30th Jan 2020

Humanity and Technology Converge at the Hub Culture Davos TechLodge

This week the world descended on Davos, and the inaugural Hub Culture TechLodge provided an intimate space for conversations about deep technology, it’s impact on society, and how we can build a more resilient, equitable and prosperous world.

Conveived with Mastercard and Cognizant and constructed by Kunzli AG, the latest addition to the Hub Culture Davos Campus is a timber and polymer oasis featuring circular economy inspired renewable materials, offering beautiful natural light and an inviting, cozy atmosphere.

It offered Hub Culture partners a community meeting space, co-working areas, and a flexible place to gather for a variety of important moments. Little touches like intelligent bathrooms from Geberit and LED low emission lighting set the stage for intimate conversations on how technology is reshaping humanity.

Over five days, Hub Culture, Mastercard and Cognizant hosted a variety of events featuring Young Global Leaders, conversations about the dangers inherent in technology, the possibilities of quantum computing, new research on the cryosphere, privacy and human data rights, roundtables on financial inclusion, and much more.

The culmination of a three year meditation on what the TechLodge should address was the introduction of The Chronicles: a series of intimate, guided discussions on the impact and implications of tech.

Hub Culture founder Stan Stalnaker convened a variety of co-chairs to lead these conversations by posing critical questions for the next decade:

Is technology causing rapid evolution to emerge?

Can technology save the Amazon?

How do we get to fully renewable energy?

How can AI support a better future for work?

What is needed to build a global digital middle class?

What happens after the end of money?

How do we shape the new space race?

While these are diverse topics, central themes often converged. We realized that thought leadership is dead - this next decade is about radical action. To achieve results for our big ideas, we need trust, consciousness and community - even the world’s biggest CEOs need to push people forward, bring people with them to the top. We must have big, ambitious visions, but also stay focused on doing everything we can with the tools we have today. Every person is important.

After a week living in the complexity and beauty of Davos which mirrors the world at large, what we’ll remember as much as the ideas presented is the incredible group of people we met. The serendipitous meetings, the unexpected collaboration, the colleagues who made us laugh and taught us their truths are unforgettable.

That’s the real value of coming to Davos, and creating a space for these connections is the core of TechLodge - a home for the spontaneous, and room to explore the big ideas that will help us co-create future societies.

On behalf of the entire Hub Culture team and all our guests, we want to thank our partners for bringing this vision to life: Mastercard, Cognizant, Ven, TikTok, McDonough Innovation, Kunzli and Sabic. 

by Morgan Catalina