Speaker kit
Everything for your programme, in one place.
Bios, talk descriptions, high-resolution photos and the practical details. Ready to copy, forward or download as a PDF.
Date already in mind? check whether it is free.
Bio
Two bios, ready to paste.
Use the short version for a programme or announcement, the long one for a website or press release.
Short bio
±50 wordsRuben Horbach is a technology researcher and keynote speaker. He helps leaders make sense of rapid, AI-driven change and turn it into strategic advantage. He researches converging technologies, works with Europol and the Dutch Police on AI and security, and has delivered over 250 keynotes at home and abroad.
Long bio
±150 wordsRuben Horbach is a technology researcher and keynote speaker. He helps leaders make sense of rapid, AI-driven change and turn it into strategic advantage with tangible impact.
His work sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence, geopolitics, organisational change and trust. Rather than isolated tools or trends, he shows how converging technologies reshape power, work, institutions and society, and what responsible leadership means in that context.
With over fifteen years at the intersection of technology and strategy, he has led international innovation labs in London and New York, and worked with organisations in complex and regulated environments. Through his advisory practice Back From the Future he translates technological insight into strategic direction and responsible adoption. As a subject-matter expert he contributes to international discussions on AI and security, including for Europol and the European Commission.
His keynotes are known for clarity, energy and strategic depth.
The talks
Three keynotes, each tailored to your sector.
Each talk runs 30 to 60 minutes and is researched and tailored to your audience and sector beforehand. In Dutch or English.
AI: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
30–60 min · all levels
AI is not a single breakthrough but the next digital shift: comparable to the PC, the web and the smartphone, only faster and across every layer at once. Ruben connects the major waves, from generative models to agents, world models and physical AI, with the choices organisations face now.
He covers the AI race between the US and China, Europe's position, and why access to data, compute and energy is becoming the next strategic line of defence. Audiences leave with shared language and a sharper sense of what is near-term versus speculative.
AI Adoption: The Human Side
30–60 min · leaders and teams
AI adoption is rarely a technical problem. It is a human one. This keynote shows why organisations stall between experiment and real impact, even when the tools have long been available.
Ruben connects the development of AI to the reality on the work floor: shifting roles, deciding under uncertainty, trust and ownership. Drawing on the work at Back From the Future, he shows what responsible adoption looks like, how to build trust instead of resistance, and how AI becomes part of daily work.
The Dark Side of AI: Security, Trust & Truth
30–60 min · leadership and security
Deepfakes, disinformation at scale, identity fraud and system manipulation are no longer theoretical risks. They are operational. Drawing on his work with the Dutch Police and as a subject-matter expert for Europol EMPACT, Ruben gives a clear-eyed view of what is changing.
He covers geopolitical asymmetry, borderless AI systems and uneven enforcement, and why detection alone is not enough. Audiences gain insight into how trust erodes, how institutions shift from fighting incidents to protecting legitimacy, and what governance determines in that.
Also possible: a half-day Strategic Foresight session in which the leadership team works with scenarios across two time horizons. Not a keynote but a working session, composed together.
Photos
High-resolution photos.
Click to download. Portraits and stage photos, suitable for print and web.
Portraits
Portrait close-up
2400 × 1600 · download ↓
Speaking, with microphone
2048 × 1365 · download ↓
Portrait seated
1170 × 1624 · download ↓
Business portrait
1170 × 1710 · download ↓
Profile photo
900 × 675 · download ↓
On stage
GO>TECH WORLD
2400 × 1600 · download ↓
Salotto · Milaan
2400 × 1600 · download ↓
Katapult
2400 × 1600 · download ↓
Cloudsuite
2048 × 1365 · download ↓
You are free to use these images for the announcement and programme of your event, with credit to Ruben Horbach. Cropping is fine, as long as the sense of the image stays intact. Need a different format or a specific crop? Send an email and we will sort it out.
Practical
Language, tech, lead time.
NL & EN
Presents effortlessly in both.
30–60 min
Longer or a half-day is possible, in consultation.
Any size
From boardroom to conference hall.
16:9 · HDMI · sound
Video-rich deck, so sound matters. A confidence monitor is welcome, not required.
The Netherlands
Travels through Europe regularly.
4+ weeks
Enough time to research your sector properly. Short notice? Send an email, sometimes it works.
On request
Depends on format, location and preparation.
For the moderator
The introduction, to read out.
About thirty seconds. Feel free to adapt it to the tone of your event.
Our next speaker researches where technology is heading for a living. Ruben Horbach is a technology researcher and keynote speaker, founder of Back From the Future, and works as a subject-matter expert with Europol and the Dutch Police on the security side of AI. He has delivered over 250 keynotes, from boardrooms to international conferences. Today he takes us through what AI can already do, and what that means for our work. Please welcome Ruben Horbach.
Everything in one PDF.
Bios, talks, practical details and the introduction. Handy to forward to your programme committee.