Technology
Communication
In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. The rapid growth of generative A.I. — surpassing expectations with over 100 million users of the technology in a short span of time — is a testament to its distinct intelligence and unique approach to problem-solving. There are many upsi...
While internet connectivity, technology, and digital skills are central to every part of modern life, the unfortunate reality is that millions of Americans have been left behind. We’ll discuss how transformational investment in digital equity and inclusion is helping close the digital divide.
A wise health consumer learns to be cautious when consulting Dr. Google, given the extent of the misleading or patently false information available online. But the internet is also an empowering source of rigorous, well-vetted knowledge, if you know where to look. Users need search engines, websites, and social media that offer ready access to trustworthy ideas and finding...
The older we get, the more we need our friends — but the harder it is to keep them. This is an aphorism in the best of times, but it’s tragically true after more than two years of pandemic. Jennifer Senior's story, "It's Your Friends Who Break Your Heart," published in The Atlantic last winter, touched a nerve and went viral. Are we seeing a fundamental shift in the nature...
Intelligence is more than the gray matter sloshing around in your skull, and more than the nerves that make sense of your environment. Your mind utilizes extra-neural resources, including the perceptions and knowledge in the minds of others — so the more people you surround yourself with, the bigger your brain is. In this session, we’ll dive into the research that shows ho...
COVID-19 vastly accelerated vaccine skepticism, such that even routine childhood immunizations, including shots that had largely eliminated measles, are now being questioned. Misinformation can be as contagious as disease, undermining faith in institutions, jeopardizing public health and safety, and distorting clinical decision making. Come watch a live demonstration that...
Meet Kistein Monkhouse, a 2022 Aspen Ideas: Health Fellow who's bridging gaps in patient/provider communication with a storytelling app that empowers people to own the narrative of their health journey.
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks says liberal democracy has become about “me” instead of “us.” In his new book, Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times, Sacks says we are losing our strong, shared moral code and that’s challenging our sense of community and common good. Growth comes from an openness to others who may not be like us and, he says, developing a moral bo...
Kai-Fu Lee, a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence, gives AI a B- for its performance during the pandemic. It’s far from perfect, he says, but gets a solid pass for its contributions to contact tracing and containment in China, where Lee lives and works. Importantly, he says, advances in artificial intelligence give us plenty of reasons to believe that the next...
Artificial intelligence isn’t something we’ll see in the future. Thinking machines are already here, and nine powerful companies in the US and China control their development.
This session considers the importance of trust, and a healthy distrust, in the well-being of a democracy and the role of the press in this equation drawing on the report of the Knight Commission on Trust, Media and Democracy released Feb. 5, 2019 titled, “Crisis in Democracy: Renewing Trust in America.” What measures should local journalism, social media, and the public ta...
Studies completed after the 2016 election show that media coverage of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was overwhelmingly negative, extremely light on policy, and disproportionately focused on sideshows. What’s more, all of the major prediction models that use polls to game out election outcome probabilities predicted a Clinton victory. Could these entities, which are...
Love is an emotion and an instinct for sure, but the ability to love is a skill that every young person should be taught, given how important relationships and love are to every aspect of our lives.
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Center for Humane Technology
Former white supremacist Christian Picciolini now dedicates his life to helping others counter hate.
As humans, we have an inherent and intense desire for connection. Social media and our always-on devices have simultaneously fulfilled and thwarted this desire, so what comes next as artificially intelligent companions become even more integrated into our lives? In this interactive conversation, two tech journalists will explore and demonstrate the technology that wants to...