All times, sessions, speakers, and panels are subject to change.
Wednesday, November 18
10AM
Registration Opens
NOON
Conference Welcome and Luncheon
Steve Buri — President, Discovery Institute Cole Smead — CEO and Portfolio Manager, Smead Capital Management
Reality Check: A Roadmap to COSM 2026
Jay Richards — Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute and VP of Social and Domestic Policy at Heritage Foundation
Reality Check: Beyond Chips
George Gilder — Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute
1PM
Building the Future of Semiconductor Manufacturing
Ken MacWilliams – President, Multibeam Corporation
1:30
Networking Breakwith thanks to Silicon Oasis
2PM
Moore’s Law
Is It the End, or Is It Just Beginning?
Pat Gelsinger – Former CEO, Intel Fireside Chat with George Gilder and Bret Swanson – Director, Heritage Foundation
2:45
Break
Panel Discussion
3PM
The Silicon Miracle
Arizona as the Epicenter of Chip Innovation
Moderator: Jonathan Keyser — Managing Partner, Keyser Commercial Real Estate David Kim — Head of Legal and Compliance, ASML David McCann — Senior VP, Chief of Staff, Business Unit, Amkor Technology
4PM
The Capex Conundrum
AI Data Centers and Distributive AI
Andrew Mayne — Founder, Interdimensional AI; Researcher; Prompt Engineer, OpenAI
4:30
Reaction to the Proceedings
Moderator: Bret Swanson — Director for the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation Bob Metcalfe — Inventor of Ethernet and Turing Award Winner (2022) George Gilder — Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute
5PM
Break
With thanks to GPEC and Visit Phoenix
6PM
Hosted Reception
Christine Mackay – President & CEO, Greater Phoenix Economic Council Ron Price – President & CEO, Visit Phoenix
Keynote Dinner with thanks toSmead Capital Management
7PM
Takeoff, Glide Path, or Stall?
Where is the U.S. Economy Headed
Moderator: John Tamny — President, Parkview Institute and Editor, RealClearMarkets Steve Forbes — Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Forbes Magazine David Bahnsen — Founder and Chief Investment Officer, The Bahnsen Group George Gilder — Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute
9PM
Adjournment
Thursday, November 19
7:30
Breakfast (Provided)
9AM
Welcome
Sandra Watson — President & CEO, Arizona Commerce Authority
9:10
Foretelling the Future
AI Boom or Bust?
Josh Achiam — Former Chief Futurist, OpenAI Fireside Chat with Andrew Mayne
9:45
AI and the Venture Landscape
Matt McIlwain — Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group
10:30
Networking Break
11AM
What Makes a Mind?
Brains, Machines, and Artificial Intelligence
Moderator: Walter Myers III – Principal Engineering Manager, Microsoft Gaurav Suri — Visiting Scientist, Stanford University and Author, The Emergent Mind Jay Richards — Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute and VP of Social and Domestic Policy at Heritage Foundation
Keynote Luncheon and Fireside Chat with Bob Kelly
NOON
AI, Consciousness, and Human Flourishing
Taylor Black — Former Director of AI and Venture Ecosystems, Microsoft
1PM
Networking Break
1:30
China Tech: Reality Check
Moderator: Bret Swanson – Director, Heritage Foundation Rebecca Fannin — Journalist, Author, and Global Innovation Expert Fireside Chat with George Gilder
2:15
To Serve Man: The Robotics Revolution
Touraj Parang — President & CEO, Serve Robotics Jonathan Hurst — Co-founder and Chief Robot Officer, Agility Robotics
3:15
Break
Panel Discussion
3:30
The North American Fortress
Powering U.S. Competitiveness
Cole Smead — CEO and Portfolio Manager, Smead Capital Management
4:30
Adapt and Compete
The Return of Vocational Education
Keri Ingraham – Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute and Program Director, American Center for Transforming Education Fireside Chat with Ben Dupont — Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Chartline Capital Partners
5PM
Adjournment – Dinner on Your Own (Enjoy Scottsdale!)
Friday, Nov 20
8AM
Friday Breakfast (Provided)
9AM
Medical Innovations for Mental and Physical Wellbeing
Introduction: Bruce Chapman — Founder and Board Chair, Discovery Institute Richard Cartledge – Thoracic Surgeon and Inventor Robert Cucin – Entrepreneur and CEO, Biosculpture Technologies
9:45
Break
10AM
Non-Computable You
Is Human Creativity Irreplaceable?
Moderator: Jay Richards – Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute and VP of Social and Domestic Policy at Heritage Foundation Robert Marks – Director, Bradley for Natural and Artificial Intelligence Casey Luskin – Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute Nate Jacobson – Director of Media and Brand, Discovery Institute
11AM
AI, Intellectual Property, and the Knowledge Economy
Thomas Lehrman — Managing Partner, Teamworthy Ventures
11:45
Reflections
Carver Mead — Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Applied Science at the California Institute of Technology, Kyoto Prize Winner (2022) Introduction by George Gilder
