During any other January, WIRED staffers would gather in Las Vegas to pore over the latest gadgets at CES, the biggest consumer electronics event of the year. But this year, the show was held entirely online due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Though we were in our living rooms instead of on the convention floor, WIRED was able to chat with experts around the country and across sectors about the technological innovation that’s still very much thriving.
Over the course of two days, WIRED HQ hosted a series of talks about the trends that will define 2021 and the years to come with the people at the fore. Moderna’s Melissa Moore explained why we should be excited about the dawn of mRNA vaccines; the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Christopher Krebs, talked about the cybersecurity issues that pose the biggest threat to our democracy; and Slack’s Stewart Butterfield and Salesforce’s Bret Taylor told us about how digital-first workplaces will become the norm even when we can return to the office. In between, we learned more about what we can expect, prepare for, and get excited about in the year to come.
The entire event was livestreamed, but if you missed it, you can still watch the WIRED HQ sessions below.
Tuesday, January 12
The Triumphs in Medicine: From Research to Deployment—New Approaches to Medical Breakthroughs
Dr. Jennifer A Doudna, Biochemist at UC Berkeley, Founder of the Innovative Genomics Institute, Coinventor of CRISPR technology, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2020; Dr. Melissa Moore, Chief Scientific Officer, Platform Management, Moderna; with Megan Molteni, WIRED
How We’ll Travel (sponsored by Deem, Inc.)
Amy Burr, Managing Director, Operations and Partnerships, JetBlue Technology Ventures; David Grace, President, Deem; Gillian Tans, Chairwoman, Booking.com; with Nicholas Thompson, WIRED
The Virtual Workforce: The Shifting Paradigm of What It Means to Go to the Office
Bret Taylor, President and COO, Salesforce; Stewart Butterfield, CEO and Cofounder, Slack; with Megan Greenwell, WIRED
Wednesday, January 13
AI in American Defense: The Policies That Will Shape the Tech Industry
Ash Carter, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, Former United States Secretary of Defense (2015-2017); with Nicholas Thompson, WIRED
Our Future on the Go: AI, Take the Wheel
Aicha Evans, CEO, Zoox; Chris Urmson, CEO and Cofounder, Aurora; with Aarian Marshall, WIRED
Voting Attack Vectors: Protecting Democracy, One Ballot at a Time
Christopher Krebs, Partner, Krebs Stamos Group; with Brian Barrett, WIRED
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