David K. Gibson is here to guide readers through the experience of attending the 2017 Aspen Ideas Festival and Spotlight Health.
Sessions at AIF are divided into program tracks; these provide structure to the festival, and allow both broad overviews and deep dives into defined subject areas. But you can watch whatever sessions you like. These are a few themed paths you can take as you choose your own Ideas adventure. (For even more options, see my previous guide.)
The Past is Prolix
Those who do not learn history are destined to attend fascinating festival sessions on the subject. These selections are made based on the specious notion that the past may be in some way relevant to the present.
The Three Lives of James Madison
9:00 am – 10:00 am MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Paepcke Auditorium
Constitutionally a uniter, he has a change of heart or two.
Can DNA Help Us Grapple with the Past?
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Koch Building, Booz Allen Hamilton Room
DNA is a history book, and can tell us a lot of things about ourselves that weren’t written down elsewhere.
The MLK I Knew — and What Today’s Changemakers Should Learn from Him
12:00 pm – 12:55 pm MDT on Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Clarence Jones was the person who secreted out the scraps of paper that Martin Luther King, Jr. used to write his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” We should listen to what he has to say.
Might the Past Inform Our Future?
7:45 am – 8:45 am MDT on Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Hotel Jerome Ballroom
Jon Meacham is a historian, so presumably his answer is “It should.” But does it, really?
Are the Founders Back in Vogue?
9:00 am – 10:00 am MDT on Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room
They are poster boys on Broadway and at NRA conventions. But how much do we truly know them?
Case Study: James Madison’s ‘Federal Negative’ and the Making of the US Constitution
10:20 am – 11:45 am MDT on Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Buckminster Fuller Dome
Because you can never have too much Madison, especially when taught by a Harvard Professor.
Impeachment: A Citizen’s Guide
12:00 pm – 12:55 pm MDT on Wednesday, June 28, 2017
St. Regis Hotel Ballroom
Cass Sunstein will deliver a completely historical view of the process of impeachment, which absolutely no one will tie to current events during the Q&A.
Art, Architecture, and Justice
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm MDT on Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Doerr-Hosier Center, Kaufman Room
We do more than write history books; we build monuments to events and movements, good and bad. Drop in and read a few buildings.
When big ideas spawn big problems, and vice versa
I tried to talk the programming team into creating a track called the Bad Ideas Festival, but that didn’t go over. But it doesn’t mean I can’t create my own!
A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
9:00 am – 10:00 am MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Greenwald Pavilion
We have technology to manipulate DNA, to cure disease and end hunger! What could go wrong?
Moonshot Thinking
10:20 am – 11:20 am MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Buckminster Fuller Dome
X, formerly known as Google[x], embraces failure in the name of innovation. They are my people.
What Technology Makes Us Forget about Life
12:00 pm – 12:55 pm MDT on Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Hotel Jerome Ballroom
We have technology for universal connectedness, to cure boredom and end ignorance! What could go wrong?
Deep Dive: Managing through Disruption
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm MDT on Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room
We have technology to maximize efficiency, to make work and manufacturing easier! What could go wrong?
Deep Dive: The Genetic Revolution, Unintended Consequences, and the Public Trust
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm MDT on Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Greenwald Pavilion
If you really want to know what could go wrong, I’m betting that this all-star panel has a running list.
The Implications—Bright and Dark—of Powerful New Technologies
9:00 am – 10:00 am MDT on Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Paepcke Auditorium
Quoting the official description: “Next will come new advances so deeply symbiotic with their human creators that they have the potential to help us be.” Cough.
Hacking Hate and Extremism
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm MDT on Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Aspen Meadows Restaurant
You’ve got a pretty solid idea of what’s gone wrong on the internet, but maybe we can use those same tools and approaches to do some good. Because we’ve got to learn from failure, right?
Sessions featuring people who are almost acquaintances of the author.
I knew Nate Persily in college, when he was well along his way to becoming one of the nation’s finest legal minds, and I was well on my way to becoming a songwriter. One of us did quite well (hint: One of us is at Stanford; neither is on Spotify). And while I’ve never met Anil Dash, I’m pretty sure he and I have commented in the same discussion thread at least once. (Incidentally, he can talk more eloquently about the musical legacy of Prince than any person on earth.) Your version of this list may be longer.
Deep Dive: Can Our Democracy Survive the Internet?
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Greenwald Pavilion
Nate Persily and some other geniuses discuss how the internet broke everything, including our government, and ask if it can be fixed.
Is Tech Due for a Moral Reckoning?
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Koch Building, Lauder Room
Anil Dash and some other good people address the ethics of the internet economy. Presumably, they’ve found a few examples to discuss.
The Privacy Paradox
10:20 am – 11:20 am MDT on Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Kresge Building, Hines Room
Anil Dash and other brilliant people tell you how (and why) to reign in control of your personal data.
