Dates
10 Jul 2026 - 10 Jul 2026
Times
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
The Future in Our Hands: Citizenship, Governance and Opportunity in the Age of AI with Tim Gordon
Book Here
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how we work, learn, communicate, govern and participate in society. Technology promises extraordinary advances in healthcare, education and public services as well as economic productivity. But it also raises profound questions about power, accountability, democracy and human agency.
Drawing on themes that Paddy Ashdown championed throughout his career, Tim Gordon will explore how democratic societies can shape the development and governance of AI. As AI systems become increasingly influential, who decides how they are deployed? How can governments balance innovation with public protection? What role should civil society and democratic institutions play in shaping the rules that govern this powerful technology?
This discussion will examine competing approaches to AI governance. Using the European Union’s risk-based regulatory framework, the UK’s sector-led model and the evolving position of the United States. We will consider the opportunities AI presents for solving global challenges alongside the risks of misinformation.
Above all, this conversation will ask a fundamental question: will the future be shaped by a handful of tech companies or by informed and engaged citizens?
The Age of Intelligence is not simply something to which we must adapt; it is something we all have the power to build.
Tim Gordon
Tim Gordon’s career spans entrepreneurship, being a senior adviser and political executive. He started his career at the Financial Times, worked at the Boston Consulting Group and as a senior executive in a European media firm. As Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats he worked closely with both Paddy Ashdown and Nick Clegg.
In 2018 he co—founded Best Practice AI to advise businesses and investors on AI strategy and governance. In 2025, he co-founded the Digital Statecraft Academy, alongside Cambridge University, to help train senior government leaders from around the world in the art of tech-enabled 21st Century statecraft. He chairs the AI work of Full Fact (the UK’s leading fact checker), serves as an adviser to the College of Europe, INSEAD and Hult University and co-hosts the Age of Intelligence podcast from INSEAD.
His commentary on AI has been published in the Financial Times, The Washington Post, Prospect and the World Economic Forum.