Tens of thousands of people are expected to descend upon San Francisco starting today for Dreamforce, one of the world’s largest tech conferences, as the three-day event kicks off at the Moscone Center.

Now in its 24th year, the conference brings together technology professionals, networkers and some of the industry’s biggest names.

More than 50,000 people are expected to attend in person, with artificial intelligence once again taking center stage at a pivotal moment for the industry.

“Everything is so fast, there’s new things happening every day… the only way to get introduced to something new is something like this,” said attendee Esrom Woldemichael.

However, this year’s conversation around AI is shifting as industry leaders sound the alarm about its potential risks.

“I’m definitely interested in learning more, especially in terms of privacy… to protect security and privacy,” said attendee Leesa.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is among the AI leaders calling for greater attention to safety as the technology grows more powerful. His remarks follow a viral post last week from a former Anthropic researcher warning that AI could “kill us all by the end of the decade.”

“There are real dangers. And I think for too long the industry lied to people about the fact that this technology had risks,” Amodei said.

President Trump is pushing back on those concerns, calling fears about AI a “hoax” as the debate over the technology’s risks continues.

San Jose State University tech expert Ahmed Banafa said the ongoing debate could change the tone of Dreamforce, shifting some attention away from what AI can do and toward how the industry manages its risks.

“Now it’s going to be shifted, AI is now the news, not the use of AI itself,” Banafa said. “That’s going to steal some of the attention on the product from the conference.”

With some of AI’s biggest names slated to take the stage this week — including appearances by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei—Banafa noted that their messaging will be critical.

“They’re just going to reinforce what they’re thinking. The future is AI… but we need to do it smart,” Banafa said.

The city is bracing for heavy traffic and road closures around the Moscone Center during the three-day event.