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Steve Brown
AI Futurist, Author, and Former Google DeepMind Executive
OPENING KEYNOTE
Navigating What’s Next: Practical AI Strategy for Real Estate Investors and Operators
Why This Keynote Matters Right Now.
Steve Brown’s opening keynote will focus on how artificial intelligence is reshaping business strategy—from generative AI and autonomous agents to worker augmentation and digital transformation—and what leaders need to understand to navigate what comes next.
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The session will emphasize practical, real-world applications of AI in environments with real assets, operating teams, and long-term decisions, helping attendees think clearly about risk, opportunity, and what matters now.
“We live in one of the most consequential times in all of human history.”
— Steve Brown
How Steve Frames the AI Shift.
Steve Brown approaches artificial intelligence as a strategic capability, not a collection of tools. His perspective focuses on how AI is changing how work gets done, how decisions are made, and how durable competitive advantage is built in asset-based businesses.
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Rather than predicting distant futures or chasing technology trends, this keynote helps investors understand where AI is creating real leverage, where it introduces new risks, and how to think clearly about what matters now versus what can wait when managing real properties, teams, and capital.
What Attendees Will Walk Away With.
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Clarity on where AI is creating real leverage in real estate operations — and where it’s being oversold
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A strategic framework for evaluating AI’s impact on property management, operations, compliance, and decision-making
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Better questions to ask vendors, software providers, and internal teams before adopting new tools
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Greater confidence separating near-term operational gains from long-term speculation
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A grounded way to think about AI without disrupting proven systems that already work
Steve Brown on the Future of AI
In this short clip, Steve Brown shares how he thinks about artificial intelligence, change, and relevance in the workplace.
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This perspective reflects the lens he brings to his work and informs his opening keynote at the Midwest Real Estate Investor Conference 2026.
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The focus will be on clarity, judgment, and practical strategy in a rapidly evolving landscape.
“The real question is which tasks are best done by humans, which by AI, and which by robots.”
— Steve Brown
This Is the Conversation Real Estate Investors Can’t Afford to Miss.
Steve Brown’s opening keynote is not a standalone moment. It establishes the strategic lens for the two days that follow, shaping how real estate investors think about technology, operational risk, and long-term portfolio decision-making. Every session that follows builds from this foundation.
ABOUT STEVE BROWN
Steve Brown is a technology strategist and former executive at Google DeepMind, where he served as a senior director and in-house futurist focused on how artificial intelligence moves from research into real-world application. Earlier in his career, he worked at Intel as its Chief Evangelist, helping organizations understand how emerging technologies reshape operations, decision-making, and competitive advantage at scale.
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Across more than 25 years in high tech, Steve has worked with Fortune 100 companies, startups, and public-sector organizations to help leaders think clearly about technology beyond tools and trends. His work emphasizes systems, judgment, and operational reality—how decisions are made, how work is structured, and where technology genuinely creates leverage versus unnecessary disruption.
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In addition to his corporate leadership roles, Steve is an entrepreneur and co-founder of the Provenance Chain Network, which provides secure supply-chain and data integrity solutions for organizations including the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Navy. He also co-founded Jump Partners, an AI incubator focused on applied innovation.
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As a keynote speaker, Steve is known for bringing clarity to complex topics that are often dominated by hype or fear. His approach focuses on helping leaders engage with change thoughtfully, ask better questions, and make disciplined long-term decisions in periods of rapid transformation.
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At the Midwest Real Estate Investor Conference 2026, Steve Brown opens the conference by establishing the strategic lens for the conversations that follow—grounding emerging technology in practical judgment, operational impact, and systems that can support long-term resilience.
