Sahar Yousef and Lucas Miller

AI is the greatest thinking shortcut ever invented, and like every shortcut, it comes with hidden costs. In this interactive keynote, UC Berkeley cognitive scientist and faculty Lucas Miller will show leaders how to extend their minds with AI, using the technology to reclaim time and energy for higher-value, more enjoyable work. Drawing on behavioral science and industry usage patterns, Lucas will explain why most leaders stall out at shallow, occasional AI use and never see ROI, and what separates them the augmented executives pulling ahead. He will also demo AI as a genuine thought partner for high-stakes decisions and outline a playbook for using AI while maintain critical thinking and cognitive resilience.

Key Learnings

• The fundamental limitations of the human brain and understanding the tradeoffs of technological revolutions
• The four most common thinking traps related to AI use, why humans make these mistakes, and what research-backed strategies to use instead
• The Augmented Executive setup and turning AI from a smart chatbot into a context-aware extension of your mind: Role Context Documents (RCDs), skills, projects, and connectors
• Live demos of AI as a thought partner for high-stakes strategic work, including Socratic prompting, TRV cycles, and red-teaming
• How to build your first personal agent, an AI chief of staff
• AI drivers vs AI passengers and the habits that determine whether AI compounds your judgment or slowly erodes it

Two months of trial and error with using AI collapsed into one practical training session. Includes LIVE prompts generated by the audience. Whether you are brand new to generative AI tools or a power user already, you will walk away with immediately actionable strategies that can save you at least 5 hours/week in your role.

Key Learnings:

• A simple, human-centric explanation of AI, emphasizing generative AI and tools like ChatGPT
• How AI currently performs compared to humans and recent findings on how AI can quickly boost productivity and creative insights by 30%+
• The three fundamental limitations of the human brain, and how AI can fill in for our weaknesses
• Live, practical demos of how to use AI in everyday work scenarios and the primary use cases where AI can help you save time, generate ideas, and make better decisions
• How to use “custom instructions” to automatically increase the quality of all AI outputs and how to talk to AI effectively to minimize frustrating back-and-forths

Key Learnings:

• Leading research on the three biggest mistakes of productivity and performance and the scientific reasons WHY people commonly make these mistakes
• Unnecessary daily drains on our cognitive capacity and how to optimize your digital hygiene
• How to prioritize your most important and valuable tasks, even in the face of urgent demands, by using “Daily MIT Setting”
• Training on Focus Sprints®, a research-backed way of working that helps individuals get more done, in less time, with less energy expended

Key Learnings:

• How to reliably regulate yourself into an ideal brain-state to communicate effectively and maximize executive presence
• The neurobiological basis of trust and human connection and how to maximize psychological safety
• The factors that influence how, why, and when people say “yes”
• The science of verbal and non-verbal communication: new research on mirroring, gestures, eye contact, virtual backgrounds, humor, and what changes when influencing remotely vs. in-person
• Counterintuitive tactics from former intelligence and hostage negotiators

Key Learnings:

• New research on the four primary causes of “video fatigue” and their simple fixes
• Discover your biological chronotype and how to optimally schedule your day for peak productivity and creativity
• The most effective “brain breaks” according to science and strategies for avoiding the afternoon dip
• How you can use light, temperature, or short breathing exercises to quickly increase your energy levels
• Caffeine myths and practical strategies to optimize caffeine’s effects