TEDxLakeShoreDrive Salon: AI + Quantum [Questions Change Everything]

The Chinese word for knowledge, 学问, combines the characters for learning and asking.

This upcoming AI + Quantum Salon explores the topics through better, unexpected, and uncharted questions. The purpose is not to provide answers that are available today, debate positions, or engage in dialogue. The focus is entirely on questions.

Bring your curiosity and questions. Network with your fellow attendees: educators, physicians, scientists, professors, healthcare professionals, business leaders, and others from different fields.

What is the common thread?

Dare to ask uncomfortable questions.

TEDxLakeShoreDrive Salon*
on September 23, 2026, at 7:30 am

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*The Salon events are designed to share ideas, updates, and networking, all things related to TED, TEDx, and along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.

TEDxLakeShoreDrive 2026

Ticket Schedule*
Early Bird [ends on September 21, 11:30 pm CT]
$15 Member
$25 Non-Member

Regular [including walk-in on September 23, 7:30 am CT]
$25 Member
$35 Non-Member
* Member of The Metropolitan Club and/or Invited Clubs. Ticket includes standard hot breakfast buffet, breathtaking Chicago cityscape, unexpecTED connections. Due to building security, each attendee must register separately and be prepared to show a government ID. Upon your registration, you will receive a GuideBook before your arrival.

Agenda*
7:00 am Check-in
7:30 am Welcome
9 am Closing. Optional post-event social on the 67th floor
11 am Optional Dutch Lunch at The Metropolitan Club, 67th floor

Venue

A premier private business and social club in Chicago, located on the 66th and 67th floors of the iconic Willis Tower, offering breathtaking city views, fine dining (Craftsman) and casual bars (Frame), networking opportunities, and extensive private event spaces for corporate and social functions, serving as a sophisticated hub for Chicago's leaders and professionals within the Invited Clubs network.

Located in the heart of downtown Chicago, Willis Tower is an iconic urban destination and state-of-the-art, human-centered workplace. Standing at 1,450 feet and 110 stories, Willis Tower is one of the world’s tallest buildings—offering the region's most breathtaking views of the city and Lake Michigan. The 103rd-floor Skydeck attracts approximately 1.3 million visitors annually. In 2022, the tower completed a $500 million restorative street-to-sky transformation that included the addition of Catalog, a 300,000-square-foot curated dining, entertainment, and community experience, as well as a 30,000-square-foot outdoor terrace and 150,000 square feet of tenant amenity spaces. Today, Willis Tower is a world-class destination for work, dining, and experiencing the best of Chicago.

*TEDxLakeShoreDrive reserves all rights to make any changes about meeting schedules, rehearsals, speakers' confirmation, speaking order, event location, agenda, dates, and time, if necessary due to unexpected circumstances.