Hayek Programme Online Webinar Series
Defending Technological Dynamism & the Freedom to Innovate in the Age of AI
Adam Thierer
Thursday 09 April 2026 18:30 - 20:00
Many of our seminars and public events this year will continue as in person or as hybrid (online and in person) events. Please check our website listings and Twitter feed @STICERD_LSE for updates.
Unless otherwise specified, in-person seminars are open to the public. Please ensure you have informed the event contact as early as possible.
Those unable to join the seminars in-person are welcome to participate via zoom if the event is hybrid.
About this event
Despite the fact that technological innovation has been the fundamental driver of economic growth and improvements in human well-being throughout history, the freedom to innovate is constantly coming under attack.
Today, a broad collection of forces is aligned against the freedom to innovate and develop many specific emerging technological capabilities, especially in the fields of artificial intelligence and advanced life sciences. Who or what are these forces? What motivates them and what do they advocate? Can their concerns be overcome? What governance philosophy or policy default will win in the AI age: permissionless innovation or the precautionary principle? And, what lessons can F.A. Hayek and the great thinkers about progress teach us regarding today's debate over progress and how best to meet the challenge posed by anti-innovation forces? These questions will be answered by Adam Thierer in his lecture about how best to defend technological dynamism and the freedom to innovate in the age of AI.
About the speaker
Adam Thierer is a senior fellow for the R Street Institute’s Technology & Innovation team. He works to make the world safe for innovators and entrepreneurs by pushing for a policy vision that is rooted in the idea of “permissionless innovation.” Prior to R Street, Adam spent 12 years as a senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Before the Mercatus Center, he served as the president of the Progress and Freedom Foundation. Adam has also worked for the Adam Smith Institute, the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute. Adam has published 10 books on a wide range of topics, including online child safety, internet governance, intellectual property, telecommunications policy, media regulation and federalism. In 2008, Adam received the Family Online Safety Institute’s “Award for Outstanding Achievement.” Adam has a master’s degree in international business management and a bachelor’s degree with a double major in political science and journalism. Adam lives in Falls Church, Virginia with his wife, kids and two cats. Find more of Adam’s work on his Medium, where he publishes work independent of the R Street Institute.
Related
The online webinar series of the LSE Hayek Programme will feature academic scholars or policy experts on a range of interdisciplinary topics that are related in some way to the intellectual contributions of F.A. Hayek.
These include individualism and economic freedom, the nature and future of liberal democracy, social justice and welfare, decision-making under radical uncertainty, macroeconomic management, the rule of law and justice, and others.
All sessions will be conducted on Zoom, lasting 1.5 hours, with a structured format of 45 minutes for speaker presentations followed by a 45-minute Q&A session. Additionally, for those unable to attend live, all webinars will be recorded for later access.
Events in the series will begin in March 2024, usually held one Thursday each month, from 6pm - 7:30pm unless otherwise stated.
For further information please contact Bryan Cheang, by email: b.cheang@lse.ac.uk.