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Resources  /  Blog  /  AI Expert Noelle Russell Highlights Industry Transformation at MEMA Luncheon
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AI Expert Noelle Russell Highlights Industry Transformation at MEMA Luncheon

December 16, 2024
Arkestro was recently a proud sponsor of the MEMA OE Women In Industry Luncheon, where AI expert Noelle Russell, delivered an insightful keynote address on artificial intelligence’s transformative impact across industries. Introduced to the podium by Arkestro SVP of Sales, Noelle Russell, Russell’s presentation centered around the Gartner® Hype Cycle™, an annual report tracking technology evolution from innovation to mainstream adoption.
mema luncheon 1

Augmenting Humans with AI

Russell revealed a surprising trend among Fortune 100 companies: Their AI adoption is primarily driven by workforce shortages rather than cost-cutting initiatives. “This isn’t about replacing humans, but augmenting them,” she explained, suggesting this transformation could potentially lead to improved work-life balance, including four-day workweeks. Companies are facing pressure to increase efficiency with fewer resources while maintaining growth.

The discussion highlighted AI’s potential to address global challenges while reshaping workplace dynamics. Russell emphasized the importance of early engagement in shaping this technological future.

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Women in the Automotive Industry

Russell expressed particular enthusiasm about seeing more women in attendance, noting the growing presence of female leadership in the technology sector. “Having a voice at the table is important,” Russell stated, acknowledging the historical challenges women have faced in achieving leadership positions. She encouraged the continued pursuit of executive roles and emphasized the importance of mentoring the next generation of female leaders.

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Addressing Concerns About AI

During the Q&A session, attendees raised concerns about AI replacing jobs. Russell provided a reassuring perspective: “AI will not replace you, but it will make the worker who is familiar with it as a tool more efficient and thus a better worker.” She advised participants to embrace AI tools, such as Arkestro, that enhance workplace efficiency and productivity.

The luncheon demonstrated the automotive industry’s growing focus on both technological advancement and diversity in leadership, highlighting how women are actively shaping the future of AI implementation in business.

See who attended the MEMA Annual Auto Conference and learn more about where Arkestro will be heading next!

About Noelle

About Noelle

Noelle Russell is a multi-award-winning technologist with an entrepreneurial spirit who specializes in helping companies with Cloud, Data and AI transformation. She has led teams at NPR, Microsoft, IBM, Accenture, AWS and Amazon Alexa, and is a consistent champion for Data and AI literacy.

She has built over 100 conversational AI applications since 2014 and has over 2 million unique users, and 30K 4-5 star reviews on Amazon Alexa. She also influenced almost a $1 billion in revenue for Microsoft AI during her tenure there speaking to Fortune 500 executives, running whiteboarding technical sessions, and leading internal hackathons for her clients.

In the last year, she was awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for Responsible Artificial Intelligence (for the 4th year) as well as being listed at one of the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders in Generative AI.