All times, sessions, speakers, and panels are subject to change.
Wednesday, November 19
8AM
Registration Opens
Continental Breakfast
10AM
Conference Welcome
Steve Buri — President, Discovery Institute Cole Smead — CEO and Portfolio Manager, Smead Capital Management
Kickoff Keynote
10:15
Work Less, Play More
How The Rise of AI is Transforming Sports and Entertainment
Ari Emanuel — CEO, TKO Group Holdings, Inc.
Fireside Chat: Ari Emanuel with George Gilder and Cole Smead
Panel Discussion
11AM
Educating the Tech Workforce
Has Arizona Provided a Roadmap?
Introduction: Sandra Watson — President and CEO, Arizona Commerce Authority Moderator: The Hon. Doug Ducey — Former Arizona Governor Keri Ingraham — Director of American Center for Transforming Education Jenny Clark — School Choice Advocate and Founder of Love Your School
11:45
Break
Keynote Luncheon with thanks toBlackRock
NOON
The New Paradigm: Life After Chips
Introduction: Bruce Chapman — Founder and Board Chair, Discovery Insitute George Gilder — Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute
Fireside Chat: Andrew Mayne with George Gilder
1PM
Break
1:15
The Future of GPU Rendering
Jules Urbach — CEO, OTOY Inc.
1:45
Innovations in AI Compute
Have We Solved the Energy Puzzle?
Jim Tour — Professor of Chemistry and Material Science, Rice University
2:15
Break
2:30
Will Decentralized AI Replace Data Centers?
Andrew Mayne — Founder, Interdimensional AI
Panel Discussion
3PM
The Circular Economy
Will Doc Brown’s Vision End Rare Earth Mining and War?
Moderator: George Gilder — Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute Jim Tour — Professor of Chemistry and Material Science, Rice University Steve Ragiel — President, Flash Metals USA Travis Langster — Founder and CEO, Tora Consulting
Panel Discussion
4PM
American Energy Dominance
Past or Present?
Moderator: Danny Seiden — President and CEO, Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry Cole Smead — Smead Capital Management Henry Hager — Managing Director, Waterous Energy Fund Doug Terreson — Former Head of Energy Research at Evercore ISI
5PM
Break
6PM
Hosted Reception
Keynote Dinner with thanks toSmead Capital Management
7PM
Understanding Consciousness
Are Human Beings Machines?
Moderator: Jay Richards — Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute and Director, DeVos Center Dr. Michael Egnor – Professor of Neurosurgery, SUNY Stony Brook Michael Shermer – Executive Director, Skeptics Society Robert J. Marks — Director, Walter Bradley Center for Natural & Artificial Intelligence
9PM
Adjournment
Thursday, November 20
8AM
Breakfast (Provided)
9AM
How 1960s Law Corrodes America’s Can-Do Culture
Introduction: George Gilder, Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute Philip K. Howard — Chairman of the Board, Common Good
9:30
Break
Panel Discussion
9:45
Innovations in Health Care
AI and Other Breakthroughs
Moderator: Eric Garcia — COO at Oisin Biotechnologies Babak Parviz — CEO and Founder, NewDays.ai Dr. Richard Cartledge — Chief Medical Officer, Syntheon
10:45
Break
11AM
Science, Society, and the Next American Edge
Lev Gonick — Enterprise Chief Information Officer, Arizona State University
11:30
Networking Break
Keynote Luncheon with thanks toNetChoice
NOON
Has the Bill Come Due?
Three Views on the Debt Crisis
Moderator: Jay Richards — Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute and Director, DeVos Center Steve Forbes — Chairman, Forbes Media Mark Skousen — Doti-Spogli Chair of Enterprise, Chapman University John Tamny — Forbes Editor and Author of The Deficit Delusion
1PM
Break
Fireside Chat with thanks to Microsoft
1:15
The AI Revolution
Is it Living Up to the Hype?
Uli Homann — Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Bob Kelly — Value Accelerator and Advisor
Fireside Chat
2:00
The Age of Entanglement
Louisa Gilder — Author, The Age of Entanglement Jay Richards — Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute and Director, DeVos Center
2:30
Networking Break
Panel Discussion
3PM
The Great Convergence
Where Public Policy Meets the Future of Technology
Moderator: Steve DelBianco — President and CEO, NetChoice Mark Baisley — Colorado State Senator Neil Chilson — Head of AI Policy, Abundance Institute
4PM
Break
4:15
Chains of Command
The PRC’s Blockchain Strategy for Global Power
Jinyoung Englund — Strategic Advisor and Independent Board Director
Reaction
George Gilder — Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute
4:45
COSM: Past, Present, and Future
Steve Buri — President, Discovery Institute
5PM
Adjournment – Dinner on Your Own (Enjoy Scottsdale!)
Friday, Nov 21
8AM
Friday Breakfast (Provided)
9AM
Tariffs, Technology, and Grand Strategy
From Hamilton to Trump
Thomas Lehrman — Managing Partner, Teamworthy Ventures
9:30
Networking Break
Fireside Chat
10AM
Reflections on Genesis and Henry Kissinger (via live interactive video)
Eric Schmidt, KBE — Chair and CEO of Relativity Space, Former Chairman and CEO of Google George Gilder — Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute Facilitator: Bob Kelly — Value Accelerator and Advisor
11AM
Revolutionary Superconductivity
Does it Change Everything?
Jamil Tahir-Kheli — Physicist and Researcher, CalTech
11:30
Reflections
Carver Mead — Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Applied Science at the California Institute of Technology, Kyoto Prize Winner (2022) Introduction by George Gilder