October 9, 2026, 9 min. read
You have heard it before. Conference sessions that promise technical depth but deliver thinly veiled product pitches. Agendas packed with buzzwords but light on real implementation detail. It is a legitimate concern, and one we take seriously at The AI Summit New York.
That is why every session that makes our agenda goes through a Technical Review Board made up of practitioners who know the difference between a genuine technical case study and a sales deck with slides. This is not a rubber stamp process. It is a real filter, and not every submission makes it through.
The Technical Review Board evaluates every proposed session against specific criteria before it earns a spot on the agenda. This is not about checking a box. It is about making sure you spend your time on content that delivers measurable value.
If you're interested in joining the speaker line-up or want to find out more about what our Technical Review Board does then submit your proposal. Be part of a network of leaders sharing the AI insights that matter.
Is this a unique perspective or a recycled talking point? Sessions need to offer something you cannot find in a standard vendor whitepaper. The Board prioritizes real world tradeoffs, architecture decisions, and lessons learned over theoretical frameworks.
Can you take this back to your team and use it? The best sessions give you a concrete starting point, whether that is a framework, a process, or a specific technical approach you can adapt to your own environment.
This is where many submissions fall short. The Board actively looks for content that admits failure, pivots, and course corrections. A session that only highlights wins is usually a marketing story, not a technical one.
Nikita Rvachev
Lead Software Engineer
Northwestern Mutual
What I look for as a practitioner is whether a submission admits what didn't work, not just what did. The sessions with real technical substance are the ones built around a specific production tradeoff or a debugging story, not a demo. Being on the Board is valuable precisely because it brings that filter in before the agenda is set, rather than after.
The Technical Review Board is made up of practitioners who build, deploy, and maintain AI systems in production environments. These are not analysts or consultants. They are engineers, architects, and technical leaders who evaluate sessions based on the same standards they apply to their own work.
Nikita focuses on production AI systems and the real technical decisions that determine whether a model makes it from prototype to deployment.
His filter is simple: does this session teach me something I can use tomorrow?
Richa Singh is Head of AI & Data at Lexington Partners, leading firmwide AI, data, and digital transformation initiatives. With 17 years in technology and financial services, she previously led the AI Center of Excellence at Goldman Sachs. She is also a Guest Lecturer at Columbia Business School, teaching GenAI in Business.
Dan Vasquez, is a Senior Director, Engineering and AI Enablement at Rocket Mortgage, and brings over 11 years of innovation since joining Quicken Loans in 2013.
He has driven milestones including the Servicing digital overhaul, the company's first mobile apps, and the Super Bowl launch of Rocket Mortgage online. Today he leads Rocket's AI strategy.
Srinivas Donavalli is Executive Director of Enterprise Data and Analytics Platform within GOTO-Core Engineering, Data and AI at UBS.
With over 20 years of experience in AI, data, and cloud transformation, Srinivas is a specialist in architecting enterprise-grade financial services platforms, including multi-tenant AI-driven data and analytics systems, regulatory compliance solutions, and advanced DevOps engineering.
Meet Tolga Tuncoglu, Senior Manager of Machine Learning at Capital One. A leader in scalable, compliant GenAI platforms and enterprise ML pipelines for regulated industries, he drives real cost savings and innovation.
Hear his insights as speaker and Technical Review Board member at The AI Summit New York 2026.
Gilad Lotan, SVP of AI, Data Science and Analytics at BuzzFeed, brings 15+ years of expertise in data-driven media solutions.
He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at NYU, focusing on algorithmic bias, social network analysis, and ethical AI.
Not every submission makes the final agenda. That is the point. If everything passed review, the process would be meaningless.
Common reasons sessions do not make the cut:
When you register for a session at The AI Summit New York, you are not gambling on whether the content will be worth your time. Every session has been vetted by practitioners who apply the same skepticism you would.
The direct benefits
The Technical Review Board is not a marketing claim. It is a working process that shapes the session mix you will experience at The AI Summit New York. Every session on the agenda has been evaluated against the criteria outlined here.
You can see the results for yourself. Browse the full agenda and look for the technical depth, honesty, and practical applicability the Board prioritizes. The sessions are built for practitioners, reviewed by practitioners, and designed to deliver real value from strategy to implementation.