Join the AI R/Evolution to Out-Think, Out-Pace, and Outperform

If you follow my work, you may have noticed that my blogging frequency has reduced lately. I must apologize for this, but I have my reasons. Not only have I been busy traveling to meet customers, I’ve also been working diligently to prepare for Outperform 2025, which is just two weeks away (May 12–14)!

In past years, I’ve always been overcommitted at Outperform—sometimes taking on 3 or even 4 sessions, including some full-day workshops lasting 8 hours! I finally learned the lesson the hard way, so this year I’ll try not to stretch myself too thin. So, how will I be contributing to this year’s Outperform?

You will find me at the following sessions at Outperform 2025.

  • Executive Advisory Boards (EAB)
  • Pre-Conference Workshop
  • Keynote Talk

Since the EAB sessions are invite-only for senior executives, I won’t disclose too much of the content that I plan to share there. But both the pre-conference workshop and the keynote are open to all conference attendees (you are, however, required to register for the workshop, as space is limited). So let me tell you about them, and why I want to discuss these topics with you.

Pre-Conference Workshop

PROS Outperform 2025 Pre-Conference Workshop
Outperform 2025 Pre-Conference Workshop

Let’s start with the workshop.

I spend a significant part of my time talking to companies about how they are adopting AI. It’s no surprise that every company is doing something with AI these days. But through these conversations, I’ve noticed an interesting (and somewhat surprising) pattern.

Many companies are very eager to incorporate AI features into their products and offerings. This is totally understandable, because they can easily see that everyone else is doing it, including their competitors. This creates a strong push for AI-enhanced features to ensure their products stay competitive in an AI hyped market.

However, when it comes to internal operations, things are very different. Because these processes are largely hidden from public view, there’s no easy way to compare across companies. As a result, far fewer companies are using AI internally to make their day-to-day operations more efficient. And that’s a big problem.

The reason is simple. In the long run, operational efficiency is critical to the survival and success of any company. That’s why I feel strongly about helping companies understand how to leverage AI (especially GenAI) internally. Hence, I’ve created the following workshop, and I hope you’ll join me for this important conversation on May 12th!

Title: AI R/Evolution from the Inside: AI isn’t a Feature, it’s a Corporate Competency
Abstract:
The recent wave of AI technologies (particularly GenAI, like ChatGPT) have swept the world so swiftly that there is no time for best practices to establish. So everyone is in the early stages of experimentation, hacking away with their unique use cases. While case studies can showcase the art of the possible, they lack insights for enterprise-level implementation. Therefore, innovative leaders must grasp the inner workings of AI and GenAI to outpace competitors and seize the enormous first-mover advantages.
This session will provide you with a deep understanding of GenAI, how it differs from the traditional analytic AI, and their respective strengths and weaknesses. It will empower you to explore the potential of this technology safely and productively inside an enterprise. While we will examine several categories of internal GenAI use cases, they will elucidate the guiding principles that are crucial for success. This session will equip you with the knowledge to shape future of work and best practices for using the full spectrum of AI technologies in enterprises.

Keynote

2023 Outperform with PROS Keynote: Beyond ChatGPT: Inside the Minds of Generative AI
2023 Outperform with PROS Keynote: Beyond ChatGPT: Inside the Minds of Generative AI

Now let’s talk about the keynote.

So much has happened since I spoke about GenAI at Outperform 2023! Back then, we learned that large language models (LLMs) are inherently hallucinatory. Even with grounding techniques like retrieval augmented generation (RAG), the hallucination rate often remains too high for most fact-based applications. If you remember one thing from my 2023 keynote, it should be that plain LLMs by themselves are not intelligent at all. They must be augmented with other technologies (e.g. search engines, or the suite of PROS AI tools) to become useful in most business use cases.

So, how do we evolve from these “dumb” LLMs to intelligent agents that you will see throughout the conference? And beyond that, how do we move from smart agents to artificial general intelligence (AGI)? What about artificial super-intelligence (ASI)?

If you’re curious about any of these questions, I invite you to join my keynote session at Outperform on May 14th. I’ll take you on a journey from LLMs to agents, to AGI, and ultimately to ASI. Together, we’ll explore and demystify the inner workings of today’s most powerful “thinking” machines.

In addition, here are a few more intriguing questions we’ll answer along the way — just to whet your appetite.

  • What’s the most important breakthrough in recent decades that enabled AI to “think” and solve problems?
  • What is the meaning and implication of having an AGI?
  • Why are intelligent agents such a big deal, and how do they bring us a step closer to AGI?

Now, are you excited? scared? lost? hopeful? or all of the above? Let me tell you that you are not alone! But we will get through this journey together.

Title: Beyond Agents: The Path to AGI and ASI
Abstract:
Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are able to generate answers to known problems by predicting the next word, but they lack abilities to solve new problems. Although they can describe how to perform any known task, they can’t execute them. This session will show you the ingredients and how to transform dumb LLMs into smart agents capable of autonomously achieving your goals. Although intelligent agents capable of deep reasoning are crucial for problem-solving, they are only the first step towards artificial general intelligence (AGI). We’ll explore the blueprint to AGI and examine a new scaling law that drives exponential knowledge generation. As we race towards AGI, we must also understand the ethics of knowledge distillation so that we achieve AGI responsibly. Post AGI, artificial superintelligence (ASI) will ensue rapidly due to the better scaling properties of silicon-based hardware. This talk will take you on a fascinating journey from LLMs to ASI. Understanding this trajectory is vital as we stand on the brink of intelligence beyond our own.

My Pet Peeve

My Sincere Apology

Lastly, I have to talk about my nemesis at Outperform — the clicker!

If you attended Outperform last year, or the year before, you might remember my frustration with the clicker malfunction that disrupted the flow of my keynote. This year, we’ve worked closely with our production team to make sure that doesn’t happen again for the third year in a row. We now have backup plans and precautionary measures in place to ensure a smooth, seamless delivery.

Conclusion

Outperform 2025 is going to be an incredibly exciting event. For the first time in human history, we can finally grasp the inner workings of truly intelligent machines and get a glimpse of AGI. Not only will you see how we’re integrating agentic workflows into our product suite, you’ll also get a front-row seat to witness the most important AI innovations shaping the future of humanity. It’s a little scary, but also incredibly thrilling at the same time. I hope to see you there, so we can embark on this extraordinary journey together.