The Nobel Prize Dialogue comes to Sydney for the first time to bring together minds from science and beyond, all gathering to discuss and explore the future of decision making.

This is an important subject to tackle. It is a big year for elections world wide. But democracy is in decline, geopolitical tensions are rising and artificial intelligence is likely to affect decision making in profound ways. It sometimes feels that our systems for making decisions need updating. How do we improve how we make collective decisions across cultures, geographies and generations?

In an evening of discussion, Nobel Prize laureates together will come together with international experts to explore the powerful forces that shape our decisions and how we navigate the digital age in a series of talks, accompanied by musical performances from DOBBY. Speakers include Tawakkol Karman, peace 2011, Saul Perlmutter, physics 2011, Brian Schmidt, physics 2011, constitutional lawyer Megan Davis and comedian, actor, composer, songwriter, pianist and director, Tim Minchin.

Explore the full program below.

Decision making for the greatest benefit to humanity | Brian Schmidt
While the universe can continue to expand indefinitely, humanity’s footprint on Earth cannot. Our decision making processes must evolve to deal with global challenges such as climate change, conflict, pandemics, AI risk. Nobel Prize laureate Brian Schmidt will lay out the new risk landscape and how we can navigate it.

Democracy reimagined: new thinking for the 21st century | Megan Davis, Tawakkol Karman & Owen Gaffney
Cooperation is our superpower and democracy is a foundation of human progress. But we take them for granted at our peril. In some of the strongest democracies, democratic principles are being undermined while many voices are ignored. In this conversation, Nobel Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman will tell her story of her determination to bring peace and democracy in the Middle East. Tawakkol will be joined by Megan Davis, a constitutional lawyer who is committed to greater Indigenous representation in Australian democracy.

Facts, fiction and critial thinking | Tim Minchin, Saul Perlmutter & Verity Firth
Facts matter. The scientific process matters. The ability to think critically is essential to navigate our world, to make good decisions and to solve some of the world’s most intractable problems. Nobel Prize laureate Saul Perlmutter believes everyone can learn the skills scientists use to think critically so that they don’t fool themselves. Saul will be joined by Tim Minchin, a writer, composer and fierce defender of facts, the scientific process and logic. Tim urges us all to embrace messy reality and be guided by our own creativity, curiosity and critical thinking.

The future of decision making | Tawakkol Karman, Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt & Owen Gaffney
Some parting words from our Nobel Prize laureates Tawakkol Karman, Saul Perlmutter and Brian Schmidt about the evening and the future.

For more information on the Nobel Prize Dialogue head here.

Speakers

Brian P. Schmidt
Brian P. Schmidt received the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the accelerating expansion of the Universe.

Saul Perlmutter
Saul Perlmutter shared the physics prize for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe. He is a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Megan Davis
Megan Davis is a renowned constitutional lawyer and public law expert, specialising on Indigenous peoples and the law, the constitutional recognition of First Nations and democracy.

Tawakkol Karman
Tawakkol Karman, a Yemeni journalist and human rights activist, is the first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Owen Gaffney
Owen Gaffney is Chief Impact Officer at Nobel Prize Outreach.

Tim Minchin
Tim Minchin is the composer and lyricist of smash-hit stage musicals, Matilda and Groundhog Day. He is also a screenwriter and screen actor.

Verity Firth
Professor Verity Firth AM is the inaugural Vice-President Societal Impact, Equity and Engagement at UNSW Sydney.

DOBBY
DOBBY is a rapper, drummer, composer and producer.

Sandra Brandin
Sandra Brandin is the Acting CEO of Nobel Prize Outreach, the communication and outreach arm of the Nobel Foundation.