Session Description

AI in Ag Finance: Hype Vs. Reality

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Join Christopher Kirchhoff, Head of Applied AI Strategy at Scale AI, founder of the Pentagon’s Silicon Valley office, and author of Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley are Transforming the Future of War, for an overview of the state of AI and the industries it is revolutionizing. Drawing especially from examples of AI and commercial technology on the battlefield in Ukraine, Dr. Kirchhoff will share how trends in commercial technology set in motion decades ago have culminated in the AI boom we see today. He will also discuss how even technology-forward institutions like the U.S. Department of Defense have been caught off guard and how they have created purpose-built innovation cells to pilot emerging technology and keep the Pentagon apace with developments at the frontier of AI.

Learner Outcomes:

  1. Where AI is now, where it is going next.
  2. How AI has disrupted even technology-forward institutions like the U.S. military.
  3. Organizational practices that help speed the adoption of innovation.
  4. The crucial role of leadership in adopting emerging technology.