Tim's Intro

• Tim Malbon, Founder and CEO, Made by Many

This session served as an introductory overview led by Tim Malbon, setting the stage for the event's broader objectives. The discussion focused on establishing foundational concepts and aligning participant expectations for the upcoming agenda. While the session remained high-level, it successfully provided the necessary context for attendees to engage with more technical topics later in the program. No significant disagreements were noted during this introductory segment, as the focus remained on clarity and shared understanding.

When everyone designs, what do designers do?

• Ben Elliot, CEO, Found by Few
• Joel Gethin Lewis, Course Leader, UAL CCI
• Adam Morris, VP Product Design, The Economist
• Tom Harding, Managing Partner, Made by Many
• Jade Pughe, Creative Technologist, Mother

My AI vs Our AI

• Erin Hackett, Associate Director, Stripe Partners
• Sarah Gold, Founder and CEO, IF
• Matt Webb, Co-founder, Inanimate

This session explored the tension between individual-centric AI tools and the collaborative nature of human life. Speakers Erin Hackett, Sarah Gold, and Matt Webb examined how current technologies prioritize personal productivity at the expense of shared decision-making and community dynamics. The discussion highlighted the critical need for multiplayer AI architectures that support families, colleagues, and collective futures, ultimately questioning how we can shift from optimizing for the individual to fostering tools that serve our shared social experiences.

Bring the Noise: Resilience in the Age of Information Disorder

• Stephan Sigrist, Dr. sc. ETH Zürich, Founder and Head of W.I.R.E.

The Changemaker Series: The Future of Innovation

• Ivan Heredia, Marketing and growth leader
• Andrew Briscoe, Product & Innovation Leader, ex-HSBC
• Geraint Jones, Director of Marketing Transformation, Informa
• Mordecai, Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer, Day After

Everything Online is Weird Now

• Matt Muir

Make It: A Showcase of Experiments with AI

• Tim Malbon, Founder and CEO, Made by Many
• Joe Hornby, Design Engineer, Made by Many
• Iain Tait, Founder, FOOD ARTS & TECHNOLOGY

CPO Connect Networking Drinks

• CPO Connect

From Products to Worlds: What cults, fandoms, and video games can teach us about modern brand-building

• Lucinda Bounsell, Founder and Head of Strategy, Sibling Studio

Is it Art or Memes? In Conversation with Times New Roadman

• Times New Roadman, Artist
• Eliza Power, Junior Strategist, Made by Many

In this conversation, Times New Roadman and Eliza Power explored how digital satire serves as a vital mirror to the performative nature of modern creative industries. By repurposing familiar social media formats, creators can dismantle the absurdity of curated identities and hold power to account. The discussion highlighted that while digital platforms have become the new gallery for contemporary expression, effective satire must navigate the risks of online polarization while avoiding the pitfalls of overly intellectualized references that dilute comedic impact.

What Even is Online Anymore?

• Eliza Adedeji, Head of Strategy, OK COOL
• Jacob Stratfold, Multi-media Creative, OK COOL
• Eliza Power, Junior Strategist, Made by Many
• Fatimah Waheeb, Senior Creative Partnerships Executive, OK COOL
• Annie House, Head of Strategy, OK COOL
• Chris Eyitayo, Creative, OK COOL

This session explored how digital connectivity has evolved into a persistent layer of reality, rendering the offline-online distinction obsolete. Panelists discussed how algorithmic platforms and dating apps force a performative, curated version of the self, often flattening subcultures through a shortcut mentality. While digital spaces offer broad exposure, participants highlighted a growing desire to reclaim physical friction and intentionality, noting that true authenticity remains elusive in an era where being online is a requirement for social and economic participation.

The Rules That Make Us

• Oliver Sweet

Oliver Sweet explores how culture, rather than cognition, dictates human behavior in an era of eroding institutional trust. As political skepticism drives a shift toward individual agency and tribalism, society has returned to an oral-style culture where symbolism and echo chambers outweigh rationality. This fragmentation, exacerbated by digital overstimulation and the narrowing influence of AI, highlights a critical crisis of trust where ideological alignment increasingly supersedes personal compatibility and collective systemic action.

On AI and the Question of Consciousness

• Mark Bishop, Scientific Advisor, FACT360
• Anders Sandberg, Researcher, Institute for Futures Studies
• Elke Schwarz, Professor of Political Theory at QMUL

This session explored the philosophical divide between functionalist views of AI and the human capacity for genuine, embodied meaning. Experts debated whether machines can ever possess consciousness or if our tendency to project agency onto them is merely a cognitive bias. While AI models mirror human patterns, panelists argued they lack the unified self and lived experience required for true understanding, warning that prioritizing computational efficiency over human autonomy risks undermining the very essence of human thriving.

How Sci-fi Inspires Tech Innovation

• Jenny Kleeman, Freelance Journalist, Author, and Broadcaster

Jenny Kleeman explores the symbiotic relationship between science fiction and technological innovation, arguing that speculative storytelling often provides the essential blueprints for modern advancements. While tech can restore human agency through tools like neural interfaces, Kleeman highlights a critical tension: technologists frequently fetishize historical sci-fi tropes while simultaneously undervaluing contemporary artists. Ultimately, she emphasizes that technology must serve as a tool for human expression rather than an independent solution, warning that innovation fails when it lacks a coherent, human-centered narrative.

Rogue Talks: Designer Humans

• Dr Alexander Thomas, Senior Lecturer in Film and Media, University of East London

Rogue Talks: Cultural Hygiene

• Liza Betts, Senior Lecturer and Researcher, UAL London College of Fashion

Rogue Talks: Docile Machines

• Isobel Logan, PhD Researcher, Centre for Love, Sex and Relationships, University of Leeds

This Rogue Talks session explored the evolution of AI companion platforms from text-based chatbots into immersive, multi-modal entities designed for constant availability. While these systems offer simulated shared experiences, Isobel Logan highlighted how their architecture prioritizes control and compliance. The discussion underscored a critical tension: by engineering out interpersonal friction and defaulting to narrow, hyperfeminized archetypes, these platforms risk reinforcing objectification and discouraging the recognition of an independent inner world in others.