The Aspen Institute

Held in partnership with the Aspen Institute España, the Socrates España Seminar will take place from May 29-31, 2025. Socrates international seminars include three seminar sessions, program meals, and local excursions/tours. Seminar tuition is $3,000, which includes lodging, materials, and meals. Tuition does not include travel. Please contact socrates@aspeninstitute.org if you are interested in participating  

Rising Generations
Imagining the Human Future

We’re living through a time of dramatic change. Thanks largely to technology and its manifold effects on society, human existence is being transformed in ways we’ve barely begun to understand. Is AI a gift to civilization or a potential threat? How will climate change alter life on Earth? Will humans eventually live on other planets? Might we help shape the future by imagining the various ways it could unfold? Which scenarios hold the most promise and what can we do now to increase the chances that these outcomes prevail? Voices from different generations will help us navigate these questions, drawing on the insights of great thinkers who have tried over the centuries to glimpse the future, including some who are working on this puzzle today. There’s much to learn from their philosophical, political, scientific, spiritual and artistic visions. Join us for a stimulating dialogue about where humanity might be headed long-term and how rising generations can help make it a positive, flourishing future.

Moderator: William Powers is a writer and technologist. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Hamlet’s BlackBerry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age.