Programme
This year, on the 75th anniversary of Bohr's open letter to the United Nations, we present the Open World Conference 2025, An Open World? The Contemporary Relevance of Niels Bohr's Open Letter to the United Nations of 1950. The conference will take place in The Black Diamond, The Royal Library, Copenhagen DK.
Programme
See the full programme below.
Download the Programme (PDF).
Download Abstracts (PDF).
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 11:00 - 12:00 | Registration & Refreshments |
Welcome |
|
| 12:00 - 12:15 | Professor Theis Lange Head of Department, Department of Public Health |
Opening |
|
| 12:20 - 12:40 | David Dreyer Lassen Rector, University of Copenhagen Christina Egelund Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science |
Setting the Scene |
|
| 12:40 - 13:10 |
Frank von Hippel Founder and President of One Philosophy, Co-Founder and Chairperson of Ukraine House in Denmark When Openness Becomes a Trap: Lessons from Ukraine on Empire, Trust, and Vulnerability |
| 13:10 - 13:50 | Break |
Session 1: The Legacy of Bohr’s Open LetterModerated by Kirsten Busch Nielsen |
|
| 13:50 - 14:05 | Tomas Bohr Professor Emeritus of Physics, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) The Atomic Nucleus, the War, and the Open Letter |
| 14:05 - 14:20 | Christian Joas Director, Niels Bohr Archive, University of Copenhagen Niels Bohr and the Making of the Open Letter |
| 14:20 - 14:45 | Ole Wæver Professor of International Relations, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen Bohr’s Theory of Secrecy and Insecurity Applied to New Challenges: AI, quantum computing and climate engineering |
| 14:45 - 15:25 | Klaus Mølmer Professor of Quantum Optics and Photonics, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen An appraisal and defense of Niels Bohr’s ideal of an open world of science |
| 15:25 - 16:00 | Discussion |
| 16:00 - 16:30 | Break |
Session 2: Legitimate Limits of Openness TodayModerated by Janus Juul Eriksen |
|
| 16:30 - 17:00 | Rebecca Slayton Associate Professor, Department of Science and Technology Studies, Cornell University What is “open” about the internet? Affordances, vulnerability, and power in cyberspace |
| 17:00 - 17:30 | Michela Massimi Professor of Philosophy of Science in the Dept. of Philosophy, University of Edinburgh Science and the ideal of an open world: Philosophical reflections on Bohr’s letter to the UN |
| 17:30 - 18:00 | Sabina Leonelli Professor of Philosophy and History of Science and Technology, Technical University of Munich Science for an Open Society: The Rational and the Humane |
| 18:00 - 18:30 | Discussion |
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 08:30 - 09:00 | Refreshments |
Session 3: Data and Artificial IntelligenceModerated by Stine Lomborg |
|
| 09:00 - 09:30 | Serge Belongie Professor of Computer Science at the University of Copenhagen and Head of the Pioneer Centre for AI Generative AI & Magical Thinking |
| 09:30 - 10:00 | Isabelle Augenstein Professor at Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen Closed AI? On the Impact of Large Language Models on Natural Language Processing Research |
| 10:00 - 10:30 | Jesper Ryberg Professor of Ethics and Philosophy of Law, Roskilde University Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and the Significance of Transparency |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Discussion |
| 11:00 - 11:30 | Break |
Session 4: Nuclear ThreatModerated by Ole Wæver |
|
| 11:30 - 12:00 | Tong Zhao Senior Fellow, Nuclear Policy Program and Carnegie China, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace How Can Openness Prevent Nuclear Catastrophe? |
| 12:00 - 12:30 | Hans Kristensen Director Nuclear Information Project, Federation of American Scientists Challenges for nuclear transparency in an era of renewed nuclear competition |
| 12:30 - 13:00 | Pavel Podvig Senior Researcher, WMD, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) Are nuclear weapons obsolete? Nuclear policy lessons from the Russian war against Ukraine |
| 13:00 - 13:30 | Discussion |
| 13:30 - 14:45 | Lunch |
Session 5: Being a Young, Hopeful, and Open-Minded ScientistModerated by Casper Andersen |
|
| 14:45 - 15:15 | Casper Andersen Professor, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University International Science Contested – A Generational Challenge |
| 15:15 - 16:30 |
Panel Debate with: |
| 16:30 - 18:00 | Conference Reception |
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 08:30 - 09:00 | Refreshments |
Session 6: Science and OpennessModerated by Helle Porsdam |
|
| 09:00 - 09:30 | Gundo Weiler World Health Organization, Director of Special Initiative on Noncommunicable Diseases and Innovation Health as a Driver for Turning Crisis into Solutions |
| 09:30 - 10:00 | Ana María Cetto Professor of Theoretical Physics, Instituto de Físca UNAM Pushing the Boundary Between Openness of Science and Political Closure |
| 10:00 - 10:30 | Zuoyue Wang Professor of History, College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences, Cal Poly Pomona Reflections on US-China Scientific Exchanges from the Cold War to the Contemporary World |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Discussion |
| 11:00 - 11:30 | Closing words by Helle Porsdam
Member of the Organizing Committee. Professor of History and Cultural Rights and UNESCO Chair in the Right to Science, University of Copenhagen.
|