How to Architect AI: What the ThinkAI Symposium Revealed About the Future of Work, Trust, and Visibility

By Barbara Rozgonyi, keynote speaker, AI + PR visibility strategist, and founder of WiredPRWorks and Brighter Presence

ThinkAI Research & Innovation Symposium | May 14, 2026 | The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City
Presented by UNC Charlotte’s Charlotte AI Institute for Research and AIFORWARD

Walking into the ThinkAI Research & Innovation Symposium in Charlotte, one thing became clear fast: this was not a room full of people wondering whether AI matters anymore. It was a room full of leaders trying to figure out how fast to move, what to trust, and where humans still create real differentiation.

That matters because Charlotte’s AI scene is no longer theoretical. It is becoming operational, regional, and increasingly relevant to business leaders, communicators, and anyone whose work depends on trust.

I went as a strategic observer, a translator, and a visibility strategist looking at the human side of the AI equation: trust, leadership, creativity, communication, adoption, and reputation. From that lens, the biggest story of the day was not just about AI tools. It was about what happens when technology accelerates faster than culture, governance, and communication can keep up.

One of the strongest takeaways came from Sakib Kadak, Creator and Director of AIFORWARD and Founder and CEO of Axiom Path. He offered a four-step way to think about AI maturity:

1. Tool User.
2. Workflow Integrator.
3. Orchestrator.
4. AI Systems Architect.

That framework is useful because it shows why so many leaders feel busy with AI but not yet better because of it. Plenty of people are still at the tool stage while assuming they are transforming the business. They are prompting, testing, and experimenting, but they have not yet made the deeper shift into orchestration, judgment, governance, and systems thinking.

Another signal came from the rooms themselves. The cybersecurity session was one of the most crowded, which tells you a lot about where organizational anxiety is rising. When the room that feels most urgent is the one about risk, security, and exposure, that is not just a technical trend. It is a reputation trend.

That is one reason public relations matters even more now. In a world flooded with synthetic content, competent content is no longer the differentiator; clarity, credibility, and recognizable human perspective are. When everyone can generate something decent, the people who stand out are the ones who bring discernment, voice, and trust.

The creative industries panel reinforced that point. Instead of treating AI like a magic creativity machine, the conversation centered on the tension between efficiency and originality. That matters for every leader and communicator trying to stay distinctive in a crowded market.

The closing innovation session added another grounded reminder: not every growth strategy has to be flashy to be effective. One example that stood out was Vincent Durham, who talked about walking the Rail Trail, meeting local businesses, and showing them how a website, app, or SEO solution could support revenue. That is a reminder that real-world adoption still starts with human conversation, relevance, and trust.

For me, that’s where visibility and AI intersect most clearly. Visibility isn’t about being louder. It is about being legible. It’s about helping people understand what you do, why it matters, and why they should trust you to guide them through complexity.

ThinkAI is presented by AIFORWARD and UNC Charlotte / Charlotte AI Institute (CLTAI2)

ThinkAI Speakers and sessions

Welcome

• Dr. Deborah Thomas — Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, UNC Charlotte

Title Sponsor

• Tim Walsh — Principal, Deloitte

Opening Keynote

• Dr. Kristen Grauman — Research Scientist, Facebook AI Research (FAIR) / Meta, Professor, University of Texas at Austin

Driving AI Forward

• Sakib Kadak — Director, AI//FORWARD, Founder + CEO, Axiom Path

AI in Retail + Health

• Dr. Bojan Cukic — Dean + Professor, College of Computing and Informatics, UNC Charlotte
• Marcus Britt — Sr. Manager, Digital Teammate Experience, Under Armour
• Suhas Malempati — Co-Founder, MetaDigi Labs, Inc.
• Ravi Sankar — VP of IT + CIO, Enterprise Data/Analytics, Honeywell

AI + Cybersecurity

• Kara Schlageter — CISO, Discovery Education
• Terry Ziemniak — CISO, TechCXO
• Courtney Parry — Principal, AI & Data Risk, Deloitte
• Nathan Dent — Chief Operating Officer, PrivateID
• Dr. L. Jean Camp — Bank of America Distinguished Professor, Security Analysis, UNC Charlotte

AI Workforce Readiness

• Jordan Crowther — Managing Partner + Head of Enterprise Talent Solutions, Axiom Path
• Christen Bell — AI Change + Adoption Lead, NTT DATA
• Erin Miller — Chief People Officer, Terra Dotta, LLC
• Philip Schreibman — Organizational Transformation + Project Leadership, BASF
• Heather Wollerman — Founder + Principal, Stillwater Talent & Leadership

AI in Creative Industries

• Dr. Sabri Gökmen — Assistant Professor, Architecture, UNC Charlotte
• Nick Ault — Partner, Studio Principal, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting
• Ryan Johnson — Practice Technology Leader, Clark Nexsen
• Je’Nen Chastain — Founder, apostrophe consulting

The State of AI Agents

• Don Shin — Founder + CEO, CrossComm, Inc.

Unlocking Insights With Amazon Quick & Rapid Prototyping

• Mitch Mello — Senior Enterprise Account Manager, AWS
• Raj Baddam — Solutions Architect, AWS

Building in the Age of AI: Efficiency & Agentic Workflows

• Moises Castro — Engineering Site Leader, Microsoft

Sports Analytics + AI

• Dr. Michael Schuckers — Professor, Sports Analytics and Data Science, UNC Charlotte
• Eric Eager, Ph.D. — VP, Football Analytics, Carolina Panthers
• Eddie Mitchell, Ph.D. — VP, Artificial Intelligence, Joe Gibbs Human Performance Institute
• Udit Ranasaria — Director, Deep Learning Research, SūmerSports

AI in Human Capital Development

• Dr. George Banks — Co-Director, Center for Leadership Science + Charlotte AI Institute, UNC Charlotte
• Dr. Paul Gaggl — Associate Professor, Economics + Director, MS Economics Program, UNC Charlotte
• Andy Loignon, Ph.D. — Senior Research Scientist, Center for Creative Leadership
• Cheryl Flink, Ph.D. — SVP, Director of Research, Truist Leadership Institute
• Curtis Pollard, Ph.D. — Partner, Honeywell

Ethics in AI: From the Workplace to the Classroom

• Dr. Gordon Hull — Professor, Philosophy + Director of Center for Professional and Applied Ethics, UNC Charlotte
• Dr. Marianna B. Ganapini — Associate Professor, Philosophy, UNC Charlotte

Innovation + AI

• Dr. Gabriel Terejanu — Professor, Computer Science + Program Director, MS in Artificial Intelligence, UNC Charlotte
• Juan Garzón — Executive Director, Innovate Charlotte
• Natali Betancur — Deputy Director, Center for Digital Equity
• Vincent Durham — Founder + Creator, Build-A-Bookie
• Jessica Dunn — SVP, Senior Data Scientist, Bank of America

AI in Advanced Manufacturing

• Dr. Jose Outeiro — Professor, Advanced and Sustainable Manufacturing, UNC Charlotte
• Dr. Alejandro Astudillo — VP, Product Research, Trener Robotics
• Dr. Michael Gomez — Director, Manufacturing Research + Technology, MSC Industrial Supply Co.
• Dr. Sudhir Rajagopalan — Senior Research + Development Project Manager, Siemens
• Dr. Noel Greis — Research Professor, Digital Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing, UNC Charlotte
• Dr. Mahmoud Dinar — Assistant Professor, AI/ML in Manufacturing, UNC Charlotte

AI in Biomedical

• Dr. Daniel Janies — Distinguished Professor, Bioinformatics and Genomics, UNC Charlotte
• Colby Ford, Ph.D. — Owner + Principal Consultant, Tuple, The Cloud Genomics Company
• Rick Chakra, Ph.D. — Founder + CEO, Armada IQ
• Dr. Denis Jacob Machado — Assistant Professor, Bioinformatics and Genomics, UNC Charlotte
• Dr. Andrew McWilliams — Clinical AI Product Development, Advocate Health

IRL takeaways

• Audit where your team really sits: Tool User, Workflow Integrator, Orchestrator, or AI Systems Architect.
• Treat AI adoption as a leadership and communication challenge, not only a technology rollout.
• Build governance before scale.
• Sharpen human differentiation now.
• Focus on usefulness over hype.

One more note, because disclosure matters: I attended on a complimentary pass from the organizers, and I used AI to help organize and polish my event notes into this article while keeping the observations, interpretations, and editorial direction my own. In the AI era, trust grows when we show our work.

I left ThinkAI thinking the biggest opportunity ahead doesn’t belong only to the people building the tools. It also belongs to the people who can explain what those tools mean for humans, leadership, trust, and visibility. The technical experts will keep showing us what AI can do. The rest of us have important work to do, making sure people can still see clearly, choose wisely, lead well, and stay human.

FAQ

What is ThinkAI?

ThinkAI Research & Innovation Symposium is an AI-focused event in Charlotte that brings together researchers, business leaders, and practitioners to discuss AI trends, applications, and responsible adoption.

Why does AI trust matter so much now?

Because AI is making it easier to create content, automate tasks, and scale output. That makes credibility, transparency, and human judgment even more important for leaders and brands.

What was the biggest takeaway from the event?

The biggest takeaway was that AI adoption is no longer just a technology issue. It is a leadership, communication, and trust issue.

About Barbara Rozgonyi

Barbara Rozgonyi is a keynote speaker, AI + PR visibility strategist, founder of WiredPRWorks and Brighter Presence, and a longtime advocate for human-centered visibility in a digital-first world. She helps leaders turn visibility into velocity through strategic messaging, authority-building, and trust-centered thought leadership. Book Barbara Rozgonyi when you need an AI Keynote Speaker.