Jan 30, 2025

The Next Frontier of AI

Thas Naseemuddeen & Ricardo Diaz

About this video

Description

Omelet has a history of innovation in both their creative work for clients as well as in the products and services they have designed for their own use, from building early machine-learning bots to help them be more mindful of their own language to building their own LLMs and GenAI tools. The team thinks about the future and ensures they use technology in smart and impactful ways, with ethical considerations always top of mind. Join Thas and Ricardo as they explore the idea of utility vs. ethics vs. IP ownership as it relates to generative AI tools and what it will mean to creative professions. This talk will not solve the very delicate questions that arise with GenAI, but it will seek to help others find a balance between using the absolute best tools at our disposal while still respecting the deep craft of design and creativity.

Sponsored by Mitchell Sandham

Thas Naseemuddeen & Ricardo Diaz

Thas takes pride in being “the first former-figure-skating-coach-Canadian-Sri-Lankan advertising agency CEO.” She is tasked with the growth of the independent creative agency Omelet. Championing the growth of the agency – creatively and financially – with the ultimate hope to prove out that "nice folks” can finish first. As a career-trained strategist at some of the top agencies in the world, she’s championed work that pushed the boundaries of creativity with brands such as Pepsi, Target, Google, Red Bull and Youtube at agencies that include BBH, Deutsch and TBWA Chiat/Day.

With a computer science background and over 25 years of communications and digital marketing experience, Ricardo enjoys pushing the boundaries of technology and creativity. His career is punctuated by 'firsts'—from pioneering the first SXSW award-winning agency-developed platform for TBWA Worldwide to the world's first gestural e-commerce store for Stance, which won a Cannes Lion. Before Omelet, he worked at big agencies (TBWA\Chiat Day Los Angeles) and small firms (Zambezi), helping create campaigns for brands that included Google, Nike, Pepsi, Nissan, Walmart and the Grammys. Most recently, he spearheaded the ethical use of artificial intelligence at Omelet by building products that augment workflows and responsibly integrate AI into the agency's internal processes.