In December, the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Foresight Initiative hosted a conference entitled Global Trends 2030: US Leadership in a Post-Western World. Organized to coincide with the release of the National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds report, the conference brought policy makers together with futurists to discuss the global “megatrends” that might shape the next two decades. Attendees included Chuck Hagel, the current nominee for Secretary of Defense, as well as Long Now Board member Paul Saffo.
Examining different areas of inquiry, speakers applied long-term thinking to economic and political questions of global concern: from the role of the USA in global politics to the relationship between individual and state. A panel discussion on the potential impact of emerging technologies explored the revolutionary potential of 3D printing and robotics, and analyzed the role of technology in creating economic opportunity.
Conference participant Marriette DiChristina has written up a summary of the conference in Scientific American; to read more about what was discussed at the conference, you can download the SFI and NIC report.
