# Amsterdam Forum

> Abundance for all, shaped by all. To track where the power to shape the future is moving, hold those who hold it to account, and widen the room where it is decided.

For the first time in history, intelligence is becoming abundant. That could bring abundance for everyone, or power for a few: decisions drifting to machines, or to a handful of companies, states and fortunes. Which it becomes depends on who shapes what comes next.

## Forum I: The Great Reconfiguration

- Dates: 14–15 October 2027 (target dates)
- Place: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Size and access: 300 people, by invitation
- Format: One room, one programme, no parallel tracks. Keynotes and panels by day; film, art, food and music across the city by night.
- After Forum I the Forum meets every two years.

## Pages

- [Home](https://amsforum.com/): Forum I, The Great Reconfiguration. 300 leaders, thinkers and artists in Amsterdam, 14–15 October 2027, on the shifts reshaping power, work and meaning.
- [The evidence](https://amsforum.com/evidence/): Eight shifts reshaping power, the planet, work, cities, institutions, culture, meaning and intelligence, each shown in published, dated, sourced figures.
- [Programme](https://amsforum.com/programme/): Two days, one room, no parallel tracks: keynotes and panels by day; film, art, food and music in the evenings. Forum I, Amsterdam, 14–15 October 2027.
- [Sensing Circles](https://amsforum.com/circles/): A Sensing Circle is eight people from different worlds who meet monthly, in person, to notice what is changing before it has a name. Founded at Forum I.
- [Foresight](https://amsforum.com/foresight/): A weekly Radar of high-impact signals and monthly Briefs across 15 sectors and 8 regions: what is moving, what it means for you, and what to decide.

## The evidence: eight shifts

- Power (Geopolitics): 8 conflicts between states in 2025, the most since records began in 1946. (UCDP, Jun 2026, https://www.uu.se/en/press/press-releases/2026/2026-06-09-ucdp-record-number-of-conflicts-between-states); 91% of the world's rare-earth refining happens in one country. (IEA, Oct 2025, https://www.iea.org/commentaries/with-new-export-controls-on-critical-minerals-supply-concentration-risks-become-reality)
- Earth (Climate & economy): 11 of 11 The last eleven years are the eleven hottest ever recorded. (Copernicus, Jan 2026, https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-2025-was-third-hottest-year-record); 2× as much invested in clean energy as in oil, gas and coal: about $2.2tn against $1.1tn in 2025. (IEA, Jun 2025, https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2025/executive-summary)
- Work & Wealth (Jobs & skills): 40% of jobs worldwide are exposed to AI. In advanced economies, 60%. (IMF, Jan 2024, https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2024/01/14/ai-will-transform-the-global-economy-lets-make-sure-it-benefits-humanity); 39% of workers' core skills are expected to change by 2030. (WEF Future of Jobs, Jan 2025, https://www.weforum.org/press/2025/01/future-of-jobs-report-2025-78-million-new-job-opportunities-by-2030-but-urgent-upskilling-needed-to-prepare-workforces/)
- Cities (Where people live): 33 megacities today. In 1975 there were eight. (UN DESA, Nov 2025, https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/world-urbanization-prospects-2025); 1 in 70 people on Earth is forcibly displaced: 117.8 million. (UNHCR, Jun 2026, https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/global-trends-report-2025.pdf)
- Institutions (Trust & authority): 1978 For the average person, democracy is back to its 1978 level. (V-Dem, Mar 2026, https://www.v-dem.net/documents/75/V-Dem_Institute_Democracy_Report_2026_lowres.pdf); 7 in 10 are unwilling or hesitant to trust someone with different values. (Edelman, Jan 2026, https://www.edelman.com/news-awards/2026-edelman-trust-barometer-society-slides-into-insularity)
- Culture (Shared reality): 6bn people are online, about three in four people on Earth. (ITU, Nov 2025, https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/Pages/PR-2025-11-17-Facts-and-Figures.aspx); 54% get news from social and video platforms each week, now ahead of news sites. (Reuters Institute, Jun 2026, https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2026/dnr-executive-summary)
- Meaning (Belonging & purpose): 1 in 6 people worldwide is lonely. 871,000 deaths a year are linked to it. (WHO, Jun 2025, https://who.int/news/item/30-06-2025-social-connection-linked-to-improved-heath-and-reduced-risk-of-early-death); 20% of employees worldwide feel engaged at work. (Gallup, 2026, https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx)
- Intelligence (AI deployment): 280× drop in the cost of GPT-3.5-level AI in under two years. (Stanford AI Index, Apr 2025, https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index/2025-ai-index-report); 945 TWh Data-centre power use more than doubles by 2030, slightly more than Japan uses today. (IEA, Apr 2025, https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-and-ai/executive-summary)

## Foresight

What is moving in your sector, what it means for you in the next 12 to 36 months, and what to decide. A weekly Radar of the signals that matter, a monthly Brief for each sector, and every call scored in public.

- Founding reader: €290 / year. The full Individual plan at a founding rate, held for as long as you stay subscribed. For the first 100 readers only.
- Individual: €490 / year. The weekly Radar, every monthly Brief with its strategy pack, the watchlists, our scored calls and the full archive. Or €49 a month.
- Company: €7,500 / year. Everything above for up to fifteen readers, plus the quarterly 12–36 month outlook and a 60-minute briefing with your leadership team.
- Prices exclude VAT. The founding rate closes at 100 readers. Independent: no company pays to be covered, and no subscriber shapes the conclusions.

### Sector Briefs

- [Cities & Real Estate Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=cities-real-estate-01): Money is getting dearer just as the loans fall due. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Energy & Industry Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=energy-industry-01): Europe enters winter short of gas, just as the carbon bill arrives. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Insurance & Risk Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=insurance-risk-01): Cover is getting cheaper just as the risks get stranger. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Work & Talent Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=work-talent-01): AI is closing the entry door just as hiring cools. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Banking & Finance Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=banking-finance-01): Money costs more, and private credit investors are queuing to get out. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Technology & AI Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=technology-ai-01): AI spending keeps rising, and the bottlenecks are now memory and power. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Health & Life Sciences Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=health-life-sciences-01): What a new medicine can earn is being reset on both sides of the Atlantic. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Retail & Consumer Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=retail-consumer-01): Energy is eating the shopping budget just as the rules of buying change. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Transport & Logistics Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=transport-logistics-01): War and fuel push transport costs up, while returning ships and new tonnage point to lower sea freight rates. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Defence & Security Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=defence-security-01): The arsenal is being refilled, and the pressure is moving down the supply chain. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Mining & Critical Minerals Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=mining-critical-minerals-01): Copper is scarce, rare earths face a deadline and lithium is cheap again. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Government & Public Finance Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=government-public-finance-01): Governments pay more to borrow just as defence and energy claim the room they had left. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Media & Telecoms Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=media-telecoms-01): Search is sending fewer readers, and telecoms is shrinking to fewer, larger players. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Travel & Hospitality Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=travel-hospitality-01): Travel is getting dearer and slower just as demand stops growing. (headlines free; full brief for subscribers)
- [Food & Agribusiness Brief, 2 November 2026](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?issue=food-agribusiness-01): The 2027 harvest is being priced now. (free to read in full)

### The Radar: Week of 2 November 2026

Money, energy and AI hardware all got dearer at once, as central banks turned to rate rises, Hormuz hit a deal-or-strikes test and memory ran short.

- [Central banks are turning back to rate rises as oil-led inflation bites](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?signal=central-banks-turn-to-hikes) — Banking & Finance, Cities & Real Estate, Work & Talent
- [Hormuz faces a deal-or-strikes test, with Brent near $110](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?signal=hormuz-deal-or-strikes) — Energy & Industry, Transport & Logistics, Insurance & Risk, Government & Public Finance
- [Korea's chip exports more than tripled in October as memory runs short](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?signal=korea-chip-exports-triple) — Technology & AI, Energy & Industry, Retail & Consumer, Transport & Logistics
- [European gas has traded above €100 for the first time since 2022](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?signal=eu-gas-above-100) — Energy & Industry, Cities & Real Estate, Banking & Finance
- [Big Tech's AI spending now exceeds the cash its operations bring in](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?signal=big-tech-ai-outspends-cash) — Technology & AI, Banking & Finance
- [Chile's copper output hit a 20-year quarterly low and the 2027 recovery was cut](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?signal=chile-copper-slump) — Mining & Critical Minerals, Energy & Industry
- [The EU now charges €2 per item on cheap online imports](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?signal=eu-parcel-fee) — Retail & Consumer, Transport & Logistics
- [France slipped into contraction as MPs rewrite its 2027 budget](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?signal=france-budget-contraction) — Government & Public Finance, Banking & Finance
- [A new US rule makes pharmacy benefit managers open their books to employers](https://amsforum.com/foresight/?signal=us-pbm-disclosure-rule) — Health & Life Sciences, Work & Talent

## Sensing Circles

A Sensing Circle is eight people from different worlds who meet in person, monthly, to notice what is changing before it has a name. No agenda, no presentations, no networking: a business leader, a scientist, an artist, a policymaker and others, around one table, under the Chatham House Rule.

## Contact

- Invitations, partnerships and speaker proposals: https://amsforum.com/#apply
- Email: forum@amsforum.com

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