Anticipate
Abstract
- What do we not know about the ocean that we should know?
- How can we make the best use of the vast amount of genetic data flowing from the oceans?
- How can scientists catch up with the rapidly changing state of the ocean?
- How can we measure the value of the oceans and share those benefits equitably before its resources are irreparably harmed or depleted?
Participants
Moderated by:
Kasmira Jefford, Editor-in-Chief, Geneva Solutions, UK
With:
Gerard Barron, CEO & Chairman, The Metals Company, Canada (remotely)
Robert Blasiak, Researcher, Stockholm Resilience Centre, USA (remotely)
Antje Boetius, Director, Alfred Wegener Institute; Marine Biologist; Leader, Helmholtz Association, German Research Centres, Germany (remotely)
Anders Meibom, Professor, EPFL’s Laboratory for Biological Geochemistry; Professor ad personam, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, Denmark
Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, Russia
André Hoffmann, Businessman, Environmentalist, Philanthropist; Vice-Chairman, Hoffmann-La Roche, Switzerland
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Accelerate
Abstract
- Many initiatives for “digital twins” have been recently launched. To what extent will these initiatives be able to reproduce the complexity of real-world systems?
- Can we combine models of physical reality with those simulating more intangible social phenomena?
- How reliable are today’s leading models and how can policy makers use them wisely?
- How can we ensure models used to guide policy are transparent, equitable and explainable?
Participants
Moderated by:
Chris Luebkeman, Leader, Strategic Foresight Hub, Office of the President, ETHZ, USA
With:
Maurice Borgeaud, Head, Department Science Applications and Future Technologies, Directorate, Earth Observation Programmes, European Space Agency, Switzerland
Sean Cleary, Executive Vice-Chair, FutureWorld Foundation; Member, Advisory Board, Carnegie Artificial Intelligence & Equality Initiative; Managing Director, Centre for Advanced Governance; Member, GESDA Diplomacy Forum, South Africa
Neil Davies, Director, University of California’s Gump South Pacific Research Station on Moorea (French Polynesia); Research Affiliate, Berkeley Institute for Data Science; Vice President, Tetiaroa Society, USA
Dirk Helbing, Professor, Computational Social Science, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences; Affiliate, Computer Science Department, ETHZ; Member, GESDA Academic Forum, Germany (remotely)
Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction; Head, UNDRR; Member, GESDA Diplomacy Forum, Japan
Philippe Gillet, Chief Science Officer, SICPA; Former Vice President, EPFL, France
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Accelerate
Abstract
- What will the next generation of AI look like and how should we best prepare for it?
- What priorities should inform the next stage of AI development?
- How will advanced AI be able to address global challenges differently than today’s technology?
- What can we do to avoid “AI nationalism” and ensure broad access to the technology and applications developed on the basis of advanced AI?
Participants
Moderated by:
Amandeep Gill, Director I-DAIR project, India
With:
Pushmeet Kohli, Head, AI for Science, DeepMind, India (remotely)
Nanjira Sambuli, Policy Analyst, Advocacy Strategist; Board Member, Digital Impact Alliance, Development Gateway, and The New Humanitarian; Member, GESDA Diplomacy Forum, Kenya
Daren Tang, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organization; Member, GESDA Diplomacy Forum, Singapore
Rüdiger Urbanke, Professor of Communication Theory, EPFL; Member, GESDA Academic Forum, Austria
Wendell Wallach, Senior Advisor, The Hastings Center, United States
Ewan Birney, Deputy Director General, EMBL; Director, EMBL-EBI, UK
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Anticipate
Abstract
- What lessons can be learned from the response to COVID-19?
- Where is the next systemic crisis likely to come from?
- What role should be played by the international community, both in Geneva and around the world, in preparing for the next systemic crisis?
Participants
Moderated by:
Elaine Fletcher, Editor-in-Chief, Health Policy Watch, Switzerland/USA
With:
Patrick Aebischer, President Emeritus, EPFL; Vice-Chairman GESDA, Switzerland
Chorh Chuan Tan, Chief Scientist, Ministry of Health, Singapore; Board Member, GESDA, Singapore
Matthias Egger, Professor of Bioethics, ETHZ; Founder, Health Ethics and Policy Lab, Department of Health Sciences and Technology; Board Member GESDA, Switzerland
Jeremy Farrar, Director, Wellcome Trust; Board Member, GESDA, UK
Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, World Health Organization (WHO), India
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Closing Plenary
Abstract
Cities are at the forefront of people’s concrete concerns, for example in terms of climate change or digitalization. Scientific and technological advances are already being used by some cities to innovate in this area. Others have already initiated complex modelling processes or are working on the implementation of digital democracy and are asking their inhabitants to collect data in order to better understand how they live in the city. Overall, how can science help cities and their leaders to address concrete concerns for their residents?
Participants
Moderated by:
Niniane Paeffgen, Managing Director, Swiss Digital Initiative, Switzerland
With:
Sami Kanaan, President, Geneva Cities Hub; President, Swiss Youth Commission, Switzerland
Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, UNHabitat, Malaysia
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Closing Plenary
Abstract
Three students in science, diplomacy and business report on their experience at the GESDA Science and Diplomacy Anticipation Summit 2021.
Participants
Moderated by:
David Goodhart, Journalist, Author and Think-Tanker; Head, Demography Unit, Policy Exchange (think-tank); Member, GESDA Diplomacy Forum, UK
With:
Joseph Maggiore, Ph.D. Student in Bioengineering Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, US
Hannah Tickle, Master’s Student in Social & Organizational Psychology, University of Lausanne and London School of Economics, Switzerland/UK
Keshav Khanna, Master’s Student in International Affairs, Graduate Institute Geneva, India
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Participant
Didier Queloz, Professor of Astrophysics at ETH Zurich and Cambridge University, 2019 Nobel Prize laureate in Physics, Switzerland.
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Science and theater: an experiment with The Frozen Sea
About the Playwright:
Maury Zeff is a San Francisco playwright and fiction writer whose work has been performed and published throughout the United States. He formerly worked in the tech industry in Silicon Valley and Asia, most recently as the managing director of Yahoo! Southeast Asia. His previous career left him deeply fascinated by digital technology, which he frequently explores in his plays and fiction.
Presented and reported by:
Samira Kiani, CEO and Founder, GenexGen; Director, Tomorrow.Life Initiative; Associate Professor, Liver Research Center, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, US; Member GESDA Academic Forum, US
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