Tom Gruber

TEDtalk speaker, board member of the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies and authority on Artificial Intelligence, Tom Gruber engages audiences with his unrivalled knowledge of computing. The entrepreneur co-founded such successful companies as Siri Inc, which was later acquired by Apple and shot to fame as a key component of the iPhone. When booked for events, he imparts with audiences the wisdom gained over his highly influential career, leaving a lasting impression. For corporate audiences, his knowledge of the digital landscape can revolutionise their potential. Insightful, knowledgeable and passionate, Tom is an expert of his field.

Tom has worked on several media projects, including How Things Work. Believing in the power of education, he later presented a business plan for corporate training, which has become a driving force behind his public speeches. As the Chief Technology Officer of Intraspect Software, Tom helped corporations to collaborate on a larger scale, contributing to the collective body of knowledge. Having sparked his interest for AI in the 1990s, he created hypermail in 1994 and Siri in 2007. After three years of perfecting the software, it was acquired by Apple in 2010 and integrated into their iOS and macOS. Thanks to Tom's extensive career, he has published several books, including The Acquisition of Strategic Knowledge in 1989 and respected journal entries.

After studying Psychology and Computer Science at University, Tom revolutionised the education system. He designed a computer-assisted instruction system, which is now used in the Psychology department. Progressing to a Master's level, he created an intelligent communication prosthesis assistant, which allowed disabled people to communicate in their natural language fluidly, followed by a PhD critical research project on AI and computer assistants. Starting in the late 1980s, Tom was a Research Associate at the Knowledge Systems Laboratory of the Computer Science Department at Stanford University, before becoming a Senior Project Leader in 1994.

Tom's TEDtalk has been viewed over two million times, a testament to his unrivalled influence. Titled How Can AI Enhance Our Memory, Work and Social Lives, it described Tom's goals to create "humanistic AI", which will become a key part of our day to day lives. For Tom, AI will help us to become superhumans, capable of high standard perception, creativity and cognitive function. In the industry of design, advanced computing will enable heightened skills. In his TEDtalk, Tom described how "we are in the middle of a renaissance in AI, every time a machine gets smarter, we get smarter". When booked for events, Tom recreates the magic of his TEDtalk, sparking the same childlike wonder in your audience.