Everett Lacey - Preserving human choice in the age of AI

With AI's rapid growth, how will the world change in the future and what happens to our ability to have independent thought? Everett Lacey is a Senior Systems Software Engineer at NVIDIA, where he leads a dynamic team of engineers focused on accelerating AI applications across distributed systems. With a passion for the intersection of AI technologies and moral philosophy, Everett is dedicated to exploring how advanced systems can serve humanity in ethical and impactful ways.

Beyond his professional expertise, Everett shares a deep personal connection to Bermuda. His father was born on the island, and he proudly traces his family roots through generations of Bermudians, including his grandmother, great-grandmother, and extended family who still reside there. His ties to the island inspire his commitment to leveraging technology in ways that respect heritage, culture, and community well-being.

Saskia Wolsak - How to Make Friends With a Plant

Blurring the lines of art, poetry, perception and ethnobotany can deliver one to a special place, that is often, only steps away from your front door. Saskia Wolsak is a writer, historian and ethnobotanist. She has guest lectured at colleges and universities in botany, human ecology, and ethnobotany. She has also taught classes in certain aspects of wilderness survival, cultivating awareness of self and environment, and learning how to move through the world with greater knowledge and compassion. Saskia’s research on the Bermuda palmetto was seminal in the field of the cultural and environmental history of the island, and she has contributed to the botanical science of Bermuda through extensive herbarium collections. For her doctoral work, she is exploring how 16th Century maritime navigators related to the landscape and documented their perspectives through maps and voyager accounts. Her thesis presents a new interpretation of the 16th Century cartography of the east coast of North America. She is presently a research fellow at the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University.

Glenn Corn - Peace Games

In this timely talk, the importance of building expertise in diplomacy and international relations as tools to avoid conflict, needs to be heightened. "War Games" are typically used to train soldiers, but in this new era, "Peace Games" are just as crucial. A 34-year veteran of the U.S. Intelligence and Foreign Affairs communities, Prof. Corn served for over 20 years abroad, including tours in Russia, Turkey, Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. He also held senior leadership positions within the Intelligence Community in the U.S. and is a graduate of multiple specialized training programs in the fields of Intelligence, Security, Adult Education and Training and Executive Leadership. He is a founding partner of the Strategic Advisory and Consulting firm “Varyag” and Expert contributor to the “Cipher Brief”.

He has a master’s degree in Russian Language and Literature from American University and a bachelor’s degree in Russian Studies from Hofstra University, and he is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Russian Institute. He speaks Russian and Turkish.

Pradipta Ghosh - Tiny Tools, Tremendous Impact - Use of 'Avatars' in Clinical Trials

No more mice and monkeys in drug trials. Humanoids technology radically changes the way scientists can test the efficacy of new drugs on real organs with more accurate results. Dr Ghosh is an Indian-born American physician-scientist, biochemist, and cell biologist with dual expertise in clinical medicine and basic research. As a Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Cellular & Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, she leads an innovative research group focused on cellular communication networks. Her work has made major strides in understanding how intracellular heterotrimeric G-proteins are regulated by a novel family of guanine-nucleotide exchange modulators (GEMs), independently of traditional G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). This groundbreaking research has uncovered new mechanisms of cell signaling with implications for chronic diseases such as cancer, fibrosis, immunologic and metabolic disorders. Ghosh’s contributions have provided key insights into how intracellular communication is disrupted in disease — a conceptual breakthrough after prior attempts to unravel this network had failed.

Andrew McConnell - Rediscovering What Truly Matters

As we increasingly find and abundance of tools that optimise our time, work and lifestyles, are we losing focus on what matters most? Andrew McConnell is the Founder and CEO of Alively.com and the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Get Out of My Head: Creating Modern Clarity with Stoic Wisdom. Prior to this most recent endeavor, Andrew was the founder and CEO of Rented.com, VacationFutures, Inc., and Rented Capital, LLC. Before setting out on his own, Andrew worked with some of the world's largest public and private entities as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, and as a Director, Solutions Design at Axiom Global, Inc. His prior experience also includes putting his law degrees to more immediate use at Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP and Ashe, Rafuse & Hill, as well as time at Merrill Lynch. A former member of the US National Team in Open Water Swimming, Andrew received his A.B. in History from Harvard University, his J.D. from Harvard Law School, and his LL.M. from the University of Cambridge, Trinity Hall

Dale Johnson - How Ancestral Courage Can Fuel Modern Aspirations

In this interconnected web of existence, we find not only our individual significance but also our collective potential. Let us embrace this ideal, allowing it to inspire and guide us as we continue to shape our destinies and contribute to the greater good. In doing so, we honor the past, enrich the present, and lay the foundation for a brighter future. Dale Johnson serves as the Senior Business Development Manager for Global Clients at Visa Inc. In this role, he supervises Visa's largest multi-regional clients, accounting for about 16% of Visa's new business activities in FY2023. Before transitioning to the commercial sector, Dale played a key role in designing and implementing automated business intelligence applications aimed at Visa’s small business clientele.

Prior to joining Visa, Dale worked as a software developer within the Fintech industry, with a focus on creating automated business intelligence solutions. His career also features a notable period at Worldline (formerly Ingenico ePayments), where he developed machine learning models designed to optimize merchant "card-not-present" interchange requirements.

Apart from his professional accomplishments, Dale is profoundly passionate about horses, an interest that stems from his family's long-standing equestrian tradition.

Jim McNiel - How Nuclear Fusion Could Power the Future

In the fall of 2023, scientists working on nuclear fusion reached a milestone - the energy output was greater than the energy input. Nuclear fusion is rapidly developing and is increasingly becoming a viable alternative to fossil fuels. This talk is a masterclass in understanding the science behind this exciting frontier. Jim McNiel is a seasoned technology executive with a proven track record of innovation and leadership. As Chief Growth Officer at TAE Technologies, he is driving the company's mission to develop a commercial fusion solution that delivers carbon-free, non-radioactive baseload energy to the planet. With over 30 years of experience in the tech industry, Jim has played key roles in the founding and growth of numerous successful technology companies. His expertise spans a wide range of areas, including digital transformation, business strategy, and marketing. Prior to joining TAE Technologies, Jim served as Chief Strategy Officer and Board Director at ProHawk, a leading provider of video enhancement software. He has served on the Board of Directors of TAE Technologies for over a decade and was the Executive Producer and co-creator of the documentary "Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World." Jim is a graduate of the Wharton school

Tiana B. Holt - Future Forces: How to See the Unseen

If you knew what the future holds, what would you do differently today? In life and in business the ability to look at trends and changes in human behaviour allow you to figure out where to position yourself, or your company, for the future ahead. From street level research to AI assisted predictions, futurists today are better able to forecast the road ahead. Tiana is the Principal & Chief Strategist at Faith Popcorn’s BrainReserve, where she brings her intellectual curiosity and passion for innovation to forward-thinking strategies. She prides herself in helping people not only see the future, but also apply it to their lives today. As a long-standing futurist, she partners with global Fortune 500 companies, including Allergan Pharmaceuticals, American Express, Citibank, The Coca-Cola Company, Comcast, Constellation Brands, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Mars and Investec South Africa, look around the corner to monetize Trends. Her areas of focus span the future of commerce, health, finance, pharma, A.I., brain-to-brain communication, and the planet, to name a few. She has also been a featured speaker at the Harvard Business School and Ad Age.