WELCOME
AHMAD RASHAD: Robots. First of all, you want to wonder how these robots got here. I bet they came in that robot car, which was a Waymo. That sounds way more crazy than anything else that's going on out here, I know that for sure. Especially when I get home, when my dog smells this dog on me.
I'm going to call you Wilbur, all right? You can be Wilbur. That's my dog, Wilbur.
Now, Steph said the dogs weren't very smart. But these are intelligent animals, the most intelligent animals on Earth, even though they ain't animals. What we can do is find out how well-trained they are, how well-trained the puppies are.
All right. So watch how trained he is. All right. Sit, Wilbur.
Give Wilbur a hand.
(Applause.)
Can you shake my hand, Wilbur? Wilbur, Wilbur.
Okay, so I got one more. Now, my dog can do this a little bit. Watch this. Wilbur, can you bust a move, baby? Yeah, go Wilbur, go Wilbur, go Wilbur. Give a hand for Wilbur.
Now, Wilbur, you want to go chase? Will you go fetch this? He's getting excited. But he's awful heavy hitting the ground. How much do you weigh, Wilbur?
Okay, you ready? All right, I'm -- okay, you are ready. Go get it.
Oh, man. And walking backwards down the steps? This is serious.
Adam, I need to get one of these. We don't have to feed them. They're already housebroke. Are they dancing out there?
Wilbur, Wilbur the Robot, can he get a hand for his...
(Applause.)
Oh. This is going to be very, very interesting. Wonderful.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Ahmad Rashad. I'm here to host the 2025 NBA All-Star Tech Summit. I've served in this role for more than two decades, and this is the first time I've ever seen anything quite like this. And speaking of Waymo, I've been here "Waymo" years than these robots. And thankfully they haven't built robots at emcee events yet. I don't think. Have they? I hope not.
When we started this summit 25 years ago, the only AI that could hoop was Allen Iverson. Now we've got robots playing with Steph Curry and can do damn near anything except emcees.
Now, that demo you just saw is an example of what makes the Tech Summit a blockbuster event every year. It's not just another conference. It's an early look at the future and the exciting possibilities in store for all of us and told by the leaders in business and sports who are shaping it.
We've got some incredible conversations in store for you today, but before we get started, a quick reminder that everything said in here is off the record, including all the stuff I just said to Wilbur, my dog.
Now, we want these conversations to be candid, and we want to have a lot of fun. So here is our panels.
Stream Tech: The Next Generation.
Follow the Money: The Investments Transforming Society.
Tell Us About Tomorrow: Understanding the Complex Forces Shaping the Future.
And The Leadership Playbook: How to Win in 2025 and Beyond.
We'll also have two one-on-one conversations. The first is Powering the AI Revolution, a conversation with founder and CEO of NVIDIA, Jensen Huang, interviewed by CNBC's Becky Quick. That's our first.
And then the second is The Championship Mindset, a conversation with nine-time -- let me read this over again -- A Championship Mindset, a conversation with nine-time NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist, Warriors coach Steve Kerr, interviewed by broadcasting legend, one of my main men, Bob Costas.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports