10/15/2026
Opening Plenary Discussion: Indigenous Futurism Technology is changing so fast that truth can be stranger than fiction. Unless you’re multiple bestselling author Daniel Wilson, a Cherokee citizen who has written Robopocalypse, How to Survive a Robot Uprising, and Hole in the Sky, his latest book. Wilson is an author and engineer with a PhD in robotics and other schooling in Artificial Intelligence. Wilson will be joined by Josh Hammonds (Lumbee), a lead engineer and subject matter expert with some 20 years working at Cisco Systems. The AISES 2026 Blazing Flame awardee, Hammonds leads 190 engineers globally on Cisco’s Collaboration Apps TAC teams. Joined by moderator Lee Francis, EdD (aka Dr. IndigiNerd), they will discuss the promises and challenges of A.I. and other technological trends.