Byron Reese

Boards are being asked to make capital and workforce decisions on AI without a shared map of where the technology is actually heading. Internal teams default to either pilot-by-pilot caution or unchecked enthusiasm, and neither produces a defensible long-range position. What is missing is a credible read of what the next decade looks like, grounded in technology history rather than vendor marketing.

Byron Reese is a technology entrepreneur, futurist and Gigaom CEO who helps boards and leadership teams form a defensible view of where artificial intelligence is taking work, capital and the wider economy.

Download Profile
Check Availability
Check availability

Check Byron Reese's availability for your event

Complete the form below to check Byron Reese's availability. If you prefer, you can also send an email directly to our head office.

How would Byron Reese deliver their presentation at your event?
Please provide details of your budget for Byron Reese's speaking fee, including currency.

Full Profile

Why organisations work with Byron Reese

  • He places today’s AI moment inside a 100,000-year arc of technology shifts, giving senior leaders a framework for long-range decisions that vendor briefings cannot supply.
  • As CEO of Gigaom, he sits at the intersection of independent technology analysis and operating leadership, which lets him speak to both the engineering reality and the boardroom question.
  • His five books, published by Simon & Schuster and BenBella, take positions on machine consciousness, automation, and the future of work that are specific and contestable, not generic optimism.
  • He addresses AI without the doom-or-hype binary that dominates the speaking circuit, which is what most leadership audiences are quietly asking for.

Biography highlights

  • CEO and publisher of Gigaom, an independent technology research firm.
  • Author of five books, including The Fourth Age (Simon & Schuster, 2018), described by The New York Times as “entertaining and engaging”.
  • Founder of multiple technology companies, with two NASDAQ IPOs and several US patents to his name.
  • Hosts podcasts on artificial intelligence, including Voices in AI and The Agora Podcast.
  • Featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Bloomberg Businessweek, USA Today and the Financial Times.
  • Bloomberg Businessweek credited him with “quietly pioneer[ing] a new breed of media company”.

Biography

Most futurists work in five-year horizons because that is what corporate planning cycles demand. The cost is that the most important question, which is what AI actually does to the human story, gets answered by analogy and anecdote rather than by argument. Byron Reese works in a different timeframe.

In The Fourth Age, published by Simon & Schuster in 2018, he argues that technology has reshaped humanity three times: fire and language, agriculture and cities, the wheel and writing. Artificial intelligence and robotics, he argues, are now driving the fourth. The book reframes machine consciousness, automation and the future of work as questions of philosophy and history rather than software roadmaps, and The New York Times called it “entertaining and engaging”.

His credibility is operational as well as intellectual. As CEO and publisher of Gigaom, he runs one of the better-known independent technology research firms. Before that he founded and sold multiple companies, took two through NASDAQ IPOs, and built consumer internet platforms that Bloomberg Businessweek described as “a new breed of media company”. He holds several US patents in crowdsourcing and content technology.

Reese is, by his own description, the “Future of” guy: he has written and spoken on the future of AI, work, banking, education, agriculture, and the planet. His later books, Stories, Dice, and Rocks That Think and We Are Agora, extend the same long-range argument into how humans forecast and how human collectives behave. The thread that connects all of it, and the reason boards keep booking him, is that he is willing to take a position on where this is going.

Key speaking topics

  • Artificial intelligence and the future of work
  • The long arc of technology and human civilisation
  • Automation and workforce redesign
  • Machine consciousness and AI ethics
  • Innovation in conditions of rapid technological change
  • Reasoned optimism as a leadership stance on technology
  • The future of education, banking and agriculture

Ideal for

  • Boards and executive teams setting long-range AI and automation strategy
  • CHROs and workforce planners redesigning roles around AI capability
  • Innovation and strategy leaders in financial services, education and industrial sectors
  • Conference audiences looking for a substantive counterweight to AI hype and AI doom

Audience outcomes

  • A clearer mental model of where AI sits in the longer history of human technology
  • Sharper questions for internal AI strategy conversations, particularly on workforce and capital allocation
  • A credible counter-position to the dominant doom-or-hype framing of AI in the press
  • A specific account of how automation reshapes employment, drawn from Reese’s published argument rather than generic forecasts
  • Renewed confidence that leadership decisions on technology can be made with intellectual rigour, not faith

Talks

The Fourth Age: Answering the Big Questions of Tomorrow

A walk through the long history of technology shifts and the case that artificial intelligence and robotics constitute the fourth.

Key takeaways:

  • A framework for situating today’s AI decisions inside a 100,000-year arc of technology change
  • A specific position on machine consciousness, automation and the limits of what AI can replace
  • Language for boards to discuss AI without defaulting to hype or fear

Automation, AI and the Future of Work

A direct look at which jobs change, which disappear and which expand as artificial intelligence enters the workforce.

Key takeaways:

  • A grounded view of where human work retains an advantage over machine capability
  • Implications for workforce planning, reskilling and organisational design
  • A counter-argument to the assumption that AI’s primary effect on employment is replacement

Reasoned Optimism: The Coming Golden Age of Humanity

The case that technological advancement, properly handled, raises human capability and standard of living rather than erodes them.

Key takeaways:

  • A defensible stance on technology that is neither utopian nor catastrophist
  • Specific historical evidence for how technology has compounded human productivity
  • A leadership posture for talking to workforces, customers and investors about AI

Available for
Speaking Themes
Languages
Click the button below to check Byron Reese's fees and availability for your event.
Check Availability

Videos

Testimonials

Thank you, Byron, for sharing your invaluable insights and making our conference an unforgettable experience.
Julie Kagy
Director of Operations, Exhibition Services Contractors Association
Byron Reese was a hit at our latest meeting! His insights into how technological advancements could impact our collective future were interesting and thought-provoking to say the very least. Our attendees were discussing his presentation well after the meeting. Byron was excellent to work with leading up to the event. As a program planner, I appreciated the opportunity to speak with him well in advance of the meeting. He took the time to learn about our organization and customized his content to reflect our industry. He was professional, polished, and definitely a hit with our 200 municipal utility representatives!
Lauri Isaacson
WPPI Energy
At a time when tech finds itself in a tumultuous period, we were fortunate to have Byron speak to our team about the future of technology. His message was inspiring, hopeful, and optimistic. He delivered his talk with authenticity and passion. Simply put, he nailed it!
Global Head of Industry, Consumer Electronics, Google
Byron's talk was spectacular. He took the time to speak with me in advance about our event and crafted a presentation that perfectly fit our theme. He kept the audience engaged throughout the thought-provoking topics he discussed as well as the visual images he included.
Kevin Houser P.E.
Director, IP Strategy, Johnson & Johnson, Corporate Events
It was a pleasure having Byron Reese on our campus. Not only was his presentation to nearly 400 faculty stimulating and well-received, he also was personable and generous with his time in discussing ideas with faculty before and after the presentation. Byron's visionary approach ad dynamic style provided an instant connection with the audience.
Robert Neely
Professor of Biology, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Texas Woman's University
Byron Reese presented to our professional organization of about 200. Prior to the event, Byron conferred with me twice to construct a thorough understanding of the audience and my desires for the presentation. The ultimate delivery was a 45-minute talk that engaged my audience, making complex subjects not only relatable to the crowd but topical to their business environment. Byron delivered what he promised: a customized presentation that provided an insightful and uplifting backdrop to further discussion on technological trends. We look forward to working with Byron again!
Brent Nohogne
CPCU Society
We are so grateful for your time and speech last week. We received our member feedback and it was extremely positive. Thank you for all the effort you put into crafting something that fitted so well with our organization and our theme for the day.
Kelly Brough
President and CEO, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
Byron Reese was a hit at our latest meeting! His insights into how technological advancements could impact our collective future were interesting and thought-provoking to say the very least. Our attendees were discussing his presentation well after the meeting. Byron was excellent to work with leading up to the event. As a program planner, I appreciated the opportunity to speak with him well in advance of the meeting. He took the time to learn about our organization and customized his content to reflect our industry. He was professional, polished, and definitely a hit with our 200 municipal utility representatives!
Frank Thom
Global Head of Industry, Consumer Electronics, Google
Byron kicked-off our event with a great, future-focused Keynote presentation, giving us his predictions for technology’s influence on small business lending. Attendees enjoyed his well-informed outlook for our industry and continued the conversation for the duration of the conference. Both engaging and informative, I would recommend Byron as a speaker for anyone hosting a similar event.
Curtis C.
Host of the Small Business Lending Forum; VP Marketing, Orion First
Byron was awesome! His session has gotten very positive feedback on our post-meeting survey, and it’s been fun to hear references to his presentation come up in meetings over the past week. And as a communicator I’m still in awe of his deck. So awesome!
Sarah. S.
JP Morgan
Infinite Progress is a prophetic book that deserves to be widely read. Drawing on Byron Reese's insights about both technology and history, its energetic optimism about the future is a wonderful inspiration.
Stephen Wolfram
Founder & CEO, Wolfram Research
As the closing speaker at the Wolfram Data Summit, Byron Reese was not something the conference expected. Byron took the audience for a ride into his future. As an astrophysicist and a data scientist I often think about the future, but I was struck about Byron’s precise dissection of how our future is and will be determined by the data that is already starting to shape our lives: our self-generated data. Byron’s vibrant and precise delivery painted in everyone’s mind a picture of the positive future we all thought was likely but perhaps unreachable. Byron dared everyone, including himself, to make this future possible, and led us on a journey of discovery we never wanted to end.
Dr. Alberto Conti
Archive Scientist, STSI
Byron presents his vision of the future: humanity advancing subconsciously via our seamless integration with technology. Every heartbeat becomes a data point bringing us one step closer to unlocking the mysteries of humankind. Every person’s life contributes to the greater good, simply through the act of living. I found his talk to be highly enthusiastic, visually engaging, and hopeful.
Allison Kawa
Founder, Social Sonar
Thanks for you and your team’s effort in making our August Chapter Meeting a big success. Byron Reese provided a fast-paced innovative approach to how quickly changes are happening and strategies to help us understand and navigate our way through the maze. He was interesting and engaging, and the attendees commented on the fact that he provided a fresh perspective to change. He was also very optimistic on the future.
Renee M.
President, PCMA Gulf States Chapter, VP Strategic Alliances, Dallas CVB
Byron delivered a fabulous keynote presentation at our signature annual event. His speech was thought-provoking, engaging, and uplifting. I heard many, many compliments from guests.
Laura S. Eppler
Director of Marketing, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania
All the feedback I’ve had on Byron was that he was great! We haven’t tallied all the evals yet, but I thought he did a very good job. People particularly like his optimism, which isn’t something we see that much from tech gurus. He was also a pleasure to work with.
Staffing Industry Analysts
Thank you so much for making all this happen - this group was in awe. I’ve never seen a more diverse crowd so engaged - and they are obsessed (they’ll be talking about this for a long time). It was such a relevant topic and he is so kind.
Alex H.
Senior Executive Assistant, Talroo
Byron’s presentation went extremely well! We have very basic paper surveys that we give out onsite, followed by a more in-depth survey following a week after. From the paper surveys that were filled out Byron received very high marks – 3 out of 4 or 4 out of 4 was what I saw with a few write in comments being: 'Fascinating last speaker.' 'Thanks for the great thought-provoking technology-based content.' 'Final speaker was thought provoking and very very interesting!' 'So I don’t think we could have asked for anything better!!'
Jill Newman
Education & Events Coordinator, Industrial Fabrics Association International

Books

We Are Agora: How Humanity Functions as a Single Superorganism That Shapes Our World and Our Future
Discover a groundbreaking new way of thinking about life, society, and the future of our species that bridges science and human h…
Interested in learning more or planning ahead?
Easily check the speaker's latest availability or add this profile to your shortlist for consideration.
Check Availability
Stories, Dice, and Rocks That Think: How Humans Learned to See the Future--and Shape It
Look around. Clearly, we humans are radically different from the other creatures on this planet. But why? Where are the Bronze Ag…
Wasted: How We Squander Time, Money, and Natural Resources-And What We Can Do about It
Wasted is a riveting exploration of the complicated, and often surprising, ways that waste occurs in our businesses, our communit…
The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity
In The Fourth Age, Byron Reese makes the case that technology has reshaped humanity just three times in history: - 100,000 yea…
Infinite Progress: How the Internet and Technology Will End Ignorance, Disease, Poverty, Hunger, and War
For years we’ve been inundated with bleak forecasts about the future. But in this electrifying new book, author Byron Reese deb…

Fees

EUR GBP USD
Home Country €12000 to €40000 £10,001 - £35,000 $15000 - $50000
Asia Pacific €12000 to €40000 £10,001 - £35,000 $15000 - $50000
Europe €12000 to €40000 £10,001 - £35,000 $15000 - $50000
Middle East & Africa €12000 to €40000 £10,001 - £35,000 $15000 - $50000
South America €12000 to €40000 £10,001 - £35,000 $15000 - $50000
United Kingdom €12000 to €40000 £10,001 - £35,000 $15000 - $50000
US East Coast €12000 to €40000 £10,001 - £35,000 $15000 - $50000
US West Coast €12000 to €40000 £10,001 - £35,000 $15000 - $50000
Virtual €12000 to €40000 £10,001 - £35,000 $15000 - $50000