Control Your Data, Control Your Destiny
Setup
Much of the way we experience the Web today was fueled by venture capital. This Silicon Valley model helped drive an explosion of innovation — but innovation that favored huge wins and outsize returns. Entrepreneurs discovered they could achieve both by using our own data to get us hooked. Now our digital interaction is largely brokered by private companies, and their success drives more dominance. Could decentralization flip the model, open a path for people to control their own data, and break the cycle?
- 2021 Festival
- Technology
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Technology
![Gettyimages 2151740078](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/b61928fd-9d57-4079-939a-99648b2fdfa5/GettyImages-2151740078.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=b78045&q=80&rect=1389%2C0%2C2305%2C2304&w=400)
![Gettyimages 2151740078](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/b61928fd-9d57-4079-939a-99648b2fdfa5/GettyImages-2151740078.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=1389%2C0%2C2305%2C2304&w=400)
New technologies have always led to changes in society, though not always as quickly or drastically as people feared. Could artificial intelligence be different? Instead of le...
![The Edge of Intelligence](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ca137f38-2dfa-453b-ab87-63f68386aa36/AIFStockHeroImages7.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=267&q=80&rect=495%2C0%2C5065%2C3375&w=400)
Everywhere you look, there’s a headline about the power of artificial intelligence and how it will impact our lives in ways we have not yet imagined. From advancing medicine t...
![Aif Stock Hero Images](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/84f28c4e-8c40-441d-a43c-b4e8ba2dd8d7/AIFStockHeroImages.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=4b7780&q=80&rect=935%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
![Aif Stock Hero Images](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/84f28c4e-8c40-441d-a43c-b4e8ba2dd8d7/AIFStockHeroImages.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=935%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
Where will artificial intelligence be in five years, or 10 or 20? What happens if the technology is regulated? And if it isn’t? How will it shape the world and the way we live...
![Gettyimages 1849966331](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d073a327-e3ad-4448-9007-af7604aa001a/GettyImages-1849966331.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=0a80bc&q=80&rect=1754%2C0%2C4773%2C4776&w=400)
![Gettyimages 1849966331](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d073a327-e3ad-4448-9007-af7604aa001a/GettyImages-1849966331.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=1754%2C0%2C4773%2C4776&w=400)
Whether they publicly tout it or not, U.S. technology companies play a powerful role in politics, cultural issues and the way we live. Founder and investor Peter Thiel is one...
![Can AI Power Inclusivity?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ce050571-0f55-491f-99d0-d3e755006e0b/53823507301_aa0a9a1273_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=1614%2C0%2C2604%2C3906&w=400)
AI has the potential to create vibrant, inclusive communities as civil society organizations harness it to tackle inequality, industry leverages it to foster fairer practices,...
![Supercommunicators: The Science of Conversation and Connection](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/4439f33b-44f3-4ce3-918c-6b7713b6017a/53825026550_67fcc31319_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=18%2C0%2C1562%2C879&w=400)
Why do some conversations succeed while others stumble? The neurology and psychology of communication offer surprising explanations for why human connection goes right or wron...
![Meta Presents: Building Social Trust in an AI World](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/8ddf485e-1631-4696-a795-d4e3e1501612/240628_social_trust_ai_011.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C208%2C4000%2C2250&w=400)
Increasingly, AI informs our work output, our social views and our awareness of the world. Join SiriusXM host Mike Muse in conversation with Meta officials to explore the impl...
![Teens and Screens: The Unabating Scourge of Social Media](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/8214379e-2ce8-4e54-ba3a-f2b5b42982f7/teensandsocialmedia.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C7382%2C4160&w=400)
America’s teenagers are facing a mental health crisis; 1 in 3 teen girls say they’ve considered suicide in the past year. Many young people, parents and mental health professi...
![The First AI Elections](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/99577b3a-ea63-463d-ab41-661af8afde41/aielections.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=1515%2C0%2C2414%2C3621&w=400)
Two billion people worldwide are set to vote in elections this year, amid global conflict, societal mistrust, broken information ecosystems — and the truth-destroying disrupti...
![The Secret of Making Hits](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/008361bf-2540-4a00-8e1f-69739f370ce8/53822660989_e5265f0505_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=1%2C307%2C5880%2C3308&w=400)
Amid seismic shifts in the entertainment world, Oscar-, Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning Brian Grazer has managed to keep pivoting to new ways to tell stories in movies, TV and...
![Guerrilla Creativity](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/24e08eb1-8bb0-4970-9930-a617d58c5f32/53821275967_e65a66da2d_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C185%2C5493%2C3090&w=400)
In the last 30 years, conglomerates from Amazon to Netflix to Spotify have changed the way we interact with media, books, fashion and music. Creatives are struggling to mainta...
![A Vision for Tech Equity](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d6b710dc-4837-4bae-aedc-b17d43cbe3ee/techequity.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=4%2C0%2C8248%2C4640&w=400)
The innovative philanthropist who paid off the student debt of the entire graduating class of Morehouse College class of 2019 talks about how to ensure all communities benefit...
![Artificial Inheritance: Generational Wealth for All](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/1fb05c41-690c-45fc-9c51-9300850dc7ba/53820641960_8fbe5657cf_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=1385%2C0%2C2564%2C3842&w=400)
Uncle Sam is rich enough that every young person in America can benefit from generational wealth transfer. Leaders from impact investing, philanthropy and the finance sector d...
![Sci-Fi or Reality? Talking Tomorrow’s Climate Tech](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/fa871c72-47f9-49d1-bbc7-498f09c0cfda/53821312388_8a64ac67ca_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C530%2C3101%2C1741&w=400)
It sounds like sci-fi: Scientists are beaming solar energy from space, subbing seaweed for plastic and brightening clouds to reflect sunlight to lower temperatures in a warmin...
![Aspen Challenge 2024 Grand Prize Winners Showcase](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/5e99cde2-ff4a-4326-b98e-18a52cf9fcd7/HalWilliams2024-2934.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C1620%2C3456%2C1944&w=400)
From climate change and mental health to hate crimes and chronic school absenteeism, no challenge is too big for young people’s community-changing solutions. Hear from teams o...
![Amazon Presents: How AI is Transforming Health Care](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/88dd2ba6-9d8d-4355-911f-e75f1e164753/240627_ai_healthcare_013.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C208%2C4000%2C2250&w=400)
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing health care by improving patient navigation, telehealth and the speed of drug development. From enhancing patient and provider exper...
![Machine Learning on Madison Avenue](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/b73d579f-dd6b-4e34-b370-54954c99a65c/53821422584_66276eaa0a_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=1292%2C0%2C2067%2C3100&w=400)
In the world of advertising, technology and creativity are shaping a new narrative. Could tech lead to more trust — not less — with younger generations? From AI-driven campaig...
![Beating Back Disinformation](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/b4959f0a-a376-475b-af24-e0ac67a79180/53821069721_ea42831588_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C242%2C4650%2C2616&w=400)
Americans’ trust in the media is near an all-time low — a crisis exacerbated by waves of misinformation, conspiracy theories, fake news, social media and AI-generated content....
![Calling Out Big Tech](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ad8f3531-8306-4810-873f-a660ac5d2dd4/53819676123_8848c84968_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C312%2C6000%2C3375&w=400)
The most fearless voice in tech journalism and author of the bestseller “Burn Book” shares her predictions about the future of the digital landscape — and the need to keep hol...
![Afternoon of Conversation](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/89764a1a-d4bd-4ca0-bb46-b239119226d9/53818667431_6ca5053c6e_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C430%2C8256%2C4644&w=400)
Part 1. The Disruptors: Two of Silicon Valley’s most innovative founders also share a tight friendship. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has transformed how people travel, host and ex...