2025 Summit Programming

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. 

Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt (2555 West End Ave, Nashville, TN 37203)

Welcome to Nashville Reception
5:30-7:30 PM

Day One

Thursday, April 10, 2025
Vanderbilt University Student Life Center (310 25th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37212)

Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:00-9:00 AM

Moderator Welcome
9:00-9:30 AM

Summit Moderator:  Lieutenant General Charlie, Tuna, Moore (Ret.), Distinguished Visiting Professor, Vanderbilt University; Former Deputy Commander, U.S. Cyber Command 

Opening Keynote and Fireside Chat: Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI (Virtual)
9:30-10:30 AM

Summit Panel: AI and National Security: Impacts and Opportunities
10:30-11:30 AM

Pick up Boxed Lunches
11:30-11:50 PM

Summit Panel: Biomedicine Unleashed: AI’s Power, Perils, and National Security Stakes 
11:50-12:50 AM

  • Moderator: Julie Wernau, Reporter, Wall Street Journal
  • Panelist: Robert L. Grossman, Director, Center for Translational Data Science at the University of Chicago
  • Panelist: Cristina Martina, Research Associate Professor, Meiler Lab, Vanderbilt University 
  • Panelist: Ethan Jackson, Senior Director, Strategic Missions and Technologies, Microsoft 

Break
12:50-1:05 PM

Keynote and Fireside Chat: James Baker, Director, Office of Net Assessment
1:05-2:05 PM

Networking
2:05-3:05 PM

Summit Panel: AI and the Changing Character of Conflict
3:05-4:05 PM 

  • 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 
  • Panelist: Michael Brasseur, Chief Strategy Officer, Saab, Inc., General Manager, Skapa by Saab
  • Panelist: Lizza Dwoskin, Silicon Valley Correspondent, The Washington Post 
  • Panelist: Emily Goldman, Director, Cyber Strategy and Policy, National Security Council

Summit Panel: Strategic Synergies: AI, Security, and Partnerships in the Indo-Pacific
4:05-5:05 PM

  • Moderator: General Paul M. Nakasone (Ret.), Founding Director of Vanderbilt Institute of National Security
  • Panelist: Major General Akitsugu Kimura, Commanding General, Japan Self-Defense Forces Cyber Defense Command (JCDC)
  • Panelist: Karl Hanmore, First Assistant Director and Chief Technology Officer, General Mission Capability, Australian Signals Directorate, Australian Government 

Closing of Day One
5:05-5:15 PM

Reception
5:30 PM

Day Two

Friday, April 11, 2025
Vanderbilt University Student Life Center (310 25th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37212)

Registration and Continental Breakfast
7:30-8:30 AM

Moderator Welcome
8:30-8:40 AM

Summit Moderator: Erin Calipari, Director, Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University

Opening Keynote: Chairman Mark Green
8:40-9:40 AM

Summit Panel: Rethinking Cybersecurity within an Artificial Intelligence Construct 
9:40-10:40 AM

  • 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
  • Panelist: Frank Cilluffo, Director, McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security, Auburn University
  • Panelist: Jeff Moss, Founder, DEF CON & Black Hat 

Break and Networking
10:40-11:00 AM

Keynote: Lakshmi Raman, Director, Office of Artificial Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency
11:00-12:00 PM

Pick up Boxed Lunches
12:00-12:15 PM

Summit Panel: The Vanguard Forecast: National Security Predictions for 2025
12:15-1:15 PM 

Fireside Chat: Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn 
1:15-2:15 PM

Closing Keynote: General Paul Nakasone (Ret.), Founding Director, Vanderbilt University Institute of National Security
2:15-2:40 PM

Closing of Summit
2:40-2:45 PM