An expert overview of post-training techniques for language models, covering the entire workflow from data generation and curation to advanced algorithms like Supervised Fine-Tuning (SFT), Direct Preference Optimization (DPO), and Reinforcement Learning (RL), along with practical advice on evaluation and iteration.
This talk introduces Anaximander, a system designed to bridge the gap between traditional, GUI-driven Geographic Information System (GIS) workflows and modern, code-heavy machine learning practices. Anaximander integrates geospatial foundation models directly into QGIS, allowing experts to interactively orchestrate, run, and evaluate models for tasks like semantic segmentation and object detection on satellite imagery.
At Applied Compute, efficient Reinforcement Learning is critical for delivering business value. This talk explores the transition from inefficient synchronous RL to a high-throughput asynchronous 'Pipeline RL' system. The core challenge is managing 'staleness'—a side effect of in-flight weight updates that can destabilize training. The speakers detail their first-principles systems model, based on the Roofline model, used to simulate and find the optimal allocation of GPU resources between sampling and training, balancing throughput with algorithmic stability and achieving significant speedups.
Emil Michael, the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, details the radical technological transformation of the US military. He discusses the architecture and rapid launch of GenAI.mil, an internal AI platform powered by Gemini that reached over one million users in 30 days. He also outlines critical technology priorities, including scaled hypersonics and autonomous drone swarms, and the urgent need to rebuild the American defense industrial base for a new era of global competition.
Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini of Ricursive Intelligence discuss how their work on Google's AlphaChip, which used AI to design TPUs, is now being extended to automate the entire chip design process. They explain their vision for a 'designless' industry and a recursive self-improvement loop where AI designs better chips, which in turn accelerates AI development.
This session from Okta and Auth0 introduces a comprehensive framework for securing AI agents, covering identity establishment, delegated API access via Token Vault, user consent for risky operations using Asynchronous Authorization (CIBA), and integration with MCP servers.
Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks, shares his unconventional journey and leadership philosophy. He provides a masterclass in building a multi-platform company through strategic M&A, explains why founders should sometimes ignore customers, and reveals how to lead with conviction while managing imposter syndrome.
Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Slack and Flickr, shares the product frameworks and leadership principles that guided his success. He delves into concepts like "utility curves" for feature investment, the "owner's delusion" in product design, and why focusing on "comprehension" is often more important than reducing friction. He also introduces powerful mental models for organizational effectiveness, such as combating "hyper-realistic work-like activities" and applying Parkinson's Law to team growth.
Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi discusses the operational playbook for reinventing a 40-year-old company, from its slow transition to SaaS to its early adoption of AI. He shares insights on winning the SMB market by treating small businesses like consumers, building effective channel partnerships, and developing a platform strategy. Goodarzi also details his leadership philosophy, emphasizing that grit and curiosity are more critical than raw talent.
Edwin Chen, founder and CEO of Surge AI, shares the company's origin story, its rapid, bootstrapped growth, and its research-driven philosophy on data. He critiques traditional data labeling, explains why metrics like inter-annotator agreement fail for complex tasks, and offers a sharp analysis of benchmark hacking. Chen also details the future of data, from multimodal and agentic reasoning in rich RL environments to the need for hyper-specialized expertise for scientific discovery.
Box CEO Aaron Levie discusses the paradigm shift from cloud to AI, arguing that AI will augment jobs by automating non-strategic work and create massive opportunities for startups to tackle previously unsolvable problems with unstructured data. He covers the evolution of SaaS business models, the 'build vs. buy' debate, and offers key advice for founders in the AI era.
Graph analytics expert Amy Hodler explores the power of graph data structures, covering fundamental concepts, graph algorithms like PageRank, and their application in fraud detection and supply chain optimization. She delves into the emergence of Graph RAG for enhancing AI systems and discusses the future of graphs as memory for AI agents and in causal inference.
OpenAI's Greg Brockman and Thibault Sottiaux explore the evolution of AI-powered software development, from the first coding sparks in GPT-3 to today's GPT-5 Codex. They detail the concept of the "harness," the rise of agentic coding, breakthroughs in automated code review, and how AI agents capable of running for hours on complex refactoring will reshape the future of engineering.
Co-founder Sam Ross discusses Numeral's journey from a personal e-commerce pain point to a venture-backed global tax platform. He covers the market opportunity created by outdated incumbents, the 'do things that don't scale' approach to finding product-market fit, lessons from fundraising, and how Numeral leverages AI to automate complex compliance workflows, shifting from a tool to a full-service solution.
MeshAgent introduces a multiplayer AI paradigm, shifting from single-user systems to collaborative 'Rooms' where teams of humans and agents can work together with shared context. This talk explores the platform's architecture, developer tools, and its approach to solving real-world collaborative tasks.
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