Extrusion 2026: Human Intelligence and Connection This August in Austin

I know I’ve used this space recently to discuss the potentially fraught nature of keeping up on current events, but two headlines broke through my self-imposed news boycott. From Variety: “Alexa+ Now Produces AI-Generated ‘Podcasts’ Featuring Chats Between Two Robot ‘Co-Hosts’”, and from Graphite: “AI Now Writes as Many Online Articles as Humans.”

This August the annual Extrusion Conference heads to Austin, Texas. Source: Getty

As a consumer of podcasts and a producer of online articles, it’s understandable why these garnered a click from me. As I read both, what my mind turned to was the growing value of living, human intelligence and connection — the ability to gain unique insights from an organic, thinking brain.

To describe any art as derivative is to attack it as unoriginal. I have no doubt that generative AI built upon LLMs is here to stay and will evolve and improve, but the online world in particular is currently drowning in creations that are by definition derivative copies of preexisting content, a blurry machine-made mirror image of a human-conceived original thought.

This wave of “slop” will recede, but until it does, people will instinctively wade towards human-created content and connection — wholly new ideas or new expressions of old ideas. In that spirit, I present to you the annual Extrusion Conference as a life preserver of human intelligence in a sea of AI.

Now in its 11^th year, Extrusion (August, 18-19; Marriott Austin Downtown; Austin, Texas) is organized by my colleague Jim Callari, who uses decades of experience and connections to curate a powerhouse slate of speakers. The 27 presenters in this year’s lineup, which represent the complete extrusion supply chain from machine and die manufacturers to auxiliary equipment suppliers and expert consultants, have an average of more than 30 years of experience in the industry (in aggregate their experience exceeds 800 years in extrusion).

Adding to the IRL experience of the event, and included in your registration, are networking opportunities, including the opening reception at Banger’s Sausage and Beer Garden, featuring, you guessed it — beer and sausage — plus, live music and a broader sampling of Southern fare with an Austin flare.

Register by July 18^th to lock down the early bird rate and secure your hotel room (deadline for the hotel group rate is July 27). Question the sourcing of recent podcasts or online articles (present post excluded), but don’t doubt the opportunity to connect with real extrusion professionals this August in Austin.

Tony Deligio