Conference Tech & Society Program: “Who controls the future?” with Carissa Véliz

Aspen Institute España, in collaboration with Fundación Telefónica, hosted on Tuesday, June 16h at 7pm the conference «Who controls the future?», with Carissa Véliz,  Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford, and moderated by Irene Vallejo, PhD in Classics, writer and National Literature Award for Essay (2020).

This second conference of the 10th Edition of the Tech & Society Program was organised with the support of Debate where Carissa Véliz has published her last book in Spanish, Prophecy. Prediction, Power and the Fight for the Futre, from ancient oracles to AI (Debate, 2026).

The conference was held at the Auditorium of Espacio Fundación Telefónica (C/ Fuencarral, 3, Madrid). The conference was held in Spanish, and could be followed via open streaming

Who controls the future?

What is a prediction? What can we learn from the history of prediction? In what ways is AI the new Oracle of Delphi? Who has the authority to make predictions? Should we give free rein to prediction markets? Who controls the future? These were some of the questions explored throughout the conference.

Carissa Véliz

Carissa Véliz is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI. She studied Philosophy at the University of Salamanca and earned her PhD from the University of Oxford. She has published articles in The New York Times, The Guardian, Wired and El País,among other media outlets. Her academic work has been published in journals such as Harvard Business Review and Nature. She is the editor of the Oxford Handbook of Digital Ethics, and the author of Privacy is Power (an Economist Book of the Year, 2020) and Prophecy: Prediction, Power and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI (2026). She has companies and governments around the world.

Irene Vallejo 

Irene Vallejo studied Classical Philology and earned a European Doctorate from the Universities of Zaragoza and Florence. It was in the libraries of Florence that her essay Papyrus (published in Spanish as El infinito en un junco, 2019) was born — a book that has received extraordinary acclaim from critics and readers alike, becoming an international bestseller. In addition to international awards such as the Prix Livre de Poche in France, the Wenjin Book Award from the National Library of China, the Alfonso Reyes Prize of Nuevo León in Mexico, being a finalist for the British Academy Prize, and the Henríquez Ureña Prize from the Mexican Academy, she has been recognized in Spain with the National Essay Prize, the “El Ojo Crítico” Narrative Award, the Booksellers’ Guild Award, the “Madrid Bookshops” Award, the “Humanist Leader” award, the “José Antonio Labordeta” prize, the Publishers’ “Antonio Sancha” Prize, the “Arts and Letters” Prize, as well as the 2021 Aragón Prize, among others. She recently received the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts from the Spanish Government. The publishing phenomenon has surpassed 70 editions in Spain, has been translated into 40 languages, and has been published in more than 80 countries.

She contributes to prestigious media outlets such as El País in Spain, Milenio in Mexico, Corriere della Sera in Italy, Página 12 in Argentina, La Tercera in Chile, and El Espectador in Colombia, among others. She has published the article anthologies Alguien habló de nosotros (2017) and El futuro recordado (2020), as well as short essays such as the Manifiesto por la Lectura (2020). Among her fiction works, notable titles include La luz sepultada (2011) and El silbido del arquero (2015), a distinctive historical novel with Homeric and Virgilian echoes, also translated into numerous languages. She has published two illustrated books: La leyenda de las mareas mansas (2023) and El inventor de viajes(2024), bringing classical legends closer to young readers. Along these lines, notable is the graphic novel adaptation of El infinito en un junco (2024), created in collaboration with illustrator Tyto Alba.

Edition X of the Tech & Society Program

The Tech & Society Program has become the leading forum in Spain for reflecting on the major issues raised by advances in digital technology. The 10th edition will bring together leaders from all sectors of civil society to discuss new technological challenges and their influence on diverse areas such as human relations, politics, education, culture, economics, and medicine.