As we step into 2025, the world stands at the crossroads of transformative change. What is ahead for AI? What does leadership look like in 2025? How will Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility efforts develop? Will the fault lines of political division shift? Will career sovereignty rise? There are big questions up for debate, and we asked our speakers to weigh in and share their expertise.
Professor and creativity expert Angus Fletcher looks past artificial intelligence to the year of human intelligence; Pixar co-founder and former President of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Ed Catmull shares why he avoids predictions; disability rights activist Emily Ladau talks about why organizations need to step up their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) initiatives; social psychologist Kurt Gray looks at the fault lines of political and personal division; and executive coach Melody Wilding looks ahead to a year of empowering sovereignty for professionals.
Leadership
“I have been reasonably good in the past in predicting the rate of change and the implications of those changes, but I didn’t make any predictions about actual outcomes. Instead, we kept changing course when we had new information. We ended up in a place I could not possibly have conceived. I didn’t make many predictions at that time because the attachment to an outcome could blind us.
Today, the rate of change is even faster, and the number of people working on new applications for AI–its costs, speed, functionality, and personalized uses on smartphones and desktops is so large–that it is even more unpredictable. However, I still take the approach of changing course as I learn new information. This is pretty much what most companies are doing. It is unusually chaotic, and I can’t get my head around outcome predictions other than the obvious: Given the forces at play and the money involved, I only know that the next few years will be unstable for large and small companies, their technologies, and their employees. Typically, large companies and governments have been very poor at thinking about or responding to the implications of rapid change; I can safely predict this will continue to be true.”
PRHSB speaker Ed Catmull is the co-founder of Pixar—a modest start-up with an immodest goal—and a highly respected figure in the business and creative worlds. Having revolutionized the world of animation and built one of the most innovative and emulated companies on earth, Catmull speaks with great experience and thought about leading creative organizations. He is also the author of Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration.
TECH & AI
“2024 was the year of Artificial Intelligence. AI was deployed by more than 70% percent of US corporations—and an even greater percentage of US college students. Nvidia—the world’s leading AI chipmaker—shot past $3t in value, while Generative AI projected itself as a $15t contributor to the global economy. OpenAI released its “Strawberry” o1 models, predicting the imminence of Artificial General Intelligence, aka the computer that obsolesces all of us.
2025 will flip this script. Schools will invest more in human creativity. Businesses will invest more in human leadership. We all will spend less time with digital technology, seeking the deeper possibilities of human interactivity.
This is because AI will remind us, through its uncanny failures and intractable dullardry, why smart behavior requires more than logic circuits. Logic circuits are an archaic source of intelligence; they evolved in animal brains more than 500 million years ago. Yet those circuits make up only a fraction of the modern human brain. Why? Because logic requires data. And in the real world, data is in short supply. Life is volatile—and uncertain. Hence it is that our modern brain evolved the noncomputational powers of imagination, intuition, emotion, and commonsense. The powers that drive innovation, strategy, and antifragility, spurring entrepreneurship, purpose, and growth.
AI can optimize but it cannot revolutionize. In the idealized simulations of math, it is perfect. But in the chop and change of biological existence, it is fragile—and boring. Intelligence in 2025 will be more vigorous and exciting. Because it will be human.”
PRHSB speaker Angus Fletcher is a professor at Ohio State University’s Project Narrative, specializing in the neuroscience of creativity. His work has been praised by thought leaders such as Malcolm Gladwell (“mind-blowing”) and Brené Brown (“life-changing”) and his upcoming book, Primal Intelligence, publishes in August 2025. Based on the revolutionary training developed by Fletcher’s Project Narrative and US Army Special Operations, the book offers a brand-new approach to accessing our hidden, Primal Intelligence.
POLITICAL AND MORAL DIVISION
“In 2025, the fault lines of division will shift. Old partisan divides will remain, but there will be another divide: rage vs. understanding. Some will continue to scream, some will try to connect across divides.
Most people—exhausted by years of hostility—will lean into curiosity, trying to understand what motivates their neighbors and colleagues on the other side of the aisle. This curiosity will be fueled by books, movies, and organizations that emphasize our shared humanity.
But even as most people seek to understand their neighbors, a parallel divide will widen—between the public and elites. Anger toward career politicians, big tech (“TikTok is hurting kids!”), and out-of-touch CEOs (“Down with delay, deny, depose!”) will intensify. This resentment will be bipartisan, with many everyday Americans raging at a system that feels unfair.
This mix of growing everyday empathy and rising hostility toward elites will define the psychology of politics in 2025. People want to repair relationships with the friends and family they’ve lost from the last three election cycles. And they’ll continue to feel outraged at the machinery of society.
Fostering more empathy and creating social change will both require the same thing: understanding how people truly think and behave when it comes to morality and politics.”
PRHSB speaker Kurt Gray is a prominent social psychologist and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill whose keynotes and new book, “Outrage: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground” dive into the science of overcoming outrage.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND ACCESSIBILITY
“Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives are likely on the line in the year ahead as many organizations try to keep up with a continually shifting sociocultural climate. However, diversity is simply a fact of humanity, and disregarding this will only be to the detriment of any organization’s success.
Among the many manifestations of human existence is disability. More than a billion people around the world have some type of disability, and no matter what someone’s background is, they can already be or become disabled at any time.
Indeed, in 2025, the global population of people with disabilities will inevitably continue to grow, whether due to conflict, illness, or other natural occurrences. We must recognize that while challenging circumstances can be causes of disability, having a disability in and of itself is not a bad thing and does not make a person less than whole.
As some organizations move away from prioritizing equity and inclusion of all people, including those with disabilities, others will double down on its importance and reap the benefits. Although providing equal opportunities and accessibility for disabled people is both the law and the right thing to do, there is also financial benefit for businesses. According to the World Economic Forum, people with disabilities and their families have an estimated $13 trillion worth of spending power.
We simply cannot afford to ignore the disability community. And by ensuring we are truly, meaningfully inclusive, we’ll create a world that’s better and more welcoming not just for some, but for everyone.”
PRHSB speaker Emily Ladau is the author of Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be An Ally and an internationally celebrated disability rights activist. Ladau engages with organizations of all sizes and across all industries about how they can help make the world more accessible and inclusive; why it’s important to recognize disability history and identity as a natural part of the human experience; and how to understand and break patterns of discrimination toward disabled people.
FUTURE OF WORK
“In 2025, we’ll see the rise of career sovereignty. Professionals will prioritize freedom to shape their work lives and to choose projects over valuing predictable promotion paths. Employees will increasingly view themselves as independent “brands” who partner with organizations rather than belong to them.
That means we’re entering an era where your ability to influence is your most critical career asset. The days of letting your boss be your only advocate are over. Success goes to those who build allies and a reputation across departments and know how to pitch their ideas. Achieving this requires next-level situational awareness – understanding organizational dynamics, knowing when to push for change, and recognizing when to align with existing processes.
Organizations will also have to embrace something they’ve avoided: being uncomfortably explicit about power. Managers will need to become skilled at having direct conversations about authority, including which decisions are collaborative, which are up for discussion but ultimately their call, and which aren’t negotiable at all. They’ll need to establish transparent processes for employees to pitch and lead their own initiatives and create compensation structures that reward impact, not just hours. This level of transparency about power might feel awkward at first, but it’s essential for balancing employee autonomy with effective execution.”
PRHSB speaker Melody Wilding is an award-winning executive coach, a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, and the bestselling author of Trust Yourself. With a unique background in social work and experience coaching high-achieving leaders from companies like Google, Facebook, and the United Nations, Wilding helps executives and teams lead through ambiguity with confidence and authenticity. Her upcoming book, Managing Up: How to Get What You Need From the People in Charge, and her eye-opening talks equip audiences with strategies to manage challenging interactions with clarity.