Registration is at full capacity, but walk-in registration will be available on the day of the event if space allows.

The 2026 Stanford Existential Risk Initiative (SERI) Symposium, titled Emerging Technologies and Existential Risk, will explore the risks from emerging technologies, with a particular attention to governance and technological solutions. The event will bring together leading experts and researchers from across the Bay Area who specialize in a range of global risks, including artificial intelligence, climate change, biosecurity, and nuclear threats.

This symposium will provide an interdisciplinary platform for participants to engage in discussions around the policies and solutions needed to address these large-scale, existential risks. Attendees will gain insights from diverse perspectives as they collaborate to find innovative approaches to safeguard our future.

Breakfast, lunch, and coffee will be available for registered attendees. Doors will open at 8:00am. The symposium will be followed by a reception in the Bechtel Courtyard.

8:30 - 9:00am | Breakfast

9:00 - 9:15am | Opening

9:15 - 9:45am | Emerging Technology and Existential Risks

- Stuart Russell, UC Berkeley, Computer Science

9:45 - 10:30am | The Changing Nature of WMD Threats

- Rose Gottemoeller, Stanford University, Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC)

- Allison Berke, RAND

- Lindsay Rand, UC Berkeley, Risk and Security Lab

10:30 - 10:45am | Coffee Break

10:45 - 11:30am | AI and Geopolitics 

- Colin Kahl, Stanford University, Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI)

- Barry Pavel, RAND National Security Division 

11:30am - 12:00pm | Technology, Energy, and the Environment

- Mark Jacobson, Stanford University, Civil and Environmental Engineering

12:00 - 1:00pm | Lunch

- Poster Session

- Club Tabling

1:00 - 1:30pm | The Politics and Economics of Biodefense

- Ken Bernard, Hoover Institution

1:30 - 2:15pm | Practical Solutions to Biodefense

- Alessandro Zulli, SecureBio

- Erik Malmstrom, SafeTraces

- Darryl Angel, Blueprint Biosecurity

2:15 - 2:30pm | Coffee Break

2:30 - 3:15pm | Large Scale Societal Impacts of AI

- Rob Reich, Stanford University, Political Science, Center for Ethics in Society, Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI)

- Florence G'sell, Stanford University, Cyber Policy Center

3:15 - 4:00pm | Public Perception on Strategic Risks: Where do we go from here?

- Scott Sagan, Stanford University, Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC)

- Brad Roberts, Center for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

- Andrew Reddie, UC Berkeley, Risk and Security Lab

4:00 - 4:30pm | Closing

5:00pm | Happy Hour and Reception

 All CISAC events are scheduled using the Pacific Time Zone.