The Next Frontier of AI Agents
March 17, 2026 | 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT
About
As AI moves from tools to teammates, a critical question is emerging: should artificial intelligence replace human creativity—or partner with it?
In this month’s Innovator Insights salon, we sit down with Maya Ackerman—AI researcher, entrepreneur, and CEO/Founder of WaveAI—for a thoughtful, candid conversation on a different path forward: AI as a collaborator rather than a substitute. Maya’s work challenges the dominant “automation at all costs” narrative, offering a vision of what she calls humble creative machines—AI systems designed to elevate human potential, respect agency, and expand what people can create and lead.
Together, we’ll explore how the current hype cycle and investment pressures shaped today’s replace-the-human mindset, what we risk losing when efficiency eclipses creativity, and how AI agents can be designed and deployed as genuine teammates rather than invisible replacements. Maya will unpack what it actually means to introduce AI as a collaborator inside organizations—especially for people leaders, founders, and operators navigating real adoption decisions right now.
This salon is less about predicting the future and more about designing it with intention. Expect a conversation that blends philosophy, technology, ethics, and real-world implications—with space for questions, pushback, and perspective from the room.
This session is designed for founders, operators, executives, product leaders, and technologists who want a grounded, non-hype-driven understanding of AI agents and creative AI—without needing a deeply technical background.
Attendees will leave with a clearer mental model for AI agents as collaborators, insight into where creative and operational AI is already delivering value, a deeper understanding of the ethical tradeoffs shaping the ecosystem, and a more human-centered framework for thinking about AI’s role in their organizations and lives.
