Moderator:
Daniel Casse, President, G100; Managing Partner, High Lantern Group

Is it possible to keep your personal life private anymore? Stores, online retailers and credit-card companies record what you buy. Websites and online advertisers watch your surfing habits. TiVo knows your favorite TV shows. GPS cell phones track your whereabouts. Security cameras abound in public places. New airport security technology peeks under your clothes. Meanwhile, the Facebook generation has come of age thinking it's no big deal to post confessions, provocative photos and personal stories online - public records that are essentially permanent. Has the digital age corrupted the expectation of privacy? Can we ensure that our personal information isn't abused? Does it even matter - is privacy a Luddite concern?

Moderator:
Kara Swisher, Co-Executive Editor, AllThingsD.com

The United States often takes its dominance in science and technology for granted - and no wonder, since U.S. firms like Apple, Google and Facebook continue to dazzle consumers with inventiveness. But other nations around the world aren't exactly sitting still. They've studied the U.S. model of research funding, commercialization incentives and intellectual property protection, and they've gotten busy building their own high-tech clusters and research capacities. China and India have become hotbeds of "frugal innovation," rethinking process and design to improve products (such as medical devices) while bringing down their costs. Today it's clear that innovation knows no borders. Where are the next great game-changing designs being produced? How does this worldwide phenomenon change corporate decision-making? How are companies changing their R&D models to discover and integrate ideas from around the globe?

Speaker:
Bill Walton, NBA champion, NBA All-Star and Basketball Hall of Fame member

Interviewer:
Jim Gray, Sportscaster, Showtime, Golf Channel, Sacramento Kings and Westwood One Radio

Moderator:
Dennis Kneale, Senior Correspondent, Fox Business Network

Put down the iPad and pay attention: Technology may be rewiring your brain. Scientists say our ability to focus is being undermined by Twitter feeds, smartphones and other digital distractions. Many experts believe excessive use of technology can make users more impatient, impulsive, forgetful and even narcissistic. It may reduce the ability to process information and think deeply and creatively. Distracted drivers have become a menace on the roads. Even worse, tech-obsessed parents spend less quality time with their children, causing not only hurt feelings but potentially stunting a child's vocabulary and development. At the same time, studies show Internet users are more efficient at finding information, and gamers develop better visual acuity. Is the technology that was intended to make us more productive actually dumbing us down? Is its use in the classroom counterproductive? How does it change our culture and society in general?

Moderator:
Paul Irving, Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Milken Institute

In the last several years, we've seen some extraordinarily innovative nonprofits make an enormous impact in the global community. With a laser focus and growth that's powered by social media, these agents of change were, by and large, formed by a single person or a small team responding to a specific need with a global solution. These digital leaders are entrepreneurial in style, they inspire others to join their cause and they approach their mission with passion and leadership. Pioneers in the new age of philanthropy, they are the next generation that will shape the global conversation, impact millions of lives and change history.

Moderator:
Andrew Miller, Entrepreneur and Founder, ATM Holdings Inc.

As you read this, you might be logged into Facebook, watching a YouTube video that was Tweeted by a friend. Soon you'll be able to rent and stream movies on the social networking site. The 800-pound gorillas Facebook and Twitter have market valuations of $70 billion and $7 billion, respectively, while two-and-a-half-year-old Groupon has taken social commerce to new places with $760 million in revenue in 2010. Social media's reach has grown so powerful that Facebook and Twitter have been credited with aiding game-changing protests in the Middle East. But are any of these sites really profitable? Are their businesses sustainable? Most Internet revenue models are based on subscriptions or advertising, but the power of the purse for social media lies with access to their large base of users. Can these sites get beyond privacy concerns so they can better monetize their customer base? What are the business models of the future?

Moderator:
Richard Sandler, Executive Vice President, Milken Family Foundation; Partner, Law Offices of Maron & Sandler

Like the hero in a dime-store novel, will the iPad rescue publishing? Tablet computers as well as the Kindle and other e-readers have created a new platform for books, magazines and newspapers. The California start-up Vook may demonstrate the path forward: It packages cookbooks, workout manuals and even novels with illustrative video clips, then sells these video-text hybrids through Apple's iTunes Store. But what will readers pay for these products, and can this model sustain the big traditional publishers? Is salvation just wishful thinking on the part of a dying industry? Some say there will always be a place for print. In the news industry, print is too slow for breaking news, but does printed analysis have a place? In publishing, text-heavy books may be perfect for an e-reader, but will beautifully illustrated, tactile tomes become even more valuable? What lessons can publishers learn from the music industry's response to the digital revolution?

Moderator:
Robert Hahn, Professor of Economics, Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester

Increased penetration of broadband has triggered explosive demand for smartphones and the rapid integration of television and the Internet - trends that are radically changing the markets for communications, information and entertainment. Consumers will surely benefit from access to diverse content - everything from video conferencing to high-definition entertainment. But broadband poses enormous challenges to the telecom, cable, consumer electronics and entertainment industries as they scramble for pieces of the rapidly growing pie. And the disruption will put pressure on Washington to regulate both access to the new markets and the way the revenues are divided. This panel will analyze both the likely impact on the key industries drawn into the battle and the need for government intervention to speed innovation and maximize benefits for consumers.

Moderator:
Dennis Kneale, Senior Correspondent, Fox Business Network

Social media and mobile technologies have completely reinvented the way we communicate - including the way we communicate about investing. Investors are increasingly looking beyond the traditional sources of financial news and turning to blogs, Twitter, Facebook and each other for ideas, stock tips and real-time information on stocks, bonds, ETFs and other investment vehicles. The exchange of financial information at this level and speed is unprecedented, and it is generating increased concern among advisors and regulatory bodies such as FINRA. This panel will examine the impact social media is having on individual investors. Is the democratization of financial information a positive development for Main Street, or is it dangerous? Is the community intelligence that comes out of social networking valuable, or does it lead to groupthink and, ultimately, bad investment decisions?

Moderator:
Skip Rimer, Executive Director, Programs and Communications, Milken Institute

For news junkies who want to follow every development in the global economy in real time, there's never been more information and opinion out there. But is there enough old-fashioned, hard-nosed reporting? The profession was forced to do some soul-searching about how many reporters took their eye off the ball in the prelude to the financial crisis. Has its coverage improved during the aftermath? Can journalists keep up with the ever-increasing complexity of the financial industry? Does today's 24-hour news culture leave any room for longer-term thinking and in-depth follow-up reporting? Are traditional news outlets still our best hope, or is the new, freewheeling world of Twitter and Facebook a welcome addition to how we get our financial news? How will the more traditional financial news outlets evolve? And do they have the necessary resources to compete as well as they used to? We've invited a lineup of acclaimed journalists to size up the state of their own profession in a candid session.

Moderator:
Kevin Klowden, Managing Economist and Director, California Center, Milken Institute

For decades, Disney ruled the magic kingdom of animated films unchallenged. Now it's got company. Not only is Pixar on a roll, but it seems that every major Hollywood studio is in the game, along with some big players in Asia and Europe. And not all of these films are aimed solely at children (causing parents everywhere to breathe a sigh of relief). European animators are exploring adult and art house genres, while U.S. blockbusters like "Tangled," "Toy Story 3," "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Despicable Me" counted plenty of grownups among audiences. What makes animated films such big business? Why do American films still dominate, and will this trend continue? Foreign animators are producing high-quality films with modest budgets as low as $3 million with an eye toward wider distribution. Is this a threat to the U.S. franchise? What opportunities exist for producers to create international financing, animation and distribution deals?

Moderator:
Lucy Hood, Executive Director, Institute of Communication Technology Management, USC

As consumers snap up smartphones and tap into tablets, wireless networks are struggling to keep up with the massive increase in Web browsing, gaming, image-sharing, video streaming and downloading. Mobile devices are now one of the chief means for consuming not only Web content but also TV shows, movies and other media. While providers have seen data services as their future, their success is coming home to roost. As current networks grow overloaded, flat-rate pricing is giving way to tiered or usage-based data plans to help wireless providers pay for such improvements as LTE and 4G networks. Does the next generation of mobile technology look viable as an economical content delivery system for either service providers or content companies? Do the new tablets demonstrate that mobile consumption is not just the future but the here and now? Should content providers and distributors help pay for upgrades? Are there examples we can draw on in foreign markets?

Moderator:
Dennis Kneale, Senior Correspondent, Fox Business Network

U.S. films and TV series are judged not only on their domestic market, but also on the ability to sell overseas. It's often been said that culture is America's greatest export - but today it's a pretty significant import, too. Ideas are flowing both ways: Foreign films can rack up major U.S. box office receipts, while multiple reality and talent shows, as well as concepts like "The Office," arrived in the U.S. courtesy of international producers. It's no longer just a matter of adding subtitles or dubbing into other languages - today, shows and cable movies might be fully remade and reshot in multiple markets to fit the local context. How does the globalization of entertainment affect business decisions - and creative direction? Are business models keeping up with technology innovations like mobile video streaming platforms? How do international standards of intellectual property protection affect the equation?