All times, sessions, speakers, and panels are subject to change.
| 10AM | Registration Opens |
| Keynote Luncheon | ||
| 12PM |  | COSM 2021: Paradoxes of the New World of Technology |
| What a world: artificial intelligence, blockchain, 5G, crypto-currency, autonomous vehicles, cloud computing, the biotech revolution, and internet commerce. The mission of the conference is to stimulate debate and deliberation amongst industry leaders on the unities animating these apparently divergent technology areas. The future meets now. | ||
| Steve Buri — President, Discovery Institute George Gilder — Author, Technology Futurist, Co-Founder of Discovery Institute |
| 12:10 |  | Is Technology Soaring or Slumping? |
| Peter Thiel — Technology Entrepreneur, Investor, Philanthropist George Gilder — Author, Technology Futurist, Co-Founder of Discovery Institute |
| 1PM |  | Not Showing at a Theater Near You |
| Navigating the New Media Landscape | ||
| Ari Emanuel — CEO, Endeavor |
| 1:30 | Networking Break |
| 2PM |  | NFTs: The Reinvention of Property |
| In the case of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum blockchain, actual ownership with legal standing is never in fact transferred for the underlying digital file. What makes NFTs valuable? And what does it mean to own them? | ||
| George Gilder (moderator) — Author, Technology Futurist, Co-Founder of Discovery Institute Bill Dembski — Mathematician and Philosopher Jules Urbach — Founder and CEO, OTOY |
| 2:45 | Break |
| 3PM |  | Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe |
| Setting the annus horribilis of 2020 in historical perspective, Niall Ferguson explains why we are getting worse, not better, at handling disasters. The lessons of history that this country — indeed the West as a whole — urgently need to learn, if we want to handle the next crisis better, and to avoid the ultimate doom of irreversible decline. | ||
| Steve Buri — President, Discovery Institute Niall Ferguson — Historian and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution George Gilder — Author, Technology Futurist, Co-Founder of Discovery Institute |
| 4PM |  | Knowledge vs. Doom |
| The Time-Price Revolution | ||
| Gale Pooley — Associate Professor of Business Management, BYU Hawaii |
| 4:30 | Adjournment (Dinner on your own) |
All times, sessions, speakers, and panels are subject to change.
| 7:30- |  | Thursday Breakfast (provided) |
| 9AM |  | The Cloud Revolution and the Convergence of New Technologies |
| Unleashing the Next Economic Boom | ||
| Mark Mills — Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute |
| 9:30 |  | Quantum Computing |
| What Does it Change? | ||
| Julie Love — Director of Quantum Computing Business Development, Microsoft Corporation |
| 10:15 |  | Innovations in Biotech |
| Killing Disease and Living Longer | ||
| Matt McIlwain (moderator) — Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group Stephen C. Meyer— Director, Center for Science and Culture Jim Tour — T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, Rice University Matthew Scholz — CEO, OISIN Biotechnologies |
| 11AM | Break |
| 11:10 |  | The Nanotech Revolution |
| Our Zero-Waste Energy Future | ||
| Jim Tour — T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, Rice University |
| 11:30 |  | The New IC |
| From Nanoscale to Waferscale | ||
| Andrew Feldman — Founder and CEO, Cerebras Systems Pierre de Rochemont — Founder, Frontier NanoSystems, LLC Sean Lie — Co-founder & Chief Hardware Architect, Cerebras Systems |
| Luncheon | ||
| NOON |  | You Control the Algorithm |
| The Next Generation of Internet Search | ||
| Phil Parker — Founder – Botipedia, INSEAD Chair Professor of Management Science |
| 12:30 |  | Blockchain and the New COSM Architecture |
| Telecom expert Dan Berninger will facilitate a discussion examining the past, present, and future of the Internet. Together they will outline a compelling picture of a next generation internet that is less cumbersome, more efficient, and more secure. | ||
| Daniel Berninger (moderator) — Independent Communications Architect Bob Metcalfe — Engineer, Entrepreneur, and Professor of Innovation Gurdeep Pall — Corporate Vice President at Microsoft Dan Mapes — Founder, Verses Technologies Inc |
| 1:30 |  | Networking Break |
| 2PM |  | Is It the End for Silicon Valley? |
| The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new era of hybrid work, and allowed many workers to operate remotely. What does this mean for major tech centers like Silicon Valley and Seattle? And what are the advantages for competitors like Austin and Miami? | ||
| Babak Parviz (moderator) — Vice President, Amazon Inc. Mayor Lynne Robinson — City of Bellevue Walter Myers III — Principal Engineering Manager, Microsoft Bob Metcalfe — Engineer, Entrepreneur, and Professor of Innovation |
| 3PM | Break |
| 3:15 |  | The Great China Debate |
| Mariana Parks — Board Member, Discovery Institute Bret Swanson (moderator) — Technology Analyst, Visiting Fellow AEI Newt Gingrich (via videoconference) — Former Speaker, US House of Representatives George Gilder — Author, Technology Futurist, Co-Founder of Discovery Institute |
| 4PM |  | The Myth of Artificial Intelligence |
| Why Computers Can’t Think the Way We Do | ||
| Erik J. Larson — Author, The Myth of Artificial Intelligence |
| 4:30 | Break |
| 4:45 | | In the Auditorium (3rd floor) Botipedia Demonstration (Optional) |
| The Next Generation of Internet Search | ||
| Phil Parker — Founder – Botipedia, INSEAD Chair Professor of Management Science |
| 6PM |  | Hosted Reception |
| 7PM | | A Keynote Dinner in Three Parts |
| Steve Buri (welcome) — President, Discovery Institute |
 | The State of the Ether: A Discussion | |
| George Gilder — Co-founder, Discovery Institute Bob Metcalfe — Internet Pioneer, Engineer, Entrepreneur, and Professor of Innovation |
 | Reflections on Twenty COSMs | |
| Carver Mead — Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Applied, California Institute of Technology |
 | AI 2041: Ten Visions of Our Future | |
| The former president of Google China and bestselling author of AI Superpowers imagines our world in 2041 and how it will be shaped by AI. By gazing toward a not-so-distant horizon, Lee offers urgent insights into our collective future — while reminding readers that, ultimately, humankind remains the author of its destiny. | ||
| Kai-Fu Lee (via videoconference from China) — Computer Scientist, businessman, and writer |
All times, sessions, speakers, and panels are subject to change.
| 7:30AM | | Friday Breakfast (provided) |
| 9AM |  | SPACs, IPOs, and Direct Listings |
| New Tools to Unlock Capital Markets | ||
| Matt McIlwain (moderator) — Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group Kristin Zimmerman — Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Michael Nordtvedt — Partner at Wilson Sonsini Bryan Mistele — CEO, INRIX |
| 10AM |  | Artificial Intelligence, Cyberwarfare, and Military Preparedness |
| Hanna Tomory (moderator) — Deployment Strategist Stephen Meyer — Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute Arthur Herman — Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute Robert J. Marks — Director, Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence |
| 11AM |  | Will Wi-Fi 6 and LEOs Be the Real 5G? |
| Bret Swanson (moderator) — Technology Analyst, Visiting Fellow AEI Gilad Garon — Co-founder and CEO, ASOCS Stephen Cohen — Chief Architect, Worldwide Enterprise Services, Microsoft George Gilder — Co-Founder, Discovery Institute |
| 11:50 |  | Conference Wrap-up and Adjournment |
| George Gilder |