Collision Toronto 2024 (aka Web Summit Vancouver starting May 2025) is a wrap. According to the University of Toronto, Collision – billed as the fastest-growing technology event in North America – brought approximately 40,000 attendees, including more than 1,600 startups and 700 investors from across the globe.

Three Big Valley Marketing clients attended and spoke at this year’s conference. Clari co-founder and CEO Andy Byrne discussed the impact of AI on SaaS innovation and whether AI deserves a seat in the boardroom. Island co-founder and CEO Mike Fey talked about how CEOs and their grandparents are using the same browser and why that’s a problem. Signifyd co-founder & CEO Raj Ramanand spoke on restoring trust with AI.

A key theme this year? Surprise, surprise: Artificial Intelligence (AI). From executive AI hot takes by Geoffrey Hinton (aka the Godfather of AI) warning of AI’s significant threats to humanity, to business leaders touting the positive potential of cutting-edge AI innovation, AI was the center of almost every discussion and at Collision.

Are we in an AI bubble?

A key theme throughout all discussions – whether it was an onstage panel or a 1:1 interview with key media – was the debate around AI hype vs. reality. A popular question asked by business media: “Are we in an AI bubble?”

While there was debate around this issue, especially given the amount of money being poured into unproven applications of the technology, many executives agreed that AI’s potential impact on improving efficiency and outcomes is undeniable. This included the impact the industry is already starting to see on various technology innovations across the autonomous vehicle industry, video content, gaming, climate tech, aerospace and software development.

For example, during an on-stage fireside chat with Axios reporter Ashley Gold, Tennis star Maria Sharapova discussed AI’s impact on the tennis industry. When discussing the transition to automated systems, Sharapova said, “I think the acceptance of AI is really important. I look back to when the line calls were made by humans, and when the challenge system came into place, we were all extremely hesitant.”

Sharapova’s comment about hesitancy leads to another key point discussed this week around the importance of AI trust and adoption. Until there is wide adoption of the technology, hype and mistrust of the technology will remain prevalent.

Conversely, there were clear warnings from Geoffrey Hinton and others on the real risks of AI to business and society, and calls for increased government regulation and involvement in setting safety guardrails.

Cutting-edge AI innovation and the importance of concreate AI use-cases

AI gained tremendous popularity in 2023 with the quick rise of Open AI’s Chat GPT and other generative AI models. For the first time, an emerging technology – that was elusive to many, and something that took an engineer to really understand – became a tangible application of technology for the average consumer and worker.

Now, the focus is on real use cases of scaling AI technology across the enterprise that also demonstrate clear ROI. This was a big theme on-stage at Collision.

For example, while AI is a culprit in the rise of deep fakes and cyber attacks, it can also be used to do the opposite. In a panel on the FullStk stage, Forbes contributor Hessie Jones led a discussion between Signifyd Co-founder and CEO Raj Ramanand and Govini CEO Tara Murphy on how AI technology is being used to combat bad actors and better serve society.

Jones also led a discussion on the AI stage between Clari Co-founder and CEO Andy Byrne and Bain Capital Ventures Partner Rak Garg on how AI is being used in the boardroom. During the talk titled, “Does AI deserve a seat in the boardroom?” Byrne and Garg discussed how investors and c-level executives are leveraging AI to inform better decision making and act on those decisions more quickly. Their conclusion: the use of AI in business can produce increased trust and transparency between corporate executives and their boards as well as quicker investment decisions and action.

During his fireside chat with Fortune AI Reporter Sharon Goldman, Byrne discussed the impact of AI on SaaS innovation and compared the current evolution to that of the internet, mobile and cloud eras. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and this is the most exciting time in my career,” he said. In terms of use-cases, he gave specific, concrete examples of how AI technology is helping sales representatives close deals faster, sales managers drive more revenue for the organization they work for, and c-suite executives boost the predictability and accuracy of their revenue forecasts.

Again, the potential impact of AI is undeniable. Part of ensuring that potential turns to reality is to build concrete use cases, tied to specific business value and share those successful use cases with others. 

Should governments have a role in enforcing AI safety?

Another discussion that can drive hype around AI is its potential threat to society. While the debate around whether AI poses an “extinction-level” threat to humans remains live and well, what is abundantly clear in the AI hype vs. reality discussion is that most agree that responsible development and use of AI is important. The question is, whose responsibility is it to make that happen?

In his on-stage discussion with Canadian novelist Stephen Marche, Geoffrey Hinton made his opinion clear that governments need to step in. “I think governments should be involved in forcing the big AI companies to do lots of safety experiments,” he said.

Meanwhile, billionaire investor Vinod Khosla insinuated that regulators are going too far. “Look, antitrust is a good thing to have in any country, any economic system….antitrust over-enforced, or over-executed, is bad economic policy,” Khosla said.

Additionally, journalists moderating on-stage discussions, including Jones and Goldman, focused on responsible and ethical development and use of AI. Panelists discussed the importance of corporate governance and transparency throughout the organization and in the development of software.

The AI hype vs. reality debate will remain a top conversation over the next few years as the industry continues to innovate and adoption continues to increase. Time will tell how involved governments become in ensuring the implementation of AI safety and ethics.

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