Futurist & innovation strategist with 20+ years in Silicon Valley (Apple, Adobe, Autodesk). Singularity University faculty. Ocean & space explorer. Keynote speaker helping leaders harness AI and exponential tech for a better future.
Jonathan Knowles is a globally recognized futurist, innovation strategist, and technology thought leader with over 20 years of executive experience in Silicon Valley, including leadership roles at Apple, Adobe, and Autodesk. A founding faculty member and former Head of Faculty at Singularity University, Jonathan currently serves as the Distinguished Fellow for Science, Technology, Innovation, and Exploration at the institution, where he explores the dynamics of large-scale, long-term change and the evolving role of applied innovation. He is the Science and Exploration Fellow at Mission Blue—The Sylvia Earle Alliance, an Advisor to Schmidt Marine Technology Partners (a program of the Schmidt Family Foundation), Ideation Director at the NASA Frontier Development Lab, and Exploration Officer for the California Coastal Exploration Academy vessel E/V Discovery. Jonathan sits on the boards of and advises numerous ocean, space, technology, learning, and exploration startups and nonprofit organizations. A sought-after keynote speaker and moderator, he is passionate about helping business leaders, government officials, academics, and entrepreneurs understand and harness rapidly advancing technologies—from AI and exponential thinking to open innovation and beyond-the-horizon futures—to create a preferred future for all.
Sessions
The Silicon Valley Mindset
Foundations of Exponentials, Exponential Thinking
Once known as "The Valley of Heart's Delight," Silicon Valley takes its current name after the primary material in computer microprocessors. It is home to dozens of major technology companies and thousands of technology startups, and has fostered the greatest creation of wealth in the history of our planet. It's the Hollywood of digital — the literal place where new forms of thinking, learning, creating, and consuming are invented, tested, coded, and disseminated throughout the world. It has become home to those who explore and create the future. It is a disruptive force in social, economic, and political systems — an interface between technology and academia, with the quirky influence of counterculture woven into its fabric.
In this session over breakfast, we will unpack the myths and history surrounding Silicon Valley. Together we'll explore the lives of the people, organizations, and ideas that have created and continue to shape it, and most importantly, the mindset that is responsible for continuing to make it what it is today.