We’re diving deep into this year’s themes to give you a behind-the-scenes look at how we create the program tracks that will guide 7 days with some 300 speakers, 150 sessions, and 3,000 attendees.
These themes change every year in response to the news of the world, the emerging challenges we face both locally and globally, and the cutting-edge ideas that are inspiring us.
Age of Uncertainty: Imagining a New World Order
The international arena is highly unsettled – with no end in sight to the war in Ukraine, China and Russia flexing their muscles around the globe, and questions surrounding the stability of liberal democracy where once it seemed certain. We think it’s critical to examine how global alliances are shifting and how the United States should navigate these rough waters.
Plus — a hands-on workshop with Karen Brunwasser of FeelBeit, a Jerusalem-based community center, will explore art as a force for peace.
What we’re consuming
Is Liberal Democracy Dying?, The New York Times
Friends in Need: What the War in Ukraine Has Revealed About Alliances, Foreign Affairs
How We Would Know When China Is Preparing to Invade Taiwan, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Russian Influence and Activity in Africa, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Is This How a Cold War With China Begins?, The Ezra Klein Show
A Spectacle of Scoundrels, The Atlantic
Olympics Open Path for Russians to Qualify for Paris 2024, The New York Times
The Future of Democracy in Israel, NPR
America’s Top Hostage Envoy Pursues Freedom for Detained U.S. Citizens in Increasingly Hostile World, The Wall Street Journal
Questions we’re grappling with
What can be done about democratic backsliding around the world?
Is the global balance of power shifting or fracturing? What will new geopolitical arrangements mean for the U.S. and its allies?
How should we approach competition with China and Russia around the globe?
With no end in sight for the war in Ukraine, will our alliances and public support for U.S. engagement endure?
What is our way forward with China? Should we be preparing for hostilities or are we overestimating the threat?
How can cultural activities like sports affect foreign relations for the better and for the worse?
Powering the Future
A typical global greenhouse gas pie chart will show that energy production is the biggest contributor to emissions. We’re taking a closer look at technology that holds great promise for getting carbon out of the electric grid and out of our industrial processes.
Plus — In partnership with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, we’ll take people outside to learn about local ecosystems on a tour under the towering peaks of the Maroon Bells. Attendees will also get the opportunity to walk along the burn scar of a recent wildfire and take tree core samples to see how a changing climate affects forest health.
What we’re consuming
The Age of Energy Insecurity, Foreign Affairs
The Ten Most Innovative Energy Companies in 2022, Fast Company
Is Hydrogen Our Energy Future?, PBS
The Mining Industry’s Next Frontier is Deep, Deep Under the Sea, WIRED
Why America’s Founders Worried About Climate Change, The Wall Street Journal
Biden Administration Proposes Evenly Cutting Water Allotments From Colorado River, The New York Times
Questions we’re grappling with
What does the latest climate science tell us about how fast we need to transition away from fossil fuels?
How will the developing world adopt new low-carbon technologies given the costs and other challenges it faces?
Is there a chance that climate hysteria is overblown?
How will geopolitical ties with countries like China and Russia impact the world’s ability to meet climate targets?
The Mind
We’re living in what’s been called the “golden age of neuroscience.” What does this mean for human thriving? We’ll explore how biology is being integrated with technology in unprecedented ways; the science of creativity and consciousness; nervous system hacks for better living; and tips for navigating mental health when our minds work against us.
Plus — Dan Harris, founder of 10% Happier and author of Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, will guide attendees in a meditation workshop.
What we’re consuming
What SuperAgers show us about longevity, cognitive health as we age, The Washington Post
Are brain implants the future of computing?, The Economist
A Groundbreaking Scientific Discovery Shows That We Can Reverse Death, Popular Mechanics
Why you don’t feel like creating today, Science of Creativity
What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain and Health, Huberman Lab
Questions we’re grappling with
As big tech influences nearly every aspect of our lives, what do we need to know about cognitive liberty?
What are the latest breakthroughs in improving brain function as we age, and how much difference does lifestyle make?
What do advances in brain computer interfaces (BCIs) portend for the general population?
A mental health crisis is gripping our youth — how do we help?
Can we use science to unlock creativity?
How might we harness emotional responses like stress and anxiety to enhance our lives rather than hinder them?
The Edge of Intelligence
Everywhere you look, there’s a splashy headline about the power of artificial intelligence and how it will impact all aspects of our lives in ways we have not yet imagined. Just like the introduction of social media, the ubiquity of AI will have both positive and negative consequences, and this track will consider how we can proceed with caution.
Plus — a fun, hands-on workshop will show you ways to save time and hack your life by using ChatGPT to do work for you.
What we're consuming
How ChatGPT Will Destabilize White-Collar Work, The Atlantic
Using A.I to Detect Breast Cancer That Doctors Miss, The New York Times
Artificial Intelligence is Already Upending Geopolitics, Tech Crunch
How Scientists are Using A.I to Talk to Animals, Scientific American
The A.I Dilemma, Center for Humane Technology
A Psychologist Explains How AI and Algorithms Are Changing Our Lives, The Wall Street Journal
The Age of AI has Begun, GatesNotes
Innovation Power: Why Technology Will Define the Future of Geopolitics, Foreign Affairs
What Biden’s Top A.I. Thinker Concluded We Should Do, The Ezra Klein Show
Cybersecurity and AI, The Lawfare Podcast
A Google AI model developed a skill it wasn't expected to have, Quartz
What Kind of Mind Does ChatGPT Have?, The New Yorker
Review: We Put ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and Bard to the Test, WIRED
GPT-4 Is Exciting and Scary, The New York Times
ChatGPT: A scientist explains the hidden genius and pitfalls of OpenAI's chatbot, BBC Science Focus
Questions we’re grappling with
What are the implications of rolling out AI applications across industries without government regulations in place?
How will AI impact our jobs?
From diagnosing cancer to personalizing education and even understanding animal language, what possibilities lay ahead as machine learning gets smarter?
Some are speculating that AI could be a humanity-ending technology. Could it?
What are the most hopeful advancements that will arise from AI?
Driving the Economy Forward
There are so many critical issues facing our economy right now, both domestically and globally, and they top the headlines: Are we in recession? Is ESG a function of misguided platitudes or a tool to better all kinds of outcomes? How should we approach the debt ceiling? How are CEOs leading change? How do firms (and policy makers) address disruptions?
To generate these and other questions about economic health, we work with advisors who are adept at thinking through the fundamentals and implications of economic change, several of whom work at the media outlets above. We also work very closely with our partners at CNBC and the larger NBC News Group to develop and frame the best questions to consider from the stage, and then who should address them.
What we're consuming
Millions Gain Access to 401(k)s as More Small Businesses Launch Plans, The Wall Street Journal
Charting the Global Economy: IMF Trims 2023 Growth Projections, Bloomberg
Why energy companies need to innovate value chains now, Financial Times
The origin story of “too big to fail,” Marketplace from American Public Media
Why markets can never be made truly safe, The Economist
Customer Experience in the Age of AI, Harvard Business Review
ChatGPT is about to revolutionize the economy. We need to decide what that looks like., MIT Technology Review
Daily Newsletters, including:
DealBook with Andrew Ross Sorkin
Five Things to Start Your Day, Bloomberg
Questions we're grappling with
Can we afford purpose? Should shareholder or stakeholder capitalism define our economic system?
How will Artificial Intelligence affect our jobs?
What are the key challenges to the global economy right now, and how should we address them?
We have been looking at interest rates as the tool to manage inflation and issues of economic growth for close to a century now. Is it time to think about new tools that could offer a broader range of economic outcomes?
Given the significant attention to and investment in clean tech, is it fair to say that we are in a new industrial revolution driven by electrification?
What are the pros and cons of remote work?
Post pandemic, we are seeing downtowns across our major cities experiencing economic pain, largely due to the rise of remote work. What does this signal about the future of downtowns?
We the People
Americans seem more culturally and ideologically divided than at any point in most of our lifetimes, with no prospect of bridging those divides any time soon. The only thing we seem to agree upon is that our politics are broken and our leaders are unable to solve the nation’s most fundamental challenges. What will this mean for our future, collectively and individually? Is there a way forward? Can American democracy be repaired?
Plus — Eric Liu will facilitate "Civic Culture Academy," Josiah Ober and Alison McQueen will take attendees through the "Skills of Citizenship," and Jeff Rosen will teach a "How to Interpret the Constitution" workshop.
What we're consuming
Paths to Depolarization, Persuasion
Americans Are Tired of Political Division. Here’s How to Bridge It, TIME
What If Instead of Calling People Out, We Called Them In?, The New York Times
Two Supreme Court Cases Could “Break the Internet”: What Role Should Free Speech Play?, Just Security
These radically simple changes helped lawmakers actually get things done, The Washington Post
Linda Greenhouse - What’s Happened to the Supreme Court?: Reflections on 45 years of court watching, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Democracy on the Knife’s Edge, The Bulwark
Questions we're grappling with
Who are “We the People”?
What can be done to save American democracy from itself?
Can we learn to talk to each other? To listen to each other?
What should Americans know about their country and who makes the important decisions?
Life Well Lived
Despite the fact that philosophers throughout history have debated what it means to live a good life, it’s an ongoing and unresolved question. Interrogating different approaches and talking to others about what makes a good life can broaden our own understanding and challenge our assumptions.
We approached the question of what makes for a life well lived by examining what might be considered the individual components of a good life, such as meaningful work and fulfilling relationships, and our speakers reflect these different components.
Plus — Catherine Price will lead attendees through a “funtervention” workshop, showing how we could all use more fun and some ways we can find it in our everyday lives.
What we're consuming
The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days, Kate Bowler
Inciting Joy, Ross Gay
The Two Choices That Keep a Midlife Crisis at Bay, The Atlantic
Aristotle’s Way: How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life, Edith Hall
The Ancient Guide for Uncertain Times, BBC
The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness, Harvard Medicine
Experts at Means, Amateurs at Ends, Yale Center for Faith and Culture
Arthur Brooks: Thoughts on Happiness, Crystallized Intelligence, and Turning Weaknesses into Strengths, The Rich Roll Podcast
Questions we're grappling with
What can ancient philosophy teach us about living a good life in the modern world?
When is life good enough?
How should we think about work in our “good” lives?
Who are we responsible for?
Do we need faith or spirituality to be happy?
What do our religious traditions tell us about how to build a meaningful life?
How can we age purposefully?
We're excited to dig into all these topics and more at the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival. We hope you'll join us.