Using AI Well — and Building a Data Infrastructure to Support It
Friday, March 6, 2026
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. MT
University of Colorado Law School
The Silicon Flatirons Artificial Intelligence Initiative examines the impact of AI on law, the legal system, and society by bringing together thought-leaders from academia, government, business, and non-profits, to engage in rigorous, evidence-based and thoughtful discussions of AI public policy.
Our 2026 Artificial Intelligence Conference, “Using AI Well — and Building the Data Infrastructure to Support It,” will explore why AI really matters and what we can do to make the most of it, including by building the “data infrastructure” to support its responsible expansion.
The day-long conference will take place in Boulder on Friday, March 6, 2026. Our morning agenda will focus keynote remarks and panel discussion on how AI is already transforming the way we live, work, and recreate by focusing on established use cases and emerging best practices in using AI well.
Following a lunchtime networking break, the afternoon will forego the hype around AI enthusiasts and doomsayers alike, instead focusing attention on the imperative to approach AI data infrastructure deployment in a manner that optimizes economic competitiveness and quality of life. Keynote remarks will frame the conversation accordingly, with complementary panel discussions that balance exploring various “demand” considerations driving data infrastructure investment and expansion with “supply” perspectives examining how resource and regulatory approaches — in energy, environment, water and land use — can responsibly coalesce to meet this historic moment and, above all, to get it right.
A lunch hour primer will be held on March 5, the day prior to the conference. Learn more about Powering AI: Data Centers, Energy Demand, and the Public Interest.
Sessions
Check-in and Breakfast
@ Wolf Law Building, Foyer and Boettcher Hall
Welcome
@ Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom & Livestream
Executive Director, Silicon Flatirons
Keynote: Using AI Well
Our morning agenda explores how AI is already transforming the way we live, work, and recreate by focusing on established use cases and emerging best practices in using AI well.
Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School
Established Use Cases in Using AI Well
(Moderator)
Executive Director, Digital Trust & Safety Partnership
VP Head of Trust & Safety, Tripadvisor
VP of Business Development & Strategic Impact, Thorn
Additional speakers TBA.
Break
Emerging Best Practices in Using AI Well
Founder Women in AI Labs, Women in AI Colorado
Senior Lecturer & Director of Law and Technology Initiatives, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law & McCormick School of Engineering
Associate Professor of Media Studies, CU Boulder
Additional speakers TBA.
Lunch Break
Framing Remarks: Building a Data Infrastructure for the Future
Discussion will forego the hype around AI enthusiasts and doomsayers alike, instead framing the imperative of AI data infrastructure deployment in a manner that optimizes economic competitiveness and quality of life.
Keynote: The Big Deal about Big Data
The Demand Side of Big Data
Discussion will explore how a dramatic increase in compute demand is pushing data center investment and resource consumption – and how we all have a stake in the outcome.
Director of Data Center Research, CBRE
Partner, Keller & Heckman
Additional speakers TBA.
Break
The Supply Side of Big Data
Discussion will examine how resource and regulatory approaches — in energy, environment, water and land use — can responsibly coalesce to meet this historic moment and, above all, to get it right.
General Manager Aurora Water, City of Aurora
Deputy Director of Policy Development, Western Resource Advocates
Director of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission
Additional speakers TBA.
Closing Remarks
Reception
@ Wolf Law Building, Foyer and Boettcher Hall