The future of work is on everyone’s agenda. This event brings thought leaders together to share cutting edge ideas on the future, from both a people and technology perspective.
It will allow an understanding of the key drivers of change and enablers of innovation that will shape how, where and when work takes place. Our conference programme will explore future technologies, cutting edge award-winning workplaces and people, change and engagement within the financial sector.
AI is no longer an add-on to workplace strategy — it’s becoming the operating system of the modern enterprise. Organisations are moving from experimenting with tools to architecting truly intelligent workplaces where data, automation, and human ingenuity converge in real time. This theme sets the stage for a London audience under pressure to innovate fast while staying grounded in trust, ethics, sustainability, and performance.
In this fireside chat, Rob Cookson, VP Real Estate & Facilities at Meta, joins Philip Ross (Unwork) to explore how AI is reshaping workplace and real estate strategy at scale. The conversation looks beyond automation and dashboards to examine AI as a decision-making engine — enabling predictive, not reactive, approaches to space, operations and employee experience. Topics include AI-driven workplace optimisation, anticipatory portfolio strategy, balancing data with human insight, and the practical realities of readiness, governance and scale. A grounded discussion on what’s genuinely changing — and what leaders need to get right next.
This session highlights the global signals redefining work as workplaces shift from digital tools to intelligent, adaptive ecosystems. We outline three horizons: NOW, where embedded intelligence drives real-time data, AI agents, hyper-personalisation and accountable AI; NEAR, where relational systems use collaborative sensing, continuous identity and quantum optimisation to create responsive, behaviour-aware environments; and FAR, where cognitive interfaces, ambient interaction, robotics and new energy systems enable workplaces that think and act autonomously. A direct look at what’s advancing fast—and what leaders must be ready for next.
By 2035, traditional building management will evolve into sophisticated orchestration of AI-driven systems and autonomous technologies. This presentation explores JLL's vision for the future of FM, where professionals transition from reactive maintenance to proactive ecosystem governance. Drawing from real-world client implementations and frontline innovation insights, we'll examine how forward-thinking organizations are positioning FM teams as the strategic architects who establish operational parameters for self-reporting assets and autonomous building systems. Discover what it truly means to deliver a future-ready occupant experience, where seamless technology integration creates environments that anticipate needs, optimize performance, and enhance human productivity. The future belongs to those who can orchestrate intelligence, not just manage infrastructure.
AI is rapidly reshaping the flow of work — not just speeding it up, but making it fundamentally smarter and more intuitive. From copilots and generative assistants embedded in everyday tasks to automated workflows that surface the right data at the right moment, organisations are moving toward adaptive, personalised work experiences that respond to individual needs and team dynamics. This theme explores how intelligent tools unlock better decisions, smoother processes, and a more fluid digital workplace built for real productivity gains
This session explores what it truly means to treat AI agents as new joiners from day one. Drawing on real enterprise deployments, Irina will examine how proactive AI is reshaping employee experience, operational resilience, and building performance — and what leaders must redesign now to stay ahead of autonomous operations.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the way organisations collaborate, communicate, and make decisions. From AI-powered meeting platforms to intelligent workplace environments, the technology that underpins hybrid work is evolving at unprecedented speed. This session explores how AI is transforming workplace collaboration, the emerging role of intelligent meeting spaces, and what organisations must do to prepare for the next generation of digital work environments. Discover how AI-enabled workplace technology can improve meeting equity, unlock organisational knowledge, and create more seamless collaboration between in-person and remote teams.
As work becomes increasingly hybrid and data-rich, organisations are rethinking how physical and digital environments intersect. From workplace apps and integrated platforms to digital twins that mirror real-time behaviour, experience design is shifting toward environments that respond intelligently to people and the work they’re doing. This theme looks at the convergence of UX, data, and spatial design — exploring how we build workplaces shaped as much by human needs as by the information flowing through them.
Artificial intelligence is not only transforming research — it is redefining how and where life sciences work happens. As AI accelerates discovery, automates lab processes, and augments scientific decision-making, the spatial logic of R&D is shifting. Boundaries between lab, office, and collaboration space are dissolving. Digital infrastructure now rivals physical infrastructure in importance, and workplace strategy is moving from operational support to strategic enabler.
As AI reshapes work at every level, the real differentiator becomes how people experience and adapt to this shift. From digital employee experience and new behavioural norms to the evolving dynamics of human–machine collaboration, organisations are being pushed to build cultures grounded in trust, transparency, and responsible adoption. This theme explores the leadership, ethics, and skills required to guide teams through AI-driven transformation — ensuring that technology empowers people rather than overwhelms them
AI adoption isn’t a technology problem — it’s a change problem. This panel cuts through hype to tackle the hardest question organisations face: who actually owns the AI strategy, and how do you make it stick in day-to-day work? With perspectives spanning HR, IT, digital, operations and the built environment, the discussion explores governance models, AI squads, data ethics, and cross-functional accountability. From smart spaces and sustainability myths to how AI is reshaping job roles and architectural practice, this session focuses on practical leadership decisions — not experiments — and what it really takes to change how work gets done.
As AI shifts from abstract concept to everyday co-worker, organisations are grappling with what it really means to collaborate with non-human intelligence. This immersive session invites participants to explore that frontier through live, real-world dilemmas drawn from work and workplace design.
Across rotating discussion tables, attendees will tackle challenges spanning productivity, culture, ethics, and the built environment. An “invisible AI colleague” will operate in the background, synthesising emerging themes in real time and pressure-testing the group’s conclusions. The process reveals where AI can genuinely augment human capability and where human judgement must hold the line. Expect a dynamic, collective-intelligence experience that transforms AI from buzzword to practical collaborator. Led by Work is Weird Now (WIWN) podcast founders Dan Emery and Alice Phillips. WIWN is a forum partner, bringing their distinctive lens on the weird, fast-evolving future of work.
