NEW YORK—As artificial intelligence and its pervasive impact on modern life continues to make headlines, the 2024 Vision Monday Leadership Summit will bring AI’s influence on optical business and vision care into focus. The 17th annual VM Summit will take place in New York on March 13, just ahead of Vision Expo. In line with this year’s Summit theme, "What's Your AI Acuity? Sharpening a Vision for the Future," influential thought leaders, business experts and vision care professionals will explore the critical decisions that leaders need to wrestle with to develop a clear-eyed view of the risks and rewards of AI implementation.

They will consider the practical dimensions of how these powerful new technologies can supercharge elements of business and the profession, even as they navigate its complexities.

“We’ve assembled a stellar lineup of speakers who will illuminate the ways in which artificial intelligence is adding new dimensions to optical business and health care,” said Marge Axelrad, editorial director emeritus of Vision Monday and VMAIL. “Summit attendees will learn from experts how AI is being applied in areas as diverse as retailing, fashion design, branding and workforce management, as well as in clinical settings.”

Registration for the VM Summit is now open, and details are posted at www.visionmonday.com/summit.

The dynamic VM Summit program will give attendees a framework for strategizing AI solutions, the opportunity to learn which big ideas and trends are heading their way, and for senior decision makers, company leaders and eyecare professionals, the optical industry's most unique networking experience. It will kick off with a presentation by Samantha Jordan, a leading futurist who will provide informed insights and data about the advent of generative AI technology to business leaders.

Jordan is a consultant to the Future Today Institute (FTI), a leading foresight and strategy firm founded by world-renowned futurist Amy Webb. Jordan, who will open the 2024 VM Leadership Summit, will bring a unique take on how technology is unfolding to create new opportunities and approaches for business leaders. In her role, she helps organizations dissect the complexities of upcoming opportunities, while also factoring in the inherent risks.

Her analysis of the data and trends in the ever-changing tech landscape helps organizations get unstuck and ready to develop and implement their own customized, future-focused strategies for evolving their businesses.

Deborah Weinswig, one of the world's leading retail observers and analysts, will then share her views about the fast-moving adoption of AI technology in the retail space. Weinswig is the founder and CEO of Coresight Research. She returns to the VM Leadership Summit this year to share how AI is super-charging the customer experience and also how retailers in the U.S. and around the world are tackling generative AI investments to help supply chain, marketing and merchandising approaches.

Two noted medical experts will share their perspectives on how AI is impacting health care. John Whyte, MD, MPH, WebMD's chief medical officer and one of the most influential voices in the health sector, and Bill Fera, MD, a principal at the global consultancy Deloitte, will discuss how patients are learning to trust chatbots, how doctors are integrating generative AI into their practices, the need for transparency and other practical aspects of AI implementation.

(Top row, L-R) Liza Amlani; Bill Fera, MD; Samantha Jordan; Paul Karpecki, OD, FAAO; and Pearse Keane, MD. (Bottom row, L-R) Alex Martin, OD; Jim Rowan; James Tsai, MD; Deborah Weinswig; and John Whyte, MD, MPH.

Another Summit session, moderated by Paul Karpecki, OD, FAAO, will examine how AI can offer providers new tools for disease detection and diagnosis, and play a pivotal role in how data will be able to track both outcomes and efficiencies. Dr. Karpecki currently serves as director of cornea and external disease for the Kentucky Eye Institute in Lexington Ky., running the largest, advanced, referral only, ocular surface disease clinic in the U.S. He is also the chief medical editor for Review of Optometry.

Participating in the session will be Pearse Keane, MD, who will brief Summit attendees by video about the pioneering research program at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London that is investigating how AI can help meet a growing clinical need to better analyze eye scans to detect early signs of retinal disease. James Tsai, MD, will describe the work being done at the newly established Center for Ophthalmic Artificial Intelligence and Human Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the first of its kind in New York and one of the first in the U.S. The center is dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence in the field of ophthalmology.

Alex Martin, OD, will also join the conversation. Dr. Martin, who is medical director for Boston Vision in Lawrence, Mass., was a Student Innovator Scholarship winner at the 2017 Vision Monday Leadership Summit.

The human resources impact of AI is already creating new challenges for business and eyecare leaders. Sharing views about how leaders can build the best AI teams, will be Jim Rowan, a principal and leader of Deloitte's strategy and analytics practice and Deloitte AI Institute.

A new element just added to the Summit program is a series of short videos by digital artist, CoffeeVectors. The videos, which will punctuate the Summit program, are powered by AI and will illustrate AI’s transformative power and potential.

During lunch, a top global influencer will examine AI's role in branding and the consumer experience. Liza Amlani, principal and co-founder of Retail Strategy Group, works with brands and retail clients across several categories to help them improve profitability and organization effectiveness. She will be the VM Summit's special luncheon speaker, sharing examples of how AI is transforming brand experiences for customers.

The 2024 VM Leadership Summit program will open with a networking breakfast from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. and the program and lunch will run from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Registration includes the full program, networking breakfast and lunch. Details for registration are posted at www.visionmonday.com/summit.

Platinum Sponsors of the 2024 VM Leadership Summit include Advancing Eyecare, EssilorLuxottica and VSP Vision. The Gold Sponsors are Alcon and Ocuco.