Five ways into the questions shaping the future

International politics affects far more than diplomacy. It shapes trade, technology, security, migration, climate action, and the choices governments make at home.

This area explores questions such as:

• Why do countries cooperate, and why do they compete?
• How are global institutions changing?
• What happens when economic and political power shifts?
• How do conflicts begin, develop, and end?
• What does diplomacy look like in a more divided world?

Participants encounter the systems, ideas, and decisions shaping relationships between countries.

Artificial intelligence is changing how people work, create, learn, and make decisions. Its effects will not be limited to technology. They will shape institutions, rights, economies, education, and the distribution of power.

This area explores questions such as:

• How should societies govern increasingly capable AI systems?
• Which jobs and forms of work will change?
• Who benefits from technological progress, and who may be left behind?
• What happens when important decisions are made with algorithms?
• How should human rights and accountability apply to AI?

Participants explore AI not only as a technology, but as a social and political force.

Cities concentrate people, opportunity, infrastructure, and environmental pressure. As populations grow and climate risks increase, decisions about housing, transportation, energy, and public space become increasingly important.

This area explores questions such as:

• How can cities become more affordable?
• What makes transportation systems work?
• How should communities prepare for climate change?
• How can cities reduce emissions while supporting growth?
• Who gets included when urban spaces are redesigned?

Participants examine the trade-offs behind the places where most people will live.

Economies are constantly affected by technological change, geopolitical events, environmental disruption, and financial shocks. Resilience is not simply about returning to the way things were. It is about understanding how systems adapt, and who bears the cost of change.

This area explores questions such as:

• What makes an economy resilient?
• How should governments respond to major disruptions?
• What trade-offs exist between growth, stability, and equality?
• How is technology changing the future of work?
• What happens when global supply chains are disrupted?

Participants explore how economic decisions shape communities and everyday life.

Public life depends on more than institutions. It depends on people who can listen, persuade, organize, negotiate, and act responsibly.

This area explores questions such as:

• How do people build coalitions across disagreement?
• What makes public institutions trustworthy?
• How can communities solve difficult problems together?
• What is the difference between leadership and authority?
• How should decisions be made when no option is perfect?

Participants explore civic life as a practical discipline: the work of making decisions with and for other people.