powerful whole.
Whether we like it or not, we are all cyborgs to a greater or lesser extent; we rely on technology to get through every day.
There is however a class of more sophisticated cyborgs emerging, and they are mostly hidden from organizations. All medium and large organizations have people who are ‘secret cyborgs’; individuals who are using AI tools for work, even if explicitly forbidden by the organization, forming a sort of Shadow AI operation. There are good reasons why people keep this hidden. At the same time, this Shadow AI is a source of significant untapped potential for organizations.
Key takeaways:
• Reclaiming the word ‘cyborg’ from its negative connotations; all of us are already cyborgs.
• The best source for innovation and for dealing with the new GenAI tools is your Shadow AI organization.
• Instead of banning it and trying to root it out, organizations should harness its transformative power and unique innovations.
Conspiracy theories, including anti-vaccination attitudes and beliefs linking 5G technology to COVID-19, have widespread, damaging effects worldwide. These aren't niche beliefs; approximately half or more of the population in many countries hold such beliefs, with a trend of increasing prevalence. This talk explores the eight main drivers behind such conspiratorial beliefs. While confronting these beliefs is complex, the talk also uncovers useful strategies at all levels, ranging from immediate, individual initiatives to broader, long-term societal changes, to contain and manage the prevalence of the theories.
Key takeaways:
• The fallacies of conspiracy theories, including that only “stupid” people believe in them or that they are a niche phenomenon.
• The underlying reasons for widespread conspiracy beliefs are many and varied, and the beliefs give rise to are real material negative consequences.
• Despite the complexity of the phenomenon, there are effective strategies for dealing with them. What are they, and how can you implement them?
Aviation is one of the very few industries that successfully and safely operates a system that is both tightly coupled and complex.
For the past 20 years, through connectivity, IOT, and automation, the world has gradually been remaking all systems tightly coupled and complex – but have been doing so without any of the supporting scaffolding that has afforded aviation to manage the space safely. What can we learn from how the aviation industry has done this to start reducing the now-high risk of systemic failures?
Key takeaways:
• Through continuous seeking of efficiencies, our world has become one filled with intertwined webs of tightly coupled and complex systems. This is a highly brittle and dangerous mix, especially heading into an era that requires resilience more than efficiency.
• The aviation industry has managed this transition successfully through very specific procedures, systems, and cultures. What can we learn from them to reduce systemic risks?
• How can individual organizations refocus their systems and processes to produce more resilient outcomes?
He was very informative and engaging.Mildura Senior College
I've known Sami for several decades, we worked in the telecommunication industry, he is a leading thinker in our industry. I asked Sami to keynote at my event TADSummit, the thought-leadership conference in programmable communications / telecoms for over 10 years. Sami gave an excellent and prescient keynote on "Mindful Connections". His presentation continues to be highly relevant given the rise of weak AI systems like ChatGPT and Bard. I continue to use his 3 core recommendations with many clients: Not every connection is a good connection – what could go wrong?; Avoid creating brittle systems by focusing purely on efficiency, embrace purposeful inefficiency; Help change the culture to be more like safety critical industries. People’s privacy, confidentiality, safety, well-being are critically important to your business.Founder, TADHack, TADSummit
Thank you for being part of our recent customer event as a keynote speaker. Your Generative A.I. presentation was very informative, engaging, and thought provoking! You shared great insights and highlights of the risks and potential power of A.I. for our audience to consider.Telstra Wholesale
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