DU SunFest Panel Explores AI in Senior Care and Scaling Tech

The hum of a server farm in a Denver basement is a far cry from the quiet, high-altitude air of the Western Slope, but the algorithms running that code are already seeping into our daily lives. You don’t need to be a tech expert to feel it. It’s in the way your GPS reroutes you around a pothole on Main Street before you even see it. It’s in the automated call center that asks you to press one for English, then puts you on hold for twenty minutes. It’s in the senior facility down the road where a robot named Ryan is currently attempting to lead a yoga class.

That’s the reality Colorado SunFest 2026 is tackling on Friday, May 1. The event, held at the Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs on the University of Denver campus, isn’t just about hype. It’s about the practical, often invisible, machinery reshaping how we work, age, and connect. And for neighbors on the Western Slope, the question isn’t whether AI is here — it’s who controls it and what it costs us.

The "AI in our lives" panel, moderated by business reporter Tamara Chuang, brings together two distinct voices in the tech world: Dr. Mohammad Mahoor and Jon Nordmark. They represent the two poles of the current AI conversation: the human-centric application and the scalable infrastructure.

Mahoor, a professor of computer science at the University of Denver, runs the Artificial Intelligence and Social Robotics Lab. His focus isn’t on making killer robots; it’s on making helpful ones. He created Ryan, a robot designed specifically for senior facilities. Ryan doesn’t just sit there. It hangs out. It leads yoga. It helps staff when they’re stretched thin. Mahoor’s research targets children with special needs and older adults with depression or dementia. This is AI applied to the most vulnerable parts of our population. It’s technology that doesn’t replace care; it it augments it.

Then there’s Jon Nordmark, founder and CEO of Iterate.ai. Nordmark built platforms to help companies adopt and scale AI quickly. He’s not just an academic; he’s a serial entrepreneur who founded eBags.com back in 1998. His company, Iterate.ai, develops the tools that let businesses deploy AI at scale. This is the engine room. While Mahoor is building the face of AI, Nordmark is building the body. His work ensures that the technology doesn’t just stay in the lab but actually gets used in the real world.

The panel is one of 11 conversations scheduled for the fourth annual SunFest. It sits alongside discussions on housing in the high country, an aging population, and even a visual showcase of the Arkansas River. That context matters. We’re talking about AI while we talk about water and housing because they’re all part of the same ecosystem. The West is changing. The climate is changing. And now, the tools we use to manage those changes are changing too.

Tickets are available on The Colorado SunFest event page. The event runs all day, but the AI session is the one that demands attention. It’s not just about coding. It’s about the future of work, the future of care, and the future of how we interact with the world around us.

For locals, the lesson is straightforward. The technology Mahoor and Nordmark discuss isn’t waiting for us. It’s already being deployed in healthcare, logistics, and customer service. The question is whether we’re just passive users or active participants in shaping how it integrates into our communities. If you’re interested in how a robot leading yoga might eventually become a standard part of senior care in our valley, this panel is the place to start. If you want to know how the companies scaling this tech might impact local businesses, pay attention to Nordmark.

The cost of entry is a ticket price and a few hours of your time. The cost of ignoring it is higher. It’s the difference between understanding the tools that will define your next decade and being surprised by them.