Tom Gruber

Creator of Siri, Tom Gruber reveals how Humanistic AI drives innovation, boosts team performance, and empowers ethical tech transformation.

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“Tom is not only one of the early founders cognitive knowledge management, he is a thought leader who totally gets where this space is going. He has proven to be one of my top advisors as Cognizer helps invent the future with Genius. I am able to “pitch and catch” with Tom on nearly a weekly basis, and his value to me and my team has been tremendous.”

Jack Porter

Founder and CEO, Cognizer

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Why book Tom Gruber for your next event

Booking Tom Gruber brings your audience face-to-face with the innovator who revolutionized how humans interact with machines, offering unparalleled insight into designing AI that’s intuitive, scalable, and human-centered.
As a trusted leader at one of the world’s most innovative companies, Tom Gruber understands what it takes to turn advanced AI concepts into transformative, real-world products. He shares strategic lessons your organization can apply immediately.
When Tom speaks, the world listens. His keynote delivers a powerful message on using AI to augment, not replace, humans, giving your audience a framework for innovation rooted in ethics, purpose, and impact.

Non-binding request for Tom Gruber

Designing AI That Empowers People

Tom Gruber, co-creator of Siri and TED speaker on Humanistic AI, is a visionary technologist who helps organizations unlock the full potential of artificial intelligence, ethically and effectively. With over four decades of pioneering work in AI, cognitive science, and design, Tom delivers powerful keynotes that inspire action and equip leaders with frameworks to drive innovation, amplify human performance, and future-proof their business. His insights into AI that augments, rather than replaces, people provide a transformative roadmap for responsible tech integration in a rapidly evolving world.

Keynote Speaker Tom Gruber is best known as the co-creator of Siri, the groundbreaking intelligent assistant acquired by Apple and now used over a billion times per day. With over four decades of innovation in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and human-computer interaction, Tom Gruber is a pioneering voice in the global conversation around responsible technology. As a speaker, advisor, and technologist, he introduces audiences to Humanistic AI, a practical, ethical approach to designing AI that augments human capability rather than replaces it.

When you book Tom Gruber for your event, you gain access to deep insights from someone who has not only shaped the evolution of modern AI but continues to guide the development of technologies that empower people and organizations. His keynotes are highly relevant for companies navigating digital transformation, seeking to innovate responsibly, or aiming to future-proof their operations through human-centered technology.

Whether you're leading in tech, healthcare, education, or enterprise, Tom delivers thought-provoking, actionable content that speaks directly to leaders who must make critical decisions about AI adoption. His talks explore how to unlock superhuman creativity, collaboration, and productivity through ethical AI systems.

Book Tom Gruber for your event to inspire your teams with a powerful vision for the future, where AI serves humanity, drives innovation, and delivers real-world value across industries.

Customer Reviews

Jack Porter Founder and CEO, Cognizer

“Tom’s dedication, passion, and mission to heal our ocean align deeply with everything we’re working towards at the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network. As an advisor and ambassador, Tom has helped us navigate an extremely challenging landscape between our activists and industry members. Tom’s calming presence has helped us build trust between arch enemies. He was in the open ocean for hours 500 miles off the coast of Bermuda in the Atlantic Gyre, not only taking powerful, heart-breaking pictures but also helping the 165 plastics executives we had out there with us feel comfortable in an extreme situation. With his camera and with people, his steady hand helped our participants relax in a scary experience for many (snorkeling in the open issue with 2 miles between there are the bottom. Tom views that collective action is necessary to solve the plastics crisis and that we’re only going to get there with cross-disciplinary leadership.”

Dave Ford Founder and Executive Director, Ocean Plastics Leadership Network

“From our very first conversations more than a decade ago, Tom proved that he is a transformative being. He is rightly famous as a visionary technologist, but this is founded upon his being an artist on many levels. Artists see order and potential in the immutable and chaotic, rendering coherence and beauty from what is around them. That is Tom’s superpower. Simply put, Tom sees connections and potential everywhere. Not for personal gain, but for the sheer joy and art of taking the initial glow of an idea and stoking it into solid existence. We’ve been friends for years and over that time his advice and encouragement personally changed me from being just a musician into a CEO of a music tech company. He can light up a room with optimism for the human race through his visions for the future, but also takes the time to advocate for oceanic conservation whilst being an explorer and world class photographer. I don’t know how he does it all, but I’m so glad he does. LifeScore simply would not exist without Tom.”

Philip Sheppard Co-Founder and CEO Lifescore Music

“Tom’s breadth and depth of experience with humanistic AI and the ethical application of technology to truly benefit consumers pushes TRU LUV’s mission from ambitious to realistic and achievable as we develop new models for human-computer interaction and application development that optimize for impact to wellbeing. With Tom’s guidance we’re providing intelligent user interfaces that organically amplify self-awareness, compassion and community coming-creation, reversing the industry’s over-optimization on engagement and retention that steals our attention and stimulates reactivity. From our interaction model to our AI architecture to our impact optimization process, Tom’s insight into the underlying principles of consumer software creation empower us to implement our vision efficiently.”

Brie Code Founder and CEO, TRULUV

“Tom Gruber is the rare practitioner who can lucidly explain how things work — and what they mean for us. His understanding of the social impacts of digital innovation is built from the ground up and he brings to the stage an unusual insight into A.I. and a strong sense of how designers and engineers can change digital systems to better confront the ethical challenges that this new age poses. A passionate and profound observer of digital life, Tom is in the first rank of public speakers on emerging technologies and how humans can manage them for maximum benefit.”

Mark Zusman Editor and Publisher, Willamette Week, Founder, TechfestNW

“I met Tom Gruber in 2008, long before the current wave of commercial artificial intelligence transformed Silicon Valley. At the time I was struck by the fact that he was both a researcher in the field of AI and someone with a close connection to the work of Doug Engelbart who had coined the term Intelligence Augmentation, or IA. Engelbart’s philosophy was based on extending rather than replacing the human with computer systems. Tom went on to help design Siri, an important example of what he describes as humanistic AI, an effort to deploy AI techniques in the context of shared human values. His perspective is even more vital today when AI technologies are being widely deployed by both corporations and governments.”

John Markoff Pulitzer-prize winning NYTimes writer and author of several books

“Tom is amazing, a once-in-a-lifetime special person I feel lucky to have met. He’s a thought leader, “super” polymath, inventor and entrepreneur, with heart and intellect in equal measure. He is always insightful on how things were, how they are now, and how they could be — and should be. I have interviewed him a number of times and always learn profound things. Tom is an A+ public speaker, simply the best in any situation, from keynotes to fireside chats to one-on-on interactions. I have had him speak on humanistic AI, ethics and technology, the impact of AI on society, and advice to start-ups and investors. He puts everyone at ease, and we all come away learning more.”

John Werner Managing Director, Link Ventures, Human Super Connector

Keynotes

Keynote by Tom Gruber:

AI & Humanity Today: The Promise & Problems of Generative AI

Almost overnight, the world has come to see that the new technology of large language models and generative AI could change the nature of knowledge work. Trained on the cultural legacy of humanity, these systems can now do many tasks involving language, images, and information that are the expertise of educated professionals.

In this overview of modern AI, which is updated with fresh insights every time it is given, Tom explains how these systems are created, what they are great at, what to be careful with, and the exciting applications that they enable.

He brings to bear decades of experience in designing AI systems and advising AI companies. Applications include education, creative services, software engineering, knowledge management, mental health care, and augmented cognition. He offers insights into the potential risks to individuals and society from ungoverned applications, and a positive vision for the future of truly personal AI.

Topics covered:

How to think about AI chatbots and use them in your life
How Siri, Deep Learning, Transformers, and GPU hardware led to the current generation
Application of these models to industries such as software engineering, creative services, education, health care, and mental health care.
The potential risks to individuals and society from ungoverned applications
The future of Personalized AI

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Keynote by Tom Gruber:

AI, Big Data, & Humanity: Risks & Opportunities

Artificial Intelligence, operating on big data, opens a world of possibilities to improve how we work, play, learn, and take care of ourselves. What is the proper role of AI in relation to humanity? How do we build AI-driven systems that deliver outcomes we want while avoiding unintended consequences?

In this thought-provoking talk, Tom lays out a clear ethical choice. The key lies in aligning the objective of the machine with human values: engineering the AI systems to augment and collaborate with us for the betterment of humanity.

Drawing from his direct experience building planetary-scale AI and advising a new generation of Humanistic AI companies, Tom offers insights to entrepreneurs, investors, and policy makers navigating the high-stakes decisions of AI today.

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Keynote by Tom Gruber:

How to Build the Future: Practical Principles for Startup Founders

In 2010 Siri was purchased by Apple and remains central to the user experience of all Apple products. Today, Siri is used more than a billion times every day. But in late 2007 when Tom and his co-founders launched their fledgling startup, none of this was guaranteed. Why did top VC firms first invest in the company, even as the sky was falling in financial markets?

Tom outlines four key factors that led to Siri’s success — factors that are essential to any successful startup. He shares insider details of Siri’s trajectory, while providing real-world examples from other companies, showing how attendees can put these principles into practice with their own ventures.

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Keynote by Tom Gruber:

Colorful Lives: Photographic Stories from the Ocean

Experience the colorful lives of underwater animals through the lens of art photography. Learn about the surprising sex lives of famous animated fish, the bizarre mating habits of punk-rock nudibranchs, and the majestic grace of the largest fish in the ocean. See the adorable playfulness of sea lions up close, and then consider the message they have for us about our relationship to the ocean.

Tom is in love with life in the ocean, and is privileged to travel around the world to dive in places where marine life still thrives. With his underwater photography and video, he hopes to bring back and share what he sees to create empathy and connection with the ocean.

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