AMD Plans Global Conference

by Anton Shilov
09/20/2005 | 12:39 PM

Advanced Micro Devices Tuesday disclosed plans to organize its Global Vision Conference in which senior business leaders and technology visionaries from around the globe discuss the role technology plays in modern society and how technological trends are likely to evolve over the next decade.

The invitation-only event is scheduled for October 5 - 7, 2005 in Miami Beach, Florida, and will feature addresses and panel discussions by some of the world’s most respected names in business and technology, AMD said. The company also indicated that the primary topic of the conference is not AMD, but its industry partners and their vision of the future. By contrasts, Intel Corp.’s Intel Developer Forum shows concentrate on presenting the company’s longer-term and shorter-term technologies.

The Global Vision Conference will host 200 senior level executives from across multiple industry sectors—end-user, OEM, ISV/IHV and channels. The conference is expected to address both immediate technology trends and their impact on business as well as longer-term technology innovations and their meaning for society.

“Our customers and partners are interested in two things – innovation and societal impact. By gathering this elite audience together, we hope to not only offer insight on new technologies and best practices, but also to provide new ideas for new technologies that can have a positive effect on the world,” said Hector Ruiz, chairman, president and CEO of AMD.

The conference will include the following seven panels that cover different topics:

• The Innovation Panel: the top indications of where currents trends in technology are leading us. Moderated by technology forecaster Paul Saffo;
• Why Your Kids are Smarter Than You: how children use technology in surprising and unpredictable ways. Speaker: Bob Lambert, senior vice president, Worldwide Media Technology and Development, Disney Company.
• Security: Opportunity or Hindrance: how increased government restrictions can enhance or hinder technology development. Moderated by Paul Saffo.
• The New Digital Home: what does the digital home look like today and how will that picture change over the next decade? Moderated by Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst, Enderle Group.
• Technology in Sports: technology as a training and policing tool in the world of sports. Moderated by Chris Fowler, ESPN.
• Tomorrow’s Markets: The Opportunity and the Challenge: a realistic evaluation of markets in developing regions of the world. Moderated by Dr. Allen Hammond of World Resources Institute.
• Tomorrow’s Markets: The Social Impact of Technology: why people in emerging markets want technology, how they are using it to meet their most critical needs, and what this means for the global population and economy. Moderated by Dr. Allen Hammond.

Global Vision Conference sponsors include: EDS/Sun Alliance, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Red Hat and Novell.