World Class Faculty & Research / July 6, 2021

Frontiers in Service Conference to Explore ‘Service in the World of AI and Digital Technologies’

Industry Leaders and prominent academics will meet to discuss and share research on “Service in the World of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies” in the 2021 Frontiers in Service Conference. The virtual event takes place 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Friday and Saturday, July 9-10.

Founded in 1992 by Distinguished University Professor and David Bruce Smith Chair in Marketing Roland Rust of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, the annual event draws attendees from over 40 countries and is widely considered the world’s leading annual conference on service research.

“The gathering features a unique international mix of businesspeople and academics, and a cross-functional list of topics, including service science, service innovation, service marketing, service operations, service human resources, service information technology, e-service, service innovation, and customer relationship management,” says Rust.  “The speakers include many of the world's leading service experts, including high-ranking executives and prominent academics.”

For the 2021 event, Rust will introduce conference chair Xueming Luo of the Fox School of Business on opening morning, then deliver one of the keynote presentations and chair two of the four plenary sessions, which will be livestreamed on Facebook.

Keynote and plenary session topics and speakers will include:

  • “AI-Powered Automation and the Future of Service” (9 a.m. Friday) by IBM computer scientist (retired) Jim Spohrer and IBM CTO of AI Automation and Vice President of Blockchain Technologies Jerry Cuomo
  • “AIML for Customer Journey Analytics (9:40 a.m. Friday) by Temple marketing professor Xueming Luo
  • “Sex Robots, AI, AE, and Services” (1 p.m. Friday) by York University research professor Russell Belk
  •  “Female Advantage from Artificial Intelligence” (2:20 p.m. Friday) by Rust and National Taiwan University professor Ming-Hui Huang
  • “How the future of technology will change service” (9 a.m. Saturday) by former Cisco Vice President Gary Bridge
  • “The Future of Marketing and Technology: The Age of AI and Robots” (9:40 a.m. Saturday) by Babson College marketing professor Dhruv Grewal
  • “Artificial Intelligence and The Service Economy: Informing Dynamic Corporate and Policy Decisions in an Interconnected World” (1 p.m. Saturday) by Taiyō CEO Saurabh Mishra
  • “The AI-driven consumer: How technology is altering consumer choice processes” (1:40 p.m. Saturday) by Wharton professor Robert Meyer

Sponsors are INFORMS, the American Marketing Association, Maryland Smith’s Center for Excellence in Service and the Global Institute for Artificial Intelligence & Business Analytics at Temple University’s Fox School of Business.

Learn more and register for the 2021 Frontiers in Service Conference.

Media Contact

Greg Muraski
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gmuraski@umd.edu 

About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business

The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.

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