A confluence of global geniuses took place in Gurgaon over the weekend. On February 24-25, the Synapse 2024 was organised at a city hotel, which saw discussions on science and technology taking centre-stage. Curated by award-winning journalist Shoma Chaudhury, Synapse aims to decode the powerful forces shaping our world.
This year’s event was attended by a galaxy of luminaries including Nobel laureates, Pulitzer winners, technologists, philosophers and inventors from across the globe. Shoma Chaudhury, the brain behind Synapse and the founder of Lucid Lines, said that the world is changing, “and it is very important that we have these free-flowing conversations exploring the intersection of philosophy, nature, humans and technology.”
Day one saw three times Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman – who is also Global Trend Spotter and New York Times columnist – saying that “value is the golden rule, and every faith and cultural tradition has some version of it. It matters more than ever today. Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you, because more people can do unto others farther, faster, deeper, cheaper than ever before.” He added that the human race is systematically cutting down the mangroves to build new homes, resorts and businesses. “Because so many of these mangroves are being removed, these filters are disappearing,” he said. “Today, we are in a post-mangrove world metaphorically as well. We are also lacking in our social filters. Shame was one of the mangroves we have lost. Local newspapers are like mangroves. We have lost the mangroves in our political realm as well.”
The session with Eric Daimler, former advisor to Barack Obama, highlighted the significant impact of artificial intelligence on companies, particularly those reliant on vast amounts of data. While acknowledging the potential disadvantage of job displacement due to AI, he emphasised the manifold increase in productivity that AI brings. He said, “By leveraging AI technologies, companies can streamline processes, automate repetitive tasks, and extract valuable insights from data at a scale and speed that was previously unattainable. This enhanced productivity can lead to greater efficiency, competitiveness, and innovation within industries.”
Other sessions included ‘Enter the Machine Divine: The power, promise & peril of AI’; ‘Hot, Flat. And Split: Nature, tech, and geopolitics’; ‘How to Train a Dragon: Culture classes for AI. And introducing the human in the machine’; and ‘Rule Breaker, Rural Maker: Meet a bootstrap billionaire revolutionising tech with village talent’. Speakers included Mark McCaughrean (astrophysicist, European Space Agency), Martin Green (the father of solar technology), Malaika Vaz (National Geographic Explorer), Jaron Lanier (inventor of Virtual Reality and philosopher), Vidita Vaidya (psychedelic researcher), Javed Aktar (star lyricist), Sridhar Vembu (value-tech entrepreneur and co-founder, Zoho), and David Putrino (rehabilitation innovator), among others.