Hilary Mason

Hilary Mason speaking on stage

Speaking

I talk to audiences about building AI products that actually ship and hold up under real use. Recent talks have covered the shift from deterministic to probabilistic engineering, what “AI-native” game design is, and the mechanics (and ethics) of generative storytelling done right. I have strong opinions backed by technical excellence and wide industry experience. I’m as likely to be hands-on in math and code as I am to work with executive teams and leadership, and I believe the best work requires it all to be designed together.

Topics I speak on:

  • Building and shipping excellent AI products at scale
  • Generative AI and creativity; and how it can be done well
  • Data science, machine learning, and organizational data culture and practice
  • My favorite topics start with a technology, and then talk about the systems, economies, and societies around them
  • I’m a 4x founder, and have created businesses, a non-profit, and numerous communities, I talk about bringing people along with change

Selected recent talks

  • “AI, Creativity & the Future of the Web” — dev/ai/nyc 2026, a fireside with Automattic’s Jesse Friedman. Watch
  • “The State of AI-Native Games: Lessons from the Frontier” — GDC Festival of Gaming 2026, with Eleanor Todd of Fablegate. Recap
  • “The Next Generation of AI Products” — opening keynote, QCon AI New York 2025. Watch on InfoQ
  • “The Wonder (and Reality) of Generative AI” — FWD50 2025, in conversation with Alistair Croll. Session details
  • “The Joys of AI” — gamescom congress 2024, Cologne. Watch
  • “Looking behind the ‘Hidden Door’: AI, Gaming and Storytelling” — DLD Munich 2024, in conversation with Christian Teichmann. Watch

Podcasts

If you’d rather listen — some recent conversations:

  • NeoWork — “Why This AI Founder Refuses to Use OpenAI” (2026). Watch
  • The Aboard Podcast — “Product First, Then AI” (2026). Listen
  • Motley Fool Money — “AI and the Future of Fiction” (2025). Listen
  • CRAFTED. — “AI, Creativity, and Soul” (2024). Listen
  • ODSC Ai X Podcast — “What Gaming Teaches Us About Generative AI” (2024). Listen
  • Generative Now — “Deterministic vs. Probabilistic, and How AI Is Changing Storytelling” (2023). Listen

To book me for a talk, panel, or podcast, get in touch.