What is at Stake

What if - 50 years after today - a historian looks back at the beginning of the 21st century? Probably, he or she would be stunned by the indecisiveness of today’s Western societies. Climate change and artificial intelligence will radically change our societies and demand action. Nevertheless, the self-imposed stagnation of the west creates dangerous energies for democracy, liberal ideas, and human rights.

In this lecture, Philipp Blom will show that Western societies will suffer the impending transformations if they cannot muster the will to shape them.