AI Impact Summit 2025: Attendees Reflect On Three-Day Tech Event in Sonoma
After three days of cross-industry conversations and many glasses of California wine, attendees of Newsweek's inaugural AI Impact Summit reflected on their biggest takeaways from the event in Sonoma.
Many admired the accessibility of the tech event, which featured leaders from health care, government, finance and retail.
"Unlike a lot of the conferences I've been to in the past, there were a lot of concepts that were much easier to grasp," Lijay Shih, the vice president of technology at Wells Fargo, told Newsweek on Wednesday. "It's interesting to see how people can take this type of technology and apply them to so many different fields and sectors."
Shih pointed over to Dr. Wei-Cheng Chen, the chief secretary of the China Medical University Hospital, as an example.
"It's quite meaningful to be here in a beautiful place with good weather and good wine," Chen said while grabbing coffee with Shih post-summit. "I was able to make more global connections."
Sonoma, CA - AI Impact Summit attendees converse over breakfast at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa on Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Sonoma, CA - AI Impact Summit attendees converse over breakfast at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa on Wednesday, June 25, 2025
NICK OTTO
Chen, who traveled to Sonoma from Taiwan, said the greatest lesson he learned over the last three days was that "the human is most important."
"You can use AI, but why are we doing that? What is our purpose? What is the value of the human?" he remarked. "We will rethink the position of the human."
Before the final panels of the summit began, attendees gathered for one last breakfast on the lawn, where they were offered breakfast burritos, overnight oats and freshly squeezed juices from local farms.
"It's a lovely venue," Ben Lock, the director of production strategy at Asteria, told Newsweek over muffins. "It creates a nice atmosphere for people to socialize, to network and to learn a bit more about each other."
Sonoma, CA - AI Impact Summit attendees converse over breakfast at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa on Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Sonoma, CA - AI Impact Summit attendees converse over breakfast at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa on Wednesday, June 25, 2025
NICK OTTO
Lock admired the opportunity to meet with leaders in other sectors, citing it as a source of inspiration for new ideas in his own field.
"People in our industry get a little bit blinkered to how things are going on in the rest of the world," Lock said. "Coming here, I realize the impact of AI across so many industries. We're all dealing with similar opportunities and similar challenges. We'll have to get our heads together and figure out how to solve some of it together."
Lock was one of the panelists who spoke at Tuesday's "Lights, Camera, Algorithm: AI in Film Making" session. On Wednesday, he said he appreciated how engaged the audience was and thanked them for asking such "thought-provoking questions."
Sonoma, CA - AI Impact Summit attendees converse over breakfast at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa on Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Sonoma, CA - AI Impact Summit attendees converse over breakfast at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa on Wednesday, June 25, 2025
NICK OTTO
"They come from different industries, so they look at things in a different way," he said. "It was very useful for me to be able to interpret the question and then, apply it back to my industry. It enabled me to think about things maybe I hadn't thought about before. Talking to people here has sparked a lot of ideas."
Sitting at Lock's breakfast table was Rebecca Silberbush, the deputy director of development at Perfect Corp. Perfect Corp. was recognized for its Real-Time Skin Analysis tool as part of Newsweek's inaugural AI Impact Awards.
Before heading into the pavilion at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, Silberbush caught up with Newsweek to debrief days one and two of the summit.
Sonoma, CA - AI Impact Summit attendees converse over breakfast at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
Sonoma, CA - AI Impact Summit attendees converse over breakfast at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
NICK OTTO
"It was super interesting and educational to hear how a lot of health care leaders and even The Weather Channel is incorporating AI," Silberbush said from inside the white tent as the audience waited for opening remarks.
Sheri Bachstein, the president of The Weather Company, participated in a one-on-one conversation with Newsweek Editor-in-Chief Jennifer H. Cunningham on Tuesday.
"We work mostly with consumers, but they're using AI to make educational predictions on weather and to help people on informed decisions about evacuating," Silberbush told Newsweek.
She added that the summit was a good opportunity to connect with other leaders in the AI space, saying that, "I met a bunch of people at lunch yesterday, and then at the cocktail reception too."
Perfect Corp., a software company that focuses on AI and AR in the beauty and fashion industries, took home the Best Outcomes, Consumer Experience award. The full list of AI Impact winners can be found here.
Sonoma, CA - Attendees exit the venue as the 2025 AI Impact Summit comes to a close at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
Sonoma, CA - Attendees exit the venue as the 2025 AI Impact Summit comes to a close at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
NICK OTTO
Attendees who stayed for the final day of the summit had the chance to listen in on three panels, including the "Navigating the Regulatory Maze: Enhancing AI Governance, Privacy and Cybersecurity" session, which brought together Rob Teel, the chief technology officer for the state of Oklahoma, and Benjamin Maxim, the chief innovation officer for the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union.
Shih enjoyed listening to Teel talk about applying AI to more routine tasks within the public sector, saying that it encouraged him to find new ways to implement new capabilities in his own work.
"The state of Oklahoma can identify, quantify, and then locate potholes as their trucks are just driving over the road, and that's something that would typically require a 311 call and a ticket," Shih said. "Instead, they used AI to automate this process."
"So, it challenged me. What other boring and mundane things am I not using AI for?" he asked. "It's been great to get a chance to hear how other people are using these technologies and then talk to them afterwards."
Missed out on our other summit coverage? Catch up on the festivities from day one here and day two here.
Newsweek will host the New Destinations Summit in London on July 3 and the Women's Global Impact Forum at the office in New York City on August 5. To learn more about Newsweek's upcoming programming, visit the Events page here.
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