The Optimization Trap: Efficiency, Complexity, and Systemic Resilience
This interdisciplinary conference examines when advances in efficiency, automation, and coordination strengthen systemic resilience and when they instead create complexity, hidden dependencies, or the loss of structural margins. The inquiry grew out of spectrum-management concerns, draws lessons from other technical and institutional domains, and returns those insights to the spectrum community.
The conference is intended to frame an important and insufficiently examined problem, test it against experience, and identify questions that deserve further research and policy attention. It is not premised on the view that efficiency is inherently hostile to resilience or that a single institutional remedy is already known.
The “working conference” format is designed to empower all participants with an opportunity to shape both the discussion and the forthcoming agenda – which will be reflected in future Silicon Flatirons events and programming, such as the annual Flagship Conference in February 2027, follow-up roundtable discussions, interdisciplinary opportunities, and/or our next Spectrum Initiative conference.
Sessions
Welcome and Intellectual Framing
@ Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom & Livestream
This cross-cutting, interdisciplinary convening will explore a conditional relationship: some efficiencies strengthen resilience while others may remove margins, diversity, observability, autonomy, or recovery options.
Executive Director, Silicon Flatirons
Opening Keynote: Reflections Across Three Eras of Wireless Technology
Senior Fellow and Distinguished Advisor, Silicon Flatirons
Systems Optimization in Telecommunications
Why do telecommunications firms readily value throughput, utilization, speed, and cost reduction while often discounting reserve capacity, diversity, optionality, human decision time, and recovery capability? Conversation will highlight friction that is merely wasteful and when it preserves room for adaptation, competition, oversight, or intervention.
Eric Burger
CTO, Commonwealth Cyber Initiative
Bank of America Distinguished Professor, UNC Charlotte
Professor, University of Notre Dame
Dr., MIT/CSAIL
Break
Keynote: Architectural Foundations for Resilient Systems
Remarks will touch upon fate sharing, the placement of functions and state, and the tradeoffs between centralized coordination and autonomous edge capabilities. The keynote will invite examination of where these principles remain useful and where modern architectures require qualification.
Senior Research Scientist, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab
Systems Optimization Across Sectors
Discussion will expand the focus beyond communications systems to selected physical and engineered systems, such as emergency management, energy, and transportation. Rather than survey every field, the conversation will explore how different disciplines recognize, preserve, test, and sometimes remove resilience-producing margins.
John Chapin
Senior Fellow, Silicon Flatirons
Chief Information Officer, ANDE Corp
Chairman & President, Foundation for Resilient Societies
Additional speakers TBA.
Framing Remarks and Panel: Synthesis
Matt Schmit
Executive Director, Silicon Flatirons
CTO, Commonwealth Cyber Initiative
Senior Fellow, Silicon Flatirons
Senior Research Scientist, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab
Professor, University of Notre Dame
Social Reception
@ Wolf Law Building, Foyer and Boettcher Hall
After the plenary sessions of the conference conclude, attendees and speakers are invited to Boettcher Hall for hors d’oeuvres, refreshments, and conversation.
Conference Day Two
Tuesday’s content will build upon Monday’s keynote remarks and panel discussions by featuring a Chatham House style roundtable discussion – to distill and synthesize key themes, to consider next steps for future deliberation and convening, and to explore how insights contribute to broader spectrum management policy and systems optimization practice. Given these goals and format, space is limited. Please contact Matt.Schmit@colorado.edu for more information regarding Day 2.