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2025 Programming
As innovation and technology accelerate, modern conflict evolves at an unprecedented pace, posing challenges that demand global attention
The fourth annual Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats will take place on April 10–11, 2025, bringing together internationally recognized leaders and experts from the military, intelligence, and technology sectors. Together, we’ll tackle pressing issues such as cyber conflict, artificial intelligence, peer competition, and emerging threats.
This year’s summit will examine the challenges and opportunities posed by AI and the future of national security. Topics to be explored include Biomedicine and AI, the Changing Character of Conflict, Rethinking Cybersecurity and AI, and A Vision for an AI-Driven Future.
View the Summit speakers and panelists.
For more information, contact modernconflict@vanderbilt.edu.
Times and events are subject to change. Listed events are for Summit attendees only.
Day One
Summit Moderator: General Paul Nakasone (Ret.), Founding Director, Vanderbilt University Institute of National Security
Opening Keynote: Sam Altman, CEO, Open AI
Summit Panel: AI and National Security: Impacts and Opportunities
- Moderator: Lieutenant General Ed Cardon (Ret.)
- Panelist: Andrew Moore, Founder, Lovelace AI
Summit Panel: Biomedicine Unleashed: AI’s Power, Perils, and National Security Stakes
- Moderator: Julie Wernau, Reporter, Wall Street Journal
Lunch Keynote Address and Fireside Chat: How AI Will Reshape Modern Conflict from Jim Baker, Director of the Office of Net Assessment
Summit Panel: AI and the Changing Character of Conflict
- Moderator: Gillian Tett, Provost, King’s College, Cambridge,
Columnist and Editorial Board Member, Financial Times - Panelist: Joe P. Larson III, Senior Vice President, National Security Operations, Anduril Industries
Closing Keynote
Day Two
Opening Keynote on AI and Cybersecurity
Summit Panel: Rethinking Cybersecurity within an Artificial Intelligence Construct
- Moderator: Niloofar Razi Howe, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Vanderbilt University, Senior Operating Partner, Energy Impact Partners
- Panelist: Thompson Paine, Head of Product & Business Operations, Anthropic PBC
Summit Keynote: A Vision for an AI-Driven Future
Summit Panel: The Vanguard Forecast: National Security Predictions for 2025
- Session Chair: Lieutenant General Charlie “Tuna” Moore (Ret.)
- Panelist: Sue Gordon, Former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence
- Panelist: Peter Singer, Senior Fellow, New America and Managing Partner, Useful Fiction
Closing Keynote