AI Rising 2026:
AI Gets Real
Our flagship event returns with a clear focus: AI gets real. Over two days, the AI Rising Conference brings together leaders who are moving beyond AI hype and putting it to work inside their organizations. Expect practical sessions, honest lessons, and conversations that help you turn AI ideas into real business outcomes.
Conference highlights
Don’t miss our flagship event of the year. The AI Rising Conference returns for a two-day event focused on how organizations are actually using AI to drive results.
Hear from practitioners, business leaders, and technologists who are implementing AI today. Walk away with practical insights, real examples, and connections that help you move from AI hype to real impact.
Day 1: Hands-on workshops to build your skills
Day 2: Conference & keynote sessions from experts putting AI to work
*Speaker Applications closing soon*
Full Agenda to be announced this summer
AI Rising. For Keeps.
The Next Five Years Belong to Operational AI
For three years, AI's story has been told through large models and tools, as well as pilots. The next five years will be told in systematic deployment; agents that finish real work, decisions that get made faster and sharper, and industries whose economics get reorganized around AI that actually delivers.
This keynote positions operational impact as the defining advantage of the era, and durable value as captured not by AI use, but by the companies that can make AI reliable, accountable, and indispensable in the environments where real work gets done.
Expect a candid look at the shift from copilots to coworkers, what separates organizations that ship from those that pilot forever, and what stays distinctly human as intelligence becomes abundant.
Welcome back keynote speaker Ryan Frederick
One of last year’s most talked-about speakers returns to AI Rising. Ryan Frederick is an AI advisor, investor, and national keynote speaker specializing in distinguishing credible AI from mere hype. He has addressed hundreds of audiences nationwide, guiding leaders from impressive demonstrations to enduring systems. As Principal at Transform Labs, Ryan partners with executives to convert AI’s potential into operational advantage. The frameworks, decisions, and strategies that turn AI vision into a competitive edge.
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Bring your project or product to the AI Rising Showcase.
We’re curating interactive demos people can try, question, and learn from in real time. If it’s engaging and built for real use, we want to feature it.
Location
AI Rising will take place at The Ohio Union on the Ohio State main campus in Columbus. With state-of-the-art facilities and plenty of space to connect, it’s the perfect setting for high-impact discussions and networking. Join us where AI meets business.
Map to 1739 N High St, Columbus, OH 43210
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