Making Sense of AI

Peter has been speaking about AI since 2012 and given keynotes to audiences from Britain to Bali. Online, during the pandemic, he spoke to hundreds of thousands of people via venues such as British Telecom’s AI Festival and Intel’s AI Global Impact Festival. He has delivered three TEDx talks since 2018, including an audience of 1,000 people at western Canada’s largest TEDx venue. His 2023 TEDx talk explores the cutting edge area of AI and human feelings. He has spoken to such a diverse set of audiences from entrepreneurs to children, and from auditors to transformational leaders, that he was invited to testify to Britain’s All-Party Parliamentary Group in the House of Lords on how to address lay people about AI. Whatever the audience, he can connect them to their present and future with AI in a presentation that will evoke wonder and movement. For more information on this offering click here.

Peter has written two books on our future with artificial intelligence: 2017’s “Crisis of Control: How Artificial Superintelligences May Destroy or Save the Human Race, and 2022’s “Artificial Intelligence and You: What AI Means for Your Life, Your Work, and Your World.” For more information, and to order, click here. Peter is also the lead author of a peer-reviewed paper on AI Safety.

Peter has been certified as a coach (through the International Coaching Federation) for over a decade, helping individuals realize their potential. As a founder of the Next Wave Institute, he helps businesses prepare their people to face and leverage the exponential disruption from AI. He was personally trained in NeuroLinguistic Programming by John Grinder.

Peter teaches Continuing Studies courses on the impact of AI. These have been presented at the University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, and Royal Roads University. Contact us for details of which courses are currently open for enrollment, or to enquire about Peter teaching online at your institution. Courses range in length from 8 to 12 hours.

Peter grew up in Britain, gaining a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Cambridge University and then moved to California to work for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, first in spacecraft navigation and then enterprise computing architecture. He has blended “rocket scientist” with “soft” fields like coaching and human development. He holds a Distinguished Toastmaster designation and lives on Vancouver Island, Canada, with his wife and two daughters. Ensuring that they grow up in a world whose AI is safe was the original motivation for him to start his speaking career.

Peter hosts the weekly podcast, “AI and You”, interviewing internationally renowned authorities on all aspects of AI and its impact, from self-driving cars to anthropology and from ChatGPT to science fiction. Past guests include Stuart Russell, Anil Seth, and David Brin.