Shannon O’Neil
Senior Vice President & Maurice R. Greenberg Chair, Council on Foreign Relations | Author of The Globalization Myth | Global Trade, Supply Chains & Latin America Expert
Justine Cassell
Creator of the Embodied Conversational Agent | Dean's Professor, Carnegie Mellon University | PRAIRIE Institute Chair & Inria Researcher | EqualAI Co-Founder
The inventor of the Embodied Conversational Agent and a nine-time Davos speaker on artificial intelligence, Justine Cassell works at the intersection where AI research meets governance, education, and social impact. Her keynotes give senior audiences an evidence-based roadmap for the generative AI era: what these systems will reshape, where bias is built in, and how to design technology that amplifies human judgment rather than replacing it.
Want to book Justine Cassell as a speaker for your event? Please provide the info below and we’ll get in touch within 24h:
Justine Cassell biography
Few researchers have shaped conversational AI as fundamentally as Justine Cassell. Across more than three decades she built the field from its foundations, moving from the study of human storytelling and gesture to engineering the first machines capable of a genuinely human-like exchange. As generative AI reshapes every sector, her research makes AI speaker Justine Cassell one of the most authoritative voices on what these systems can do, what they cannot, and how leaders should respond.
Cassell holds the Dean’s Professorship in Language Technologies at Carnegie Mellon University and is Director Emerita of its Human-Computer Interaction Institute. Since 2019 she has divided her time between Carnegie Mellon and Paris, where she holds a chair at the PRAIRIE Institute, France’s flagship interdisciplinary AI center, and is a senior researcher at Inria. Her work addresses the social dimensions of AI: how machines can earn trust, reduce bias, and amplify human capability rather than replace it.
Her signature contribution is the Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA), the first conversational agent with a body, combining speech, gesture, facial expression, and intonation to interact with people. The breakthrough opened new lines of research: virtual peers that help children with autism build social skills, AI tutors that raise literacy in underserved communities, and socially aware assistants that recognize rapport in real time. Her Socially Aware Robot Assistant (SARA) was the first working AI demonstration inside the Davos Congress Center.
Government Adviser, Davos Regular, and EqualAI Co-Founder
Cassell’s influence reaches well beyond academia. She has advised governments across Europe, Asia, and the United States on digital and AI policy, including work with the Obama White House. She has been invited to speak on AI at the World Economic Forum in Davos nine times, and she co-founded EqualAI, the nonprofit dedicated to reducing bias in artificial intelligence systems.
Her honors include the MIT Edgerton Faculty Award, the Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Award, and the National Academy of Sciences Henry and Bryna David Prize. She is a Fellow of the AAAS, the ACM, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and, since 2025, the International Academy of Artificial Intelligence Sciences, and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh.
As a speaker, Justine Cassell offers what few AI commentators can: frontier research credentials, a record of building systems that work, and years of advising heads of state and corporate boards. Audiences at technology summits, strategy offsites, government convenings, and education conferences leave with a rigorous, evidence-based framework for the AI transition, and a clear sense of what to build, what to resist, and how to keep people at the center.
Justine Cassell Speaking Videos
Keynote Speaker Justine Cassell
Teaching virtual humans the secret of reading between the lines | Justine Cassell
Justine Cassell Keynote Topics
Generative AI is a remarkable learning partner: a tirelessly patient interlocutor that debates, challenges, and adapts to any audience. Yet it was engineered for engagement and fluency, not for accuracy or wisdom. Drawing on her work building the first multimodal conversational agent and her policy engagement on AI and democracy, Cassell exposes the hidden design choices behind mainstream AI systems and defines the critical-thinking skills, what she calls discernment, that leaders, educators, and citizens now need. Attendees leave with a practical framework for using generative AI to sharpen judgment instead of outsourcing it.
Most AI systems are built to be smart. Very few are built to be trusted. Cassell argues that the next competitive frontier is not raw capability but social intelligence: the ability of a system to read rapport, adapt in conversation, and bring out the best in the people it works with. Drawing on decades of research into Embodied Conversational Agents, peer-learning AI, and socially aware assistants, she shows leaders what human-centered AI design actually looks like, and why the organizations that get it right will pull ahead of those that do not.
AI systems do not absorb human values on their own; they absorb human data, with every inequity it contains. As co-founder of EqualAI and a longtime adviser to governments on digital policy, Cassell traces the sources of algorithmic bias across hiring, education, healthcare, and public services, and offers concrete strategies for building and buying AI responsibly. This is less a warning than an action plan: what organizations, policymakers, and technologists must do now so that AI widens opportunity rather than narrowing it.
Will AI and robotics eliminate jobs or reinvent them? Cassell brings a researcher's precision to the question that dominates every boardroom agenda. She separates the tasks machines will take over from the human capabilities that will grow more valuable, and points to the design choices that decide which future actually arrives. Grounded in her research on human-AI collaboration and her years of work with the World Economic Forum, this keynote gives executives a clear-eyed, evidence-based view of workforce strategy for the decade ahead.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Justine Cassell
Why Justine Cassell?
Booking Justine Cassell brings the world's leading authority on social and conversational AI to your stage, not a commentator on the technology but one of its architects. She invented the Embodied Conversational Agent, whose influence runs through virtually every virtual assistant, AI tutor, and conversational interface in use today. She has advised the Obama White House, French digital-policy bodies, and the World Economic Forum, and she has spoken on AI at Davos nine times. Her keynotes are rigorous, practical, and built for senior audiences who need frameworks they can act on rather than hype. Contact Aurum Speakers Bureau to check her availability.
What is the Embodied Conversational Agent, and why does it matter?
The Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA), developed by Cassell and her team, was the first conversational AI able to interact with people using spoken language and nonverbal behavior together: gesture, facial expression, gaze, and intonation. It was a foundational breakthrough, showing that machines could take part in genuinely human-like dialogue rather than simply process text. Its influence is visible in today's virtual assistants, AI tutors, social robots, and multimodal interfaces. Cassell later showed that ECA-based virtual peers could improve literacy in children and support social development in children with autism.
What is EqualAI, and why does it matter for responsible AI?
EqualAI is a nonprofit co-founded by Cassell to reduce unconscious bias in how artificial intelligence is built and deployed. It combines research, policy advocacy, and practical tools that help companies and governments create AI that is more equitable across gender, race, and other dimensions. Working at the meeting point of technical research and governance, EqualAI brings together AI practitioners, legal experts, and civil society to close the gap between responsible-AI principles and real implementation. Organizations weighing their own AI governance often find her perspective invaluable; contact Aurum Speakers Bureau to bring it to your event.
What topics does AI speaker Justine Cassell cover at events?
Cassell speaks across the frontier of AI: generative AI strategy and risk, social and conversational AI design, algorithmic bias and responsible AI governance, the future of work and human-AI collaboration, AI in education, and the role of technology in democracy and civic life. Her audiences include technology executives, government bodies, financial institutions, and education leaders. To explore her availability and speaking fees, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
How to book Justine Cassell as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Justine Cassell as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Justine Cassell's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Justine Cassell or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Justine Cassell speaking fee?
Justine Cassell speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Justine Cassell to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Justine Cassell.
How can I contact Justine Cassell?
We only work with Justine Cassell on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Justine Cassell and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Justine Cassell speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Justine Cassell for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Justine Cassell for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Justine Cassell is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Justine Cassell for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
