Identity , AI/ML Identity at AI speed: What to look forward to at Ping YOUniverse 2026 August 17, 2026 Share By Paul Wagenseil Credit: Ping Identity Identity security is no longer just about determining who should be allowed through the door. Now that AI agents act autonomously on behalf of employees and businesses, identity systems must decide whether individual actions should be permitted in real time. That evolution of identity security will be a central theme at Ping YOUniverse 2026 , taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 1–2, at the JW Marriott in Austin, Texas. The conference is expected to draw more than 2,000 cybersecurity, IT and digital-business leaders, with sessions spanning customer identity and access management (CIAM), workforce identity, healthcare, public-sector identity and technical implementation. Tuesday, Sept. 1 Day One begins with Ping Identity CEO and founder Andre Durand, whose opening keynote, "The future of identity: Powering trust in the AI era," will examine why identity must evolve from verifying users at login to determining whether human and AI-agent actions should be trusted as they occur. Durand will follow that with a fireside conversation with Johnny Deutsch, SVP of IAM at LPL Financial, about using identity to support AI innovation safely. Both sessions will touch upon the conference's overall argument: Autonomous agents require continuous verification, runtime authorization and governance rather than traditional login-and-session trust. Click here to register to watch a livestream of both Day One opening sessions. Later on Tuesday, Karen Leavitt of Unum will discuss how identity, sensitive data and regulatory requirements intersect in the insurance industry. Meanwhile, Josh Roth, CISO at Rady Children's Hospital, and Steve Giovannetti, Field CTO at SDG, bring the particularly high-stakes perspective of healthcare security, in which identity controls must protect sensitive information without impeding patient care. Day One's afternoon breakout sessions will divide into CIAM and workforce tracks. Abhilash Nama and Chris Clute of Southwest Airlines will bring an airline's perspective on identity security, while Chris Milam of Standard Insurance will illustrate how dynamic risk evaluation helps his company combat fraud. Wednesday, Sept. 2 Day Two opens with Ping Identity Chief Product Officer Peter Barker and his keynote "Building the future of trust in the AI era." Barker will explore the idea of identity becoming a common trust control plane governing both human and agent actions and will lay out Ping's product vision and roadmap for an AI-driven environment. The following main-stage session, led by Kate Atkinson, Ping Identity VP of Product Management, turns toward AI-first headless identity and how organizations can replace manual configuration with more intent-driven implementation while retaining governance. Click here to register to watch a livestream of both Day Two opening sessions. Following Atkinson's session, Nishid Sankaranarayanan, Head of IAM at Genuine Party Company, and Sachin Baskmatkar, Executive Director of Enterprise Cybersecurity and Risk at Estée Lauder, will provide an enterprise-risk perspective on trust verification. Later on Wednesday, Jennifer Price and Joseph Shay of Corebridge, along with Raj Radhakrishnan of Deloitte, add business-operations and global IAM perspectives, offering attendees opportunities to hear how large enterprises translate identity strategy into operational practice. Tod Bickley, AVP of Security & Infrastructure and IAM at Nationwide Insurance, will bring identity and infrastructure security together. Day Two's afternoon breakout structure expands the conversation further, offering technical, business-value, healthcare and public-sector tracks, giving attendees the opportunity to move from strategic questions about AI and trust into implementation and industry-specific concerns. Ping Identity Product and Solution Marketing Director Shasta Turney will lead two round-table discussions on trust in the healthcare industry, while Ping's Troy Grubbs, Kelvin Brewer and Justin Chin will conduct two more round-table panels on public-sector trust. For identity-security professionals, the attraction of YOUniverse will extend beyond individual product announcements. The more consequential question running through the agenda is what happens to IAM when users are no longer necessarily human, actions occur at machine speed, and authentication alone cannot establish sufficient trust. Click here to register for the Ping YOUniverse conference. Paul Wagenseil Paul Wagenseil is a custom content strategist for CyberRisk Alliance, leading creation of content developed from CRA research and aligned to the most critical topics of interest for the cybersecurity community. He previously held editor roles focused on the security market at Tom’s Guide, Laptop Magazine, TechNewsDaily.com and SecurityNewsDaily.com. Related Privacy Why regulated industries can’t afford to skip data privacy for their AI projects David Balaban August 17, 2026 Security teams in heavily regulated industries can’t afford to make data privacy a “nice-to-have” option. Identity Thailand plans mandatory multi-factor authentication after massive data leak SC Staff August 12, 2026 The Digital Economy and Society Minister is seeking cabinet approval for compulsory multi-factor authentication across all government systems. AI/ML Who owns the agent? Identity governance for autonomous AI Paul Wagenseil August 12, 2026 Here's why AI agents must be treated as a new type of identity -- yet always must be tied to a human. Related Events Cybercast Building the Future of Trust in the AI Era & AI-First Headless Identity Let’s You Build with AI Wed Sep 2 Cybercast The Future of Identity: Powering Trust in the AI Era & Fireside Chat with LPL Financial Tue Sep 1 Cybercast The identity evolution that enables AI confidence On-Demand Event Get daily email updates SC Media's daily must-read of the most current and pressing daily news Business Email By clicking the Subscribe button below, you agree to SC Media Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . 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