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“Without AI, humanity will not survive”
News-making roboticist DAVID HANSON on humanising robots. AI’s next tipping point. SOPHIA ROBOT on what it means to be AI
“There’s no such thing as racial purity. Even modern humans have Neanderthal genes"
Ancient DNA detective DAVID REICH on the fascinating story of human origins. And how our lost ancestors have modern impacts
"We want to create superhumans. Tech is moving so fast, our biology can't keep up"
Scientist DAN TURNER & ex-US Navy SEAL PETE NASHCHAK debate superhumanity & the paths to it: natural or biotech?
“I'd be very disappointed if science proves God. We're constrained by what we can measure"
Pioneering astronomer HEINO FALCKE on imaging Black Holes. And why looking at the universe deepens his belief in the divine
"Our guts control our minds. Even depression can travel through fecal matter"
Frontier neurobiologist JOHN CRYAN on why our gut is our second brain, and how bacteria impacts our behaviour
"The world needs a new economic model for AI - where every user is a stakeholder"
Tech magus PRAMOD VARMA on a voice-first AI for India & its possibilities. And bold new ideas for our data-driven society
“Consciousness isn’t something we have. It’s who we are”
Yoga Yoda to the stars EDDIE STERN on bodies as portals. Awareness as power. And the unique yogic view of consciousness
Is AI a new form of colonialism. Or is it a gift to humanity?
Scientist at AlphaFold PUSHMEET KOHLI & AI advisor to the Rome, Pope & UN, PAOLO BENANTI, debate AI potency, perils, guardrails
“Forget robots, human intelligence is key to survival”
3-time Green Oscar winner RITA BANERJI on how the philosophy of the forest could save us. And why the youth are key
“We shouldn’t even be trying to build conscious machines”
Neuroscientist ANIL SETH on how to solve consciousness. Mindbending experiments. And why we see the world inside out
“Technology is the most unique human trait of all”
Sci-fi powerhouse KEN LIU on storytelling as humanity’s oldest technology. And using tech as plot device to tell human stories
“We're going to lose 50% of our species. De-extinction can stop this”
Gene genius GEORGE CHURCH & moonshot entrepreneur BEN LAMM on the biology-breaking frontiers of gene editing
“Your data is already being tracked, why not monetise it?”
Investment Sherpa NIVRUTI RAI on how India is building AI. Its new economic vision. And why 1.4 billion Indians are data factories
“It took us less than a month to hack a nuclear reactor. No system is safe”
Israel’s ex-cyber chief YIGAL UNNA & disinformation soldier WU MIN HSUAN on how the digital world is being weaponised
SYNAPSE Conclave Day 1
2 days. 40 speakers. Unpacking the burning question of our time: what does it mean to be human in an age of AI?
“Our mind can be our best friend. Or our worst enemy”
Biologist-turned-monk MATTHIEU RICARD on Buddhism as science of the mind. And why training for altruism & compassion can save the world
“Whoever cracks superintelligence first will set its values & goals”
Transhumanist philosopher NICK BOSTROM on life after superintelligence. How humanity will evolve. And raising AI right
“The same tech that distracts can rewire our brain”
Neuro-disruptor ADAM GAZZALEY on our ancient brains in a high-tech world, the global cognition crisis & how to take back control
"22% of world's carbon capture happens in the Ganga"
Deep time historian PRANAY LAL on our past told through carbon. How the planet shaped climate. And why even rocks go extinct
“We need an inter-species constitution”
Project CETI scientist GIOVANNI PETRI on learning to speak whale with AI & robotics – and whether we should
“$10,000 Russian drones wiped out $10 million US tanks”
Ex-Pentagon Director, Unit X RAJ M SHAH on next-gen weapons, new maths of war. And how tech is subverting the battlefield
“I can never be replaced by AI"
ANURAG KASHYAP, NIKKHIL ADVANI, VIKRAMADITYA MOTWANE, SONA MOHAPATRA on why human creativity will survive the age of AI
“In the digital era, we are the product”
Lawyer & ethicist NITA FARAHANY on the battle for our brains. And how to save the last frontier of what makes us human
“You can’t build brands on mass media anymore"
Retail veteran KISHORE BIYANI & space tech star AWAIS AHMED on a new era of Indian entrepreneurship, And why data is king
“We want to keep people in their 20s, 30s for 100s of years”
Longevity entrepreneur AVI ROY & scientist ELENA SERGEEVA on fact vs fiction of age reversal. And why immortality can't yet be found in a pill
“We need billions more tons of metals to go green"
Energy entrepreneur GERARD BARRON & climate systems architect ARUNABHA GHOSH on whether deep sea mining can take us to net zero
"If you think the US will regulate AI, you're not reading the news"
3-time Pulitzer winner THOMAS FRIEDMAN & Co-Chair, UN's AI Panel, CARME ARTIGAS on the race to dominate AI. Who will win. And how to regulate it
SYNAPSE Conclave - Day 2
