Speaking

Superconvergence: How the AI, Genetics, and Biotechnology Revolutions Will Transform Our Lives, Work, and World

The rapid growth of new AI systems like ChatGPT and Google Gemini has helped us recognize that profound change is on the horizon. Although many of us still think of these capabilities as little more than improved internet search tools, the implications are far deeper. Like the agricultural, industrial, and computer revolutions before it, the AI revolution will transform nearly every aspect of how we live and work, including our economies, our healthcare, the food we eat, and our interactions with the world around us. In this visionary, far-reaching, and highly practical talk, leading futurist and bestselling author of Superconvergence, Hacking Darwin, and The AI Ten Commandments, Jamie Metzl explores the big-picture implications of this transformative moment in history when we are rapidly increasing our ability to engineer intelligence and re-engineer biology—and shows how individuals, organizations, and societies can ride this wave of change rather than be overwhelmed by it.

The End of Reactive Medicine: How AI and Other New Technologies are Powering Predictive and Preventive Health

For centuries, healthcare has been reactive. We waited for people to get sick, then tried—often heroically—to save them. That era is now ending. Medicine is already shifting from one-size-fits-all treatment to precision healthcare shaped by each person’s unique biology. Genome sequencing, targeted cancer therapies, and data-driven diagnostics are already delivering extraordinary results. But as generative AI and exponential computing power converge with genomics, biotechnology, and vast health datasets, medicine is moving beyond precision toward predictive and preventive care models in which we can anticipate risk, intervene early, and keep people well before symptoms appear. In this fast-paced, visionary, and deeply practical keynote, technology and healthcare futurist Jamie Metzl, Commissioner of the Lancet Commission on Precision Health, takes audiences inside the next healthcare revolution and shows how AI and other new capabilities are transforming disease detection, drug development, care delivery, and health economics, and what it will take for leaders to thrive as prediction, prevention, and personalization redefine healthcare success.

Artificial Intelligence, Human Creativity, and Our New Age of Spiritual Machines

Whether we’re ready or not, artificial intelligence is set to transform nearly every dimension of human life, including how we work, live, create art, find meaning, and build communities of belief. Just as agriculture reshaped human civilization and seeded new faith traditions and the printing press fractured old authorities while giving rise to new ones, AI is now triggering the next great shift in how we understand ourselves and our place in the unfolding human story. In this mind-opening journey through deep history and near-future possibility, leading futurist, sci-fi novelist, and author of The AI Ten Commandments Jamie Metzl explores what happens—and how we can thrive—when our most powerful technologies begin to touch the most human questions: Who are we? What do we owe one another? And what does it mean to create, to believe, and to belong in an age of highly creative, and potentially even spiritual, machines? This keynote helps leaders, creators, and organizations understand not just what AI can do, but how we can strengthen human meaning, creativity, and values as intelligent machines increasingly shape our lives and societies.

Beyond the Blue Zones: What the Revolutionary Science of Human Life Extension Means for You

Most people know the basics of healthy longevity: exercise, good nutrition, meaningful relationships, and stress reduction. But revolutionary advances in biology, genetics, and artificial intelligence are now creating unprecedented opportunities to extend healthy human life beyond what was once considered possible, and unlocking new potential for health, productivity, and human flourishing in ways our ancestors could never have imagined. In this eye-opening and highly practical keynote, leading technology and healthcare futurist (and ultramarathoner) Jamie Metzl explores the latest breakthroughs in longevity science and what they mean for individuals, businesses, and governments. He explains how these advances could deliver more of life’s most precious resource—time—and why they will fundamentally reshape healthcare systems, economies, social structures, and public policy sooner than most people expect. This talk offers a clear framework for how leaders can prepare now for a future in which longer, healthier lives transform how we live and work, and even how our societies are organized.

Optimizing Your Health in an Age of Exponential Technology

While many people feel overwhelmed by a flood of unscientific health claims and exaggerated promises about “hacking” aging or living forever, the converging revolutions in artificial intelligence, genetics, and biotechnology are delivering something far more powerful: real scientific insights into prevention, prediction, and long-term health with meaningful implications for every one of us. In this affirming, optimistic, and highly practical keynote, leading technology and healthcare futurist Jamie Metzl—who has completed 60 marathons, 40 ultramarathons, and 13 Ironman triathlons—explores how individuals can use today’s best science, not hype, to optimize their health and position themselves to benefit from the next generation of predictive and preventive medicine. This talk offers a clear, empowering framework for living healthier, more resilient lives in a world of rapidly accelerating technological change.

“Jamie Metzl is in my all-time, hall-of-fame, top five, list of brilliant keynote speakers at business, financial and policy conferences. Here’s why you can believe me. I am the former publisher of Forbes magazine (1998–2018) and a speaker/moderator myself at over 1,000 conferences in the last 30 years. I’ve seen – or worked with – many of the world’s best. Tom Peters, Clay Christensen, Jenny Lee, Simon Sinek, et. al. Jamie is easily in the first tier of the first tier. He delivers the whole package: knowledge, bankable insight, a glimpse into the future, inspiration, and moral truth. He does it with energy and empathy. He’s a superb human being. Working with Jamie Metzl is a joy.”
— Rich Karlgaard, former publisher, Forbes 

“I was fortunate to host Jamie for both a small group dinner with several high value clients and then have Jamie present for 30 minutes followed by a 45 minute fireside discussion at our firm’s annual Macro Conference with over 250 attendees. I can say Jamie’s depth and breadth of knowledge about biology, history, genomics, AI/technology, biotechnology, agriculture, and food is astounding with instant recall. Additionally, his time spent with our government and other major global organizations provided him with broad and excellent real world know-how not just theory in how we can leverage these technologies and end goals to improve the US and world at large. Jamie engaged the small group at dinner who were also fascinated with how he leveraged AI to help draft his science fiction novel. We also covered a lot of ground on man+machine vs. man against machine and how we can leverage our best skills with targeted roles and goals for AI to improve and expedite the process. So now we won’t be replaced by machines. At our conference with our larger group Jamie walked through the history and natural ‘genomics’ process and how AI and biotechnology can accelerate that to move us from general healthcare to predictive medicine was fascinating. We covered his role in the Covid lab leak vs. wet market and how we can leverage mRNA technology for so many health issues along with CRISPR and cell genomics. But, aside from Jamie being a great speaker and storyteller to engage the audience, he is also a wonderful person and a pleasure to spend time with discussing anything, frankly. In preparation for our event I read Superconvergence and am now about to tackle Hacking Darwin, his earlier book. I hope that our paths will cross again in the near future. I would recommend Jamie to anyone looking for a great speaker for an event without any hesitation, in simple terms he is an absolute star!”
— Jason Glazer, Senior Vice President, Piper Sandler

“I engaged Jamie to speak to an audience of 200+ life sciences leaders across pharma and biotech companies and digital technology and services companies that support their needs. He spoke for an hour with about a half hour for questions from the audience. The context of our event was the launch of our promise to help life sciences customers drive their product innovations further and faster by coordinating and leading technology innovation across a diverse network of technology and service partners. We asked for a talk that emphasized the importance of collaboration and connectedness within organizations and across the industry ecosystem, to get the most out of the technology and science advancements that are all around us. Jamie’s talk was very well received and many said it got them thinking. His approach is to ground his talk in storytelling and real-world examples while also providing a sweeping view of history and reminding us that it is impossible to know where change and transformation will take us. Jamie’s talk was uplifting because it reminded us both that technology in the long run always takes us to a better place, but also that what we do as individuals really matters, because the human spirit, not technology, is the primary driver of how we progress. Jamie was generous with his time on the day of the event, curious about our other speakers and guests, and skillfully wove new connections into his remarks. He did a really great job of picking up on the messages and themes of our company and program, and personalizing his talk to better connect with the audience.”
— Carrie Fraser, Stellix

“I was delighted to have Jamie as one of our Changemaker Speakers this season. He came to the Wachholz College Center on the campus of Flathead Valley Community College and gave, what turned out to be, one of the most interesting and engaging presentations our audience has ever experienced. His talk, supported by high quality imagery, focused on really “big picture” ideas that exist at the cross section of the genetics, biotechnology and AI revolutions we are in the midst of experiencing. He has a unique gift of taking these concepts, which for many, are sometimes hard to fully grasp, and presenting them in a way that not only makes sense, but encourages involvement and deep conversation, resulting in inspiration. Jamie is a consummate professional and I highly recommend him for speaking engagements. He was extremely generous with his time and with the audience, remaining in the lobby after the event for over an hour to meet everyone in line and answer questions. The cherry on top came in the parking lot after the event and the meet and greet were over… as I walked Jamie to his car, a group of 5 honors students from the college approached us with just “one more question”, if he had time. Jamie spent a solid 30 minutes engaging with these honors students in the parking lot and not only answered the remaining questions they had, but left them truly inspired and deeply fulfilled. The connection he made with those students is something I’ll remember forever.”
— Matt Laughlin, Director of The Wachholz College Center

“I had the opportunity to bring Jamie Metzl in as a keynote speaker at the Crossroads Summit and spend several hours in conversation with him over two days. Jamie is incredibly knowledgeable and has a rare talent for explaining complex topics, particularly at the intersection of AI and genetics, in a way that’s clear, engaging, and actionable. His talk was one of the highlights of the event. I’ve also read Jamie’s book, Superconvergence, and it’s an outstanding deep dive into the ways technology and biology are shaping our future. It’s both informative and insightful, making these important trends accessible to a wide audience. If you’re looking for someone with deep expertise and the ability to connect big ideas to practical outcomes, Jamie is an excellent choice. I’d highly recommend him as a speaker, author, or thought leader.”
—  John Bartleman, President & CEO, TradeStation Group, Inc.

“We invited Jamie to give a keynote address to 500 doctors at a major medical convention. His brilliant talk simply blew people’s minds and made them think differently about where medicine is heading and what that means for all of us. With tremendous thoughtfulness, energy, creativity, and skill, Jamie helped participants imagine how they might ride the wave of exponential change toward greater success rather than be crushed by it. The positive response was overwhelming. Jamie is a superstar.”
—Joshua Abram, Co-Founder and CEO, TMRW Life Sciences

“Jamie was the closing keynote at our global CEO conference. He had an uncanny way tying together all of the themes from the previous sessions, into a masterful and thought provoking closing. No canned script, no death by PowerPoint, but an engaging, entertaining and intelligent talk worthy of our audience. Jamie’s keynote had the energy and enthusiasm of a rock star, and left our audience wanting more. I would most certainly book Jamie again for another YPO event!”
—Stephen Forte, President, Silicon Valley YPO

“San Jose State thinks a great deal these days about how to approach healthcare studies with our students, how that interacts with technology and the humanities, and the complexity of programs we need to create that will allow us to think differently about our place in an ever changing world, as well as how we can have a positive impact. At our event, Jamie was exceptionally engaged with the students, and in both sessions before the lecture, everyone one came up with him afterwards to talk further with him. He offered thoughtful insights into these issues in an engaging, entertaining way that I know is going to generate a great deal of discussion and debate among our students and staff. He reminded us that the future is already here and we should engage with it actively and in the spirit of our values.”
—Dr. Mary A. Papazian, President, San Jose State University

“As part of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Director’s Distinguished Lecturer Series, Jamie Metzl led several hundred scientists and engineers into the mind-twisting reality where advances in genomics are changing the way we think about the future of living systems – including homo sapiens.  Jamie combined technical understanding and his unique skills of communication to take the audience into an uncertain future where deliberate engineering of living systems will enable remarkable benefit but also leads to deep ethical challenges for society.  As Jamie concludes, every individual in society needs to become part of this conversation.”
—David Rakestraw, Lawrence Livermore National Lab 

“Provocative, challenging, wonderful, exciting and a bit scary are just a sampling of the reactions from the nearly 1,500 attendees at Jamie Metzl’s talks we hosted in advance of the debut of his book Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity. Jamie’s fast pace and vast knowledge kept audiences of all ages and persuasions locked on.”
—John Carney, CEO, Center for Practical Bioethics

“Jamie’s fabulous presentation on genetic engineering — past, present and future — was at once thought provoking, inspiring, frightening and enlightening. It was simply the best presentation I ever have heard in all my 71 years. I look forward to the publication of Hacking Darwin and can’t wait to get my hands on it.”
—David Parker, Board Member, Brown University Hillel

“Jamie’s talk on ‘Donald Trump and the Changing Geopolitics of Asia’ was an absolute tour de force that blew away our members. Jamie took what could have been a narrowly focused topic and put it in a far broader historical and political context that helped the audience to see the big picture of U.S.-China relations and the dynamics shaping it. His thought-provoking and expansive talk generated a fascinating discussion and left us seeing the world from an entirely different—and deeply appreciated—perspective.”
— Courtney Doggart, President, Network 20/20

“IVY hosts dozens of incredible lectures led by leading minds around the country each year, but I’ve never seen our members as engaged with the speaker and the subject matter as they were with Dr. Metzl. He captivated the room with the intricacies of the future of science and humanity. After the lecture members lingered for more than two hours discussing the implications of the future of genetic engineering and debating what, if anything, should be done about it.”
— IVY Connect

“Jamie is a fantastic authority and resource on all things related to China. I hired Jamie as a panelist and keynote speaker in 2016 after hearing Jamie speak at an Atlantic Council event. He was extremely knowledgeable, flexible and a pleasure to work with on our event programming. I was particularly impressed by Jamie’s presence and command of the topics and his ability to engage with the audience in a meaningful way. Throughout our preparation, Jamie was always accessible and provided constructive ways to improve our program. Jamie is at the top of my list for my speaking engagement needs.”
— HSBC

“Jamie Metzl spoke to a captivated audience about a fascinating and complicated subject. Bio-engineering and its impact upon the future of mankind was the topic Dr. Metzl aptly articulated in an enthralling yet relatable style. From the start, he built a genuine rapport with the audience as he communicated so that each person understood as clearly as possible the subject matter. Jamie’s presentation was amazingly fluid and perfectly paced as he spoke effortlessly without notes or prompts. ‘Jamie is the best speaker we’ve ever had.’ ‘This event was a home run because of Jamie Metzl!’ ‘Jamie is engaging and smoothly breaks it down.’ These are just a few samples of the positive comments received from the audience after the presentation. Our community is excited about Jamie’s return for an encore!”
— Kansas City Jewish Federation

“Jamie spoke to the senior most lay leadership of our non-partisan, nonprofit organization on U.S. foreign policy and, particularly, as it relates to the Asia Pacific region—a topic that is difficult to address, both because it is inherently complex and politically sensitive. Jamie overcame these challenges and adeptly and tactfully addressed the issues, giving historical context and his own perspective in a clear and effective manner. His breadth of knowledge is impressive. Jamie is very personable, and his intelligence, confidence and personal charm were extremely well received. Many people commented after his presentation and the ensuing discussion that he is one of the best speakers they have heard in a very long while—and this is a group that is accustomed to hearing many high-level speakers. We look forward to the next opportunity to host Jamie as a speaker again.”
—Shira Loewenberg, Director, AJC Asia Pacific Institute (API)