THE ALTIUS SOCIETY AT OXFORD

ALTIUS · OXFORD

11–13 DECEMBER 2026

11–13 DEC · 2026

HUMANITY’S

HUMANITY’S

HUMANITY’S

MAGNUM

MAGNUM

MAGNUM

OPUS

OPUS

OPUS

Crafting the Final Invention, and the World Beyond

2026 Altius Conference at Oxford

11–13 December 2026

11–13 December 2026

11–13 December 2026

OXFORD · 2026

OXFORD · 2026

TEN YEARS AFTER “THE BRAIN OF THE FUTURE”

TEN YEARS AFTER 2016

ONE QUESTION · A DECADE APART

THE TENTH-ANNIVERSARY CONVENING

2016

2016

2016

TEN YEARS OF INQUIRY

TEN YEARS OF INQUIRY

2026

2026

2026

What began as a question about thinking machines returns, ten years on, as a question about what humanity will make next.

FROM THE ALTIUS ARCHIVE

THE ALTIUS ARCHIVE

2016 — 2026

Ten years ago, in the autumn of 2016, the Society convened at Oxford to ask what the age of thinking machines would bring: a conference it called The Brain of the Future.

Ten years ago, in the autumn of 2016, the Society convened at Oxford to ask what the age of thinking machines would bring: a conference it called The Brain of the Future.

Ten years ago, in the autumn of 2016, the Society convened at Oxford to ask what the age of thinking machines would bring: a conference it called The Brain of the Future.

Participants of The Brain of the Future conference at the Oxford Union, 2016

THE BRAIN OF THE FUTURE — THE OXFORD UNION — SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2016

Sheldon Glashow speaking at the Altius conference, Oxford 2016

SHELDON GLASHOW, NOBEL LAUREATE IN PHYSICS

Sir Michael Atiyah at the Altius conference, Oxford 2016

SIR MICHAEL ATIYAH, FIELDS MEDALLIST & ABEL LAUREATE

Finn Kydland at the Altius conference, Oxford 2016

FINN KYDLAND, NOBEL LAUREATE IN ECONOMICS

That future has arrived.

That future has arrived.

That future has arrived.

The question before the Society is no longer what thinking machines will become. It is what humanity creates next, and the world beyond it.

The question before the Society is no longer what thinking machines will become. It is what humanity creates next, and the world beyond it.

The question before the Society is no longer what thinking machines will become. It is what humanity creates next, and the world beyond it.

HUMANITY’S MAGNUM OPUS · OXFORD · 2026

HUMANITY’S MAGNUM OPUS · OXFORD · 2026

■

Past Guests

The Altius Society · Oxford

Among those who have joined Altius before

Nobel laureates, scientists, technologists, statesmen, economists, philosophers and public intellectuals have joined Altius in Oxford to examine the forces shaping our shared future.

Nobel laureates, scientists, technologists, statesmen, economists, philosophers and public intellectuals have joined Altius in Oxford to examine the forces shaping our shared future.

The Brain of the Future

Shane Legg

Shane Legg

Shane Legg

Co-founder, Google DeepMind

Photographed presenting WaveNet to the Society — the inquiry to which the 2026 conference now returns.

Sir Michael Atiyah

Sir Michael Atiyah

Fields Medal · Abel Prize

Lord Martin Rees

Lord Martin Rees

Astronomer Royal · Former President, Royal Society

Gao Xingjian

Gao Xingjian

Nobel Prize in Literature

Harold Varmus

Harold Varmus

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Sheldon Glashow

Sheldon Glashow

Nobel Prize in Physics

Joshua Angrist

Joshua Angrist

Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences · MIT

SELECTED PAST GUESTS · OXFORD

The Society in session — Oxford

The Society in session — Oxford

The Altius Archive

The Altius Archive

Organizing Society for the 21st Century

Javier Solana

Javier Solana

Former NATO Secretary-General · EU High Representative

Lawrence Lessig

Lawrence Lessig

Harvard Law · Creative Commons

Manuela Veloso

Manuela Veloso

AI Leader · Carnegie Mellon · J.P. Morgan

David Gross

David Gross

Nobel Prize in Physics

Jeffrey Sachs

Jeffrey Sachs

Columbia University · Global Development

Peter Atkins

Peter Atkins

Chemist · University of Oxford

Peter Agre

Peter Agre

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Oliver Hart

Oliver Hart

Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences

Eric Maskin

Eric Maskin

Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences

Peter Agre

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Oliver Hart

Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences

Eric Maskin

Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences

Also among the Society’s guests

Also among the Society’s guests

From the Altius archive

From the Altius archive

The dining hall, Oxford

Finn Kydland

Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences

Peter Zoller

Wolf Prize in Physics · Dirac Medal

Erik Brynjolfsson

Digital Economy · AI Economics

Jean-Pierre Changeux

neuroscience and philosophy

Sir Richard Roberts

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Howard Gardner

Harvard Project Zero · Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Miguel Ángel Moratinos

Former Foreign Minister of Spain · United Nations

Nigel Toon

Co-founder, Graphcore

Rosalía Arteaga

Former President of Ecuador

Enrique Iglesias

Former President, Inter-American Development Bank

Carlo Ratti

MIT Senseable City Lab

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THE SOCIETY

THE ALTIUS SOCIETY · OXFORD

A forum for questions that transcend any single discipline.

The most consequential questions cannot be understood through one discipline alone.

The most consequential questions cannot be understood through one discipline alone.

The most consequential questions cannot be understood through one discipline alone.

The Altius Society gathered in Oxford

THE SOCIETY IN SESSION — OXFORD

Altius brings together leading thinkers, scientists, academics, policymakers, entrepreneurs and practitioners to examine the forces shaping humanity and the future of society.

PERSPECTIVES IN CONVERSATION

SCIENCE

TECHNOLOGY

ECONOMICS

PHILOSOPHY

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

SOCIETY & CULTURE

About The Altius Society

THE ARCHIVE

AN EVOLVING INQUIRY

Questions we have returned to.

Questions we have returned to.

Questions we have returned to.

Across successive gatherings, Altius has returned to questions whose consequences unfold over decades rather than news cycles.

Across successive gatherings, Altius has returned to questions whose consequences unfold over decades rather than news cycles.

Portrait of Sheldon Glashow from the Altius archive

THE ALTIUS ARCHIVE — THE OXFORD UNION

01

Global Perspectives 2050

Global Perspectives 2050

Global Perspectives 2050

Trends and Governance in the Next Half Century

02

The Extension of Life

The Extension of Life

The Extension of Life

Challenges and Opportunities of Living Longer Lives

03

The Brain of the Future

The Brain of the Future

The Brain of the Future

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Governance and Politics in the Age of Thinking Machines

04

The Future of Communication

The Future of Communication

The Future of Communication

An Opportunity for Humankind and a Challenge to Democratic Societies in the Age of Technological Disruption and the Rise of the Human-Machine Collective Mind

05

Educating for the Future

Educating for the Future

Educating for the Future

Empowering the Human Mind and Redefining Values and Citizenship in the Age of Technological Disruption

06

Organizing Society for the 21st Century

Organizing Society for the 21st Century

Organizing Society for the 21st Century

Is Democracy the Right Model? Towards a New Social Contract in the Age of Cognitive Machines

Explore the conference archive

THE 2026 CONVERSATION

HUMANITY’S MAGNUM OPUS

What follows the final invention?

What follows the final invention?

What follows the final invention?

Humanity’s Magnum Opus considers increasingly capable intelligent machines not merely as a technological development, but as a possible civilizational one — and asks what such a development would require of knowledge, prosperity, power and human purpose.

Humanity’s Magnum Opus considers increasingly capable intelligent machines not merely as a technological development, but as a possible civilizational one — and asks what such a development would require of knowledge, prosperity, power and human purpose.

01

INTELLIGENCE & KNOWLEDGE

What happens when intelligence — and the production of knowledge — is no longer uniquely human?

What happens when intelligence — and the production of knowledge — is no longer uniquely human?

What happens when intelligence — and the production of knowledge — is no longer uniquely human?

02

ECONOMICS & PROSPERITY

How might extraordinary increases in cognitive capability alter productivity, economic organization, labour and the distribution of prosperity?

How might extraordinary increases in cognitive capability alter productivity, economic organization, labour and the distribution of prosperity?

How might extraordinary increases in cognitive capability alter productivity, economic organization, labour and the distribution of prosperity?

03

POWER & GOVERNANCE

Can institutions designed for previous technological eras govern systems with increasingly consequential capabilities?

Can institutions designed for previous technological eras govern systems with increasingly consequential capabilities?

Can institutions designed for previous technological eras govern systems with increasingly consequential capabilities?

04

GEOPOLITICS & SECURITY

How might the distribution of advanced intelligence reshape global power, strategic stability and international order?

How might the distribution of advanced intelligence reshape global power, strategic stability and international order?

How might the distribution of advanced intelligence reshape global power, strategic stability and international order?

05

HUMAN AGENCY

What remains distinctly human when machines increasingly reason, create, discover and act?

What remains distinctly human when machines increasingly reason, create, discover and act?

What remains distinctly human when machines increasingly reason, create, discover and act?

06

THE WORLD BEYOND

What forms of civilization, meaning and human flourishing become possible — or necessary — beyond the creation of increasingly general intelligence?

What forms of civilization, meaning and human flourishing become possible — or necessary — beyond the creation of increasingly general intelligence?

What forms of civilization, meaning and human flourishing become possible — or necessary — beyond the creation of increasingly general intelligence?

Explore Humanity’s Magnum Opus

Explore Humanity’s Magnum Opus

OXFORD

11–13 DECEMBER 2026

11–13 December 2026 at the Oxford Union

Humanity’s Magnum Opus

Humanity’s Magnum Opus

Crafting the Final Invention, and the World Beyond

Crafting the Final Invention, and the World Beyond

The dining hall at an Altius gathering in Oxford

THE SOCIETY AT OXFORD

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