That’s a wrap on #ThinkAndDo2025. Strange times call for collective thinking. Today’s mix of debates, workshops, and reflection felt like the right way to face them. Thank you to everyone who spoke, questioned, and listened. We look forward to meeting you all again soon!

Final plenary: Designing the Brussels Effect 2.0. How can Europe lead in tech not just by regulation, but by example? #ThinkAndDo2025

Need a break? Check out the quiet room with an art exhibition featuring work from Louis-Paul Caron. #ThinkAndDo2025

In the workshop “Who gets to dim the sun?” by our Climate interventions team, participants explored different scenarios about how future decisions on solar radiation modification could unfold, and what preparedness really means for Europe. #ThinkAndDo2025

Next up: breakout sessions, starting with AGI and geopolitics. The sense is clear: AI is already reshaping defence and strategy. One question is around how Europe prepares for the next leap without fuelling an arms race. #ThinkAndDo2025

Now, on the the Oxford-style: “This house believes that Europe cannot be both sovereign and competitive on technology.” An Oxford-style clash moderated by Aaron Maniam — asking whether Europe must choose between its values and its edge. #ThinkAndDo2025

First panel of the day: CONTROL: Is geopolitical readiness possible without technological readiness? With Serpil Tascioglu, Cynthia Scharf and Jerome Van Biervliet. How can Europe turn its tech strengths into genuine geopolitical leverage? 🧵#ThinkAndDo2025

Kicking off the day, Anu Bradford reminds us that waiting isn’t an option for Europe. "The EU has to be a tech actor in its own right, not just just a regulator. Build as well as govern. Aim for technological independence and real autonomy." 🧵 #ThinkAndDo2025

Doors open at #ThinkAndDo2025 — our annual space for thinking differently about tech and policy. We look forward to the conversations and exchanges!

It’s nearly time: Think & Do 2025 is happening this Wednesday. We’re excited to welcome you to a packed day of bold ideas, strange futures, and the hard questions Europe needs to face on tech. Find all the information here: 👉 cfg.eu/event/think-... #ThinkAndDo2025

How can Europe move from reacting to shaping the global tech landscape? Join us at Think & Do 2025 to grapple with defining questions of emerging technologies. Explore strange futures and connect with a community of decisionmakers, builders, and thinkers. Agenda & registration below!

“Who decides who decides?” We invited Kim Stanley Robinson to share his thinking on the deeper questions behind technological acceleration. It’s a theme we return to often at CFG. Link to full video in the comments:

Meet the #EHFG2025 speakers ⬇️ On 3 October, Virginia Mahieu, Neurotechnology Director at the @cfg-thinktank.bsky.social, will join the third EHFG plenary: 🤝 Solidarity in a digitalised world 📍 Register to follow online for free 👉 bit.ly/46wmEHF #SolidarityInHealth

How will emerging technologies shape the way we think, feel, and behave? In this kickoff piece, our team outlines where the science stands, why current policy responses fall short, and how Europe can build brain-positive governance for what’s coming next. Link to full article in the comments:

🧬 Join us at our next #Tech&Tonic on Thursday Sept. 18 for a discussion on the promises and perils of synthetic biology with David Winickoff and Ashley Noriega! There’ll be food and drinks, of course! Link to register below:

🧬 A policymaker’s guide to the biotech revolution Today we launch the intro to the Emerging biotech atlas — the first in a 5-part series by Ashley Noriega, Faouzi Braza, and Velislava Petrova. The atlas maps six fast-moving areas of biotechnology! Dive in here: cfg.eu/biotech-atla...

What risks could solar geoengineering pose? 🌍 In this clip Aasima Kamal Mowni, Ping-Ping Narenpitak and Thelma Krug outline the political and ethical risks of solar geoengineering, from uneven climate outcomes to global conflict. Link to the full video in the comments 👇

🎬Tech, power, and the future: movies and shows we’re watching this autumn Our team at CFG pulled together five films and series that stayed with us because they ask big questions about where technology is taking us, and what it means to be human.

🌍 Could we cool the planet by reflecting sunlight? In this first video of our four-part video series, Matthias Honegger and Cynthia Scharf explain what Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) is. All of this is not without risks — next week’s video will explore those. Link to full video in the comments

Sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson has been thinking about geoengineering longer than most policymakers. In this clip, he explains why “technologies of desperation” like carbon removal and solar radiation management may soon shift from fiction to fact. Find the video below 👇

🧬 AI-enabled synthetic biology is moving fast — but how can Europe steer it responsibly and claim a stronger role in global governance? Join our next Tech & Tonic discussion: 🗓 18/09/2025 🕔 18:00 📍Av. des Arts 44, 1040 Brussels Link to register in the comments:

What kind of shock could AI bring to Europe’s labour markets? Our latest analysis by Felicity Reddel, Sam Bogerd and Jakob Graabak argues that the 2025 EU Strategic Foresight Report should stress-test labour market preparedness for AI-driven disruption. 📘 Link to the full piece below

What if generative AI could help draft policy—and citizens could help write the future? We asked Kim Stanley Robinson how he sees AI reshaping democracy. His take: powerful technologies can supercharge civic participation—or undermine it from the top down. Link to the full video in comments👇

🌠👩‍🚀We reached out to sci-fi legend Kim Stanley Robinson to hear his take on the issues we work on every day! In this clip, Robinson reflects on the defining story of our time: a decade where disaster and progress are accelerating side by side! Link to video below!

October is coming..

🤖 What kind of future could artificial intelligence create? At CFG, we’ve been asking not just what should happen with AI — but what could. 📘 Link to our full report in the comments!

📢 !! Announcing our first speakers for Think & Do 2025: Control / Alt / Lead Anu Bradford, @mariafarrell.bsky.social, and @javierespft.bsky.social will help us shape the debate on how we respond to technological change! 📩 Link to register your interest below:

💻 Open-weight AI is moving fast. Can we govern it? The debate is often framed as open vs. closed AI. But at CFG we think that binary lens misses the mark. In our latest report, Alex Petropoulos, Bengüsu Özcan, and Max Reddel, suggest a tiered release strategy Read more below!

🧠 Big tech is getting into your head. Neurotech wearables can track your focus, fatigue—even emotions. But in the EU, there are still no clear rules. In this article by @techpolicypress.bsky.social , Virginia Mahieu explains why that needs to change. Link below:

Nobody should be playing God with the climate right? Yet exploration of solar geoengineering by private investors looks to be zooming ahead. Unregulated. New episode with Cynthia Scharf on Europe and the implications of technologies of desperation. In partnership with @cfg-thinktank.bsky.social

The @cfg-thinktank.bsky.social outlines five scenarios for how the AI transition might unfold: from technical stagnation to rapid self-improvement, from international diplomacy to geopolitical arms race. #AIgovernance #FuturesThinking #TechPolicy Read: cfg.eu/advanced-ai-...

🚀 We’ve sketched five possible futures where AI might take us: These scenarios don’t claim to predict what will happen, but they offer a way to explore possibilities, rooted in different perspectives and built with an awareness of the many open questions that remain!

🤖 Where might advanced AI take us next? At CFG, we’ve spent the past few months exploring not what should happen with AI, but what could. Advanced AI Possible Futures outlines five distinct scenarios for how the AI transition might unfold. cfg.eu/advanced-ai-...

🙋We’re hiring a Finance Director at CFG! Oversee finance + grants, improve systems, and ensure compliance with Dutch & Belgian standards. 🌍 Full-time, Hybrid role 📅 Apply by 25 July Details 👉 cfg.eu/about-us/car...

Can Europe move from reacting to shaping the future of tech? Think & Do 2025: Control / Alt / Lead brings together leading voices on innovation, governance & agency. 🎤 Speakers include: Anu Bradford, Maria Farrell & Javier Espinoza 📩 Register interest: cfg.eu/event/think-...

🧠 Neurotech is leaving the lab and heading into your earbuds. 60% of neurotech firms now target consumers, not patients, using brain-sensing headbands, earbuds & wristbands. What could go wrong? Our new study examines the emerging consumer neurotechnology market. cfg.eu/neurotech-ma...

Mirror life is one of the most disorienting frontiers in biology. Our Biotech team explores this fast-evolving research space which flips the molecular "handedness" of life, raising urgent questions for governance. Read it here: cfg.eu/mirror-life/

What will it take to scale AI safely in Europe? Our Tech foresight team highlights three opportunities where smart investment can help Europe lead on AI: ⚙️ Hardware-enabled governance mechanisms (HEMs) 🧪 An AI evaluations industry 🛡️ AI-powered cybersecurity Read it here: cfg.eu/strengthenin...

CERN for AI — how do we make it work in Europe? Our Senior Fellow Aaron Maniam joined MEP @aurasalla.bsky.social and CEPS’ Raquel Jorge at @euractiv.com's Tech Policy Conference to discuss how smarter coordination could scale trustworthy AI across the EU. Watch: www.youtube.com/live/1HMx2n_...

Can smarter procurement help governments steer innovation? At our next Tech & Tonic, we explore how to turn public purchasing into a force for impact. Come and join us! 26 June · Brussels Register here: www.eventbrite.be/e/what-if-go...

Our Biotech team is hiring! We’re looking for a policy officer and an intern to help advance our research, engage policymakers, and support biotech and science diplomacy projects. Intrigued? 👉 cfg.eu/careers

As the world hurtles towards 3 degrees of warming, should we be seriously considering solar geoengineering? And if we don’t, is there a risk that governments or corporations will act independently, without proper consideration of the consequences? youtu.be/9WeTgNTjxPg

Can Europe build ethical tech that strengthens democracy? Our CEO @thomaslingard.bsky.social will speak at Democracy Alive: The Brussels Summit, hosted by @eminternational.bsky.social, on how digital platforms can align with EU values. europeanmovement.eu/event-list/d...

youtu.be/9WeTgNTjxPg?... Another great EP in this excellent "Saving the world from bad ideas" podcast series from @marklynas.bsky.social @weplanetint.bsky.social - Cynthia Scharf @cfg-thinktank.bsky.social delves in to the highly nuanced SRM skyscape

What have drones, desalination systems, and biofoundries in common? We've identified 10 technologies that can be strategic tools for tackling systemic risks and safeguarding public value. Deep dives out now on the first two sectors: Defence: cfg.eu/bolstering-d... Climate: cfg.eu/supporting-c...

The Tech & Democracy day at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit is kicking off. Very proud of the @cfg-thinktank.bsky.social team for shaping the agenda today alongside @allianceofdemsorg.bsky.social

"Content algorithms are already a problem - now imagine that turbocharged with personalised brain data" My @cfg-thinktank.bsky.social colleague outlining the extremely overlooked risks of the fast emerging neurotech sector. #copenhagendemocracysummit

What if Europe led on the next wave of transformative tech? In a new report, Johannes Nagel & Marius Lindegaard spotlight 10 high-upside technologies that could power EU growth, innovation, and resilience. 🔗 cfg.eu/strategic-in...

Job opportunity: manage a large scenario project exploring geopolitics and solar radiation modification (SRM). As our Senior Project Manager you support project delivery and coordinate with our partners and stakeholders across Europe and the Global South. stichtingicfg.bamboohr.com/careers/59

In Copenhagen next week? Join us for Tech & Tonic – a conversation on what it means for democracy and technology to win. With Maria Farrell, Richard Youngs, and @mariakoomen.bsky.social. 13 May, 8PM CET. 🔗 www.eventbrite.be/e/when-democ...