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Live On Stage
Wednesday May 13 2026, 7:30pm BST

The Age of Intelligence

We are entering an age where intelligence is boundless. The question is how it will be used.

In this new age, cyber security is no longer a technical function. Rather, it now sits at the centre of economic growth and has become a critical test for national security, public trust and resilience. As former US President Biden warned, most future major conflicts “will be the result of a cyber breach with great consequences.” Cybercrime is now estimated to cost the world economy $10.5 trillion annually with a projected increase to $377 billion by 2028. This is a demonstrable increase from $3 trillion in 2015, and represents one of the largest transfers in economic wealth in history. 

In this context, cyber security must move beyond reactive defence. It should become a core strategy, in order to protect essential industries such as financial services, healthcare and critical infrastructure while enabling them to innovate with confidence. 

Join Jon Sopel and Dimple Ahluwalia on May 13 at King’s Place to explore how cyber security is reshaping global identities and economies growth in an age of rapid technological change.

Event Name

The Age of Intelligence



Pannelists
  • Dimple Ahluwalia

    Global Offering Leader for IBM CyberDefend within IBM Consulting

  • Jon Sopel

    Former BBC North America Editor and co-host of the News Agents and News Agents USA podcasts.

Host
  • Kamal Ahmed

    Executive Editorial Director, Fortune, UK and Europe


Location
  • Kings Place
  • 90 York Way
  • London
  • N1 9AG
Time
  • Wednesday 13 May 2026
  • 7:30pm to 9pm BST





Speakers

Pannelists

Dimple Ahluwalia

Global Offering Leader for IBM CyberDefend within IBM Consulting


Dimple is the Global Offering Leader for IBM CyberDefend within IBM Consulting. With over 22 years in cybersecurity, she leads the CyberDefend offering and a global team that helps enterprises run securely at scale by engineering protection into identities, data, applications, and the platforms that power hybrid business—while preparing clients for a quantum-safe future.

Jon Sopel

Former BBC North America Editor and co-host of the News Agents and News Agents USA podcasts.


Jon Sopel One of the UK’s best known journalists who has spent four decades reporting on global events and interviewing the people who shaped them. Described by President Trump as ‘another beauty’, his face has graced almost every news programme on the BBC and his familiar voice has carried across the airwaves of BBC Radio from Paris, Kuwait City, Washington DC and Blackpool. In February 2022 Sopel announced he was leaving the BBC to launch the News Agents podcast alongside Lewis Goodall and Emily Maitlis. In July 2023 he launched News Agents USA with Maitlis. In addition to the News Agents, he covered the 2024 US Election for Good Morning Britain and also hosted a return of the US Election Results programme America Decides with Shelagh Fogarty. Sopel has written a trilogy of books about the Trump presidency, as well as Strangeland: How Britain Stopped Making Sense, which was published on his return to the UK after eight years of political reporting in the US.
Host

Kamal Ahmed

Executive Editorial Director, Fortune, UK and Europe


Journalist who has been Editorial Director of BBC News and BBC Economics Editor. He co-founded The News Movement, a start-up dedicated to tackling misinformation, and has also held senior roles at The Telegraph Group, The Observer and The Guardian. Between 2024 and 2025 he was a presenter of The Daily T news podcast and Director of Audio at The Telegraph.

Speakers are subject to change.