Please note that we have changed the venue of this talk to the South School, Examination School, Oxford

Speaker: Garry Kasparov, world chess champion, writer and political activist

Summary: The world we live in now is very different from the one that was imagined 50 years ago. Past decades foresaw a future of flying cars and supersonic jets, but commercial air travel is slower in 2013 than it was in 1976. For years we were assured that we would have abundant clean and cheap energy; instead we have record fossil fuel prices, oil spills, and nuclear meltdowns. From poverty rates to superbugs, one thing is certain: this is not the future we were promised.

How did we get so far off course from the era of radical tech innovation and ambitious exploration? Why did our culture retreat toward risk-aversion and security? And how can we revive the spirit of innovation, and help bring about its promise of positive transformational change and far-reaching societal benefits?

About the speaker: Garry Kasparov came to fame as the youngest world chess champion in history in 1985 at the age of 22. After twenty years as the world’s top-ranked player, Kasparov retired from chess in 2005 to take up the struggle for Russian democracy with his organization the United Civil Front. He continues to be a prominent voice for human rights in Russia and around the world. Kasparov has been a contributing editor to The Wall Street Journal since 1991 and is a popular keynote speaker on decision-making, technology, and leadership. His 2007 book, “How Life Imitates Chess”, has been published in over 20 languages.