Laurence Moroney: AI Expert
Laurence Moroney, expert on AI and machine learning authority making artificial intelligence accessible through keynotes, education, and bestselling books.
Quick Facts:
- Highlights:
- Former Lead AI Advocate at Google, guiding global AI adoption.
- Author of bestselling AI and developer books.
- Creator of popular AI courses on Coursera, edX, and Udacity.
- Background in physics, computer science, microelectronics, and AI from Stanford
- Formats: Keynotes (45–60 min), workshops, and online/virtual sessions.
- Audiences: Business leaders, developers, educators, and organizations seeking clarity and strategy on AI adoption and innovation.
- Outcomes:
- A clear, demystified understanding of AI and its practical applications.
- Tools to leverage AI responsibly across industries.
- Inspiration to adopt AI strategies that foster innovation and growth.
- Travels from: Sammamish, WA
- **Fee range: $35,001 - $50,000
Talent Services
Keynote Topics:
Speaking Topics:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): He discusses the transformative world of AI, exploring its applications and its potential to reshape various industries.
- Machine Learning (ML): Moroney delves into the core methodologies of machine learning and how to implement it effectively.
- TensorFlow: He specializes in TensorFlow, the open-source software library developed by Google, and its role in modern machine learning solutions.
- AI for All: Moroney is passionate about widening access to AI technology and makes it his mission to help people thrive with AI and ML.
- Implementation challenges: He has also spoken about the challenges companies face when implementing AI and the benefits of diversity within the field.
Talent Short Bio
Laurence Moroney is a globally recognized thought leader in artificial intelligence and machine learning, best known as Google’s former Lead AI Advocate. With a career spanning Vicon Industries, Reuters, Mainsoft, Microsoft, and Google, Laurence bridges deep technical expertise with clear, practical communication. He holds a BSc in Physics and Computer Science, a Postgraduate Diploma in Microelectronics Systems Design, and a Graduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence from Stanford University.
As a bestselling author (AI and Machine Learning for Coders, The Definitive Guide to Firebase), Laurence is committed to demystifying AI and making it accessible across industries. He is also a prominent educator, with courses on Coursera, edX, and Udacity, reaching hundreds of thousands of learners worldwide. Through dynamic keynotes, workshops, and training, Laurence equips organizations to harness AI responsibly, strategically, and effectively.
Read Full Bio
Laurence Moroney is a globally recognized authority on artificial intelligence and machine learning. As the former Lead AI Advocate at Google, Laurence brings unparalleled insight into the evolving AI landscape. His mission is clear: to demystify AI and make it accessible across industries.
Laurence holds a BSc in Physics and Computer Science and a Postgraduate Diploma in Microelectronics Systems Design. His journey spans pivotal roles at Vicon Industries, Reuters, Mainsoft, Microsoft, and Google. Notably, his transition into AI was solidified by a Graduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence from Stanford University.
Today, Laurence empowers audiences worldwide through high-impact keynotes and educational platforms like Coursera, edX, and Udacity, all while continuing his advocacy through bestselling books such as “AI and Machine Learning for Coders” and “The Definitive Guide to Firebase.”
Why Book Laurence Moroney?
Laurence doesn’t just talk AI, he’s helped shape it at some of the world’s most influential tech companies. With a rare blend of technical depth and engaging delivery, he ensures your audience walks away informed, empowered, and ready to lead in the age of AI.
“For organizations looking to not just understand but lead the AI revolution, Laurence Moroney is the speaker to make it happen.”
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Talent Videos
Laurence Moroney, Lead AI Advocate for Google
Laurence Moroney explores how generative AI, especially transformers, can shift from "artificial intelligence" to "artificial understanding" and help preserve cultural heritage.
Video Summary & Key Moments
Laurence Moroney begins with a life lesson from his math teacher: true understanding means you don’t need to memorize.
He connects this to AI today, where the real value isn’t just generating content, but understanding it. He warns that smaller cultures risk being lost in the digital noise, just as ancient Irish culture was erased by invasions and lack of records.
Key insights:
- Generative AI ≠ just generation → it’s about comprehension.
- Transformers: originally built to map text-to-text, now powerful at understanding sentiment, meaning, and context.
- Compression power: Large models like GPT (~200B parameters, ~80GB) compress vast internet knowledge. Smaller models like Gemini Nano (~100M parameters, ~40MB) make AI portable, even on phones.
- Cultural preservation: By training compact models on curated cultural data (songs, poems, recipes), societies can encode and preserve their identity in a form accessible anywhere, without needing huge infrastructure.
- Opportunity: AI can empower smaller nations, marginalized voices, and endangered traditions to create interactive cultural archives for education and heritage.
He closes with optimism: 2023 marks the moment we gained the tools to preserve human culture cheaply, quickly, and accessibly—a chance for developers everywhere to shape legacy.
Key Moments
0:00 – Lesson from math teacher: true understanding removes need for memorization.
1:30 – Writing his first novel: searching for cultural connections across Ireland, China, and the US.
2:30 – Problem of history: small cultures lost their records; today, small voices risk being drowned by digital noise (bots, oversaturation).
4:15 – Generative AI isn’t about creation — it’s about understanding content.
5:30 – Transformers explained: from literal translation (“The raven loves its chicks”) to sentiment-based translation (“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”).
7:00 – Reframing AI as “artificial understanding.”
8:15 – Efficiency & compression: GPT’s 200B parameters vs. Gemini Nano’s 100M. Models can now fit on phones.
10:00 – Specialized models: curating cultural datasets (e.g., Irish stew recipes) creates lasting digital cultural memory.
11:45 – The future: interactive, small-footprint models on phones/laptops enabling cultural learning without internet.
13:15 – Call to action: 2023 is the inflection point where developers can preserve cultures affordably and collaboratively.
AI & ML Developer Journey | Google’s Guide to Building AI with ML
Laurence Moroney breaks down AI, ML, models, deployment, and MLOps for developers starting their AI journey.
Video Summary & Key Moments
Laurence Moroney introduces the AI & ML Developer Journey, guiding beginners and developers through the fundamentals of artificial intelligence and how machine learning makes it real.
Key concepts include:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): Programming computers to react to data like living beings (not just pixels or raw input).
- Machine Learning (ML): Teaching computers with data examples to recognize patterns and make predictions.
- Models: The output of ML — mathematical functions that turn data into predictions (image recognition, text sentiment, spam detection).
- Steps in ML Development: Data engineering → modeling → training → deployment → monitoring & improvement.
- MLOps: The continuous cycle of refining models once deployed.
- Accelerated Infrastructure: GPUs & TPUs to speed up ML training and inference.
- Responsible AI: Tools and practices to ensure fairness, safety, and accountability.
The session emphasizes that while AI is complex, Google’s ecosystem of tools, hardware, and frameworks (TensorFlow, Keras, TPUs, Cloud services) makes it accessible for developers worldwide.
Key Moments
0:00 – Introduction: AI & ML terms can be overwhelming — where do developers start?
0:45 – What is AI? Computers reacting to data like intelligent beings (example: recognizing a cat).
2:00 – What is ML? Training computers with data examples to distinguish between categories (cats, dogs, horses).
3:00 – What are models? Mathematical functions that take input data and produce predictions.
4:00 – The ML process: starts with data engineering (cleansing, processing, spotting bias).
5:15 – Modeling: Frameworks like TensorFlow & Keras simplify complex ML architectures (transformers, CNNs).
6:00 – Training → Deploying models across devices, cloud, or web.
7:00 – Developers’ role: integrating models with platforms (e.g., Android apps).
7:45 – Deployment isn’t the end — monitoring and improving models is key (MLOps).
8:30 – Accelerated infrastructure: GPUs for fast math, TPUs optimized for ML workloads.
9:15 – Responsible AI: ethical use and tools for fairness, transparency, and safety.
10:15 – Resources: YouTube playlists, online courses, samples to kickstart your ML journey.
11:00 – Closing: AI is complex but achievable; welcome to the global ML ecosystem.
State-of-the-art Machine Learning research with Google tools | Keynote
How Google’s ML tools, frameworks, and hardware accelerate state-of-the-art AI research
Video Summary & Key Moments
Laurence Moroney, Google’s lead for AI & ML advocacy, introduces the Google ML ecosystem and how it supports cutting-edge AI research.
The session reinforces Google’s mission: to make state-of-the-art AI tools and infrastructure accessible, scalable, and open-source.
Key Moments
0:15 – Intro: Google ML ecosystem and advocacy.
0:40 – Google TPUs: hardware designed for ML workloads.
1:20 – TPU Pods: AI supercomputers for large-scale training.
1:45 – Research example: chip floor planning with deep RL.
2:05 – T5X framework: modular system for training/evaluating sequence models.
2:30 – Example: 11B+ parameter language model trained on massive dataset.
3:05 – TPU Research Cloud: free TPU access for researchers globally.
3:45 – Pathdreamer: AI project for indoor navigation, generating unseen 360° views.
4:50 – Built with TensorFlow & Keras, fully open-sourced.
5:25 – JAX: high-performance numerical computing with Python + NumPy.
5:55 – JAX code runs seamlessly on GPUs/TPUs.
6:15 – JAX-TensorFlow compatibility for data pipelines.
6:40 – Closing: invitation to learn more in “JAX: Accelerating ML Research.”
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