The Missing System: Why Longevity Begins Inside | Joshua Freedman | Milan Longevity Summit 2026

*We have mapped many of the systems that determine how long and how well we live. But what if we have overlooked the system at the centre of them all?* Food, finance, cities, climate, healthcare, education, and technology all shape our lives. Yet every one of these systems is ultimately created, governed, and changed by people. In this keynote from the *Milan Longevity Summit 2026*, *Joshua Freedman*, Founder and CEO of Six Seconds, turns the One Health conversation inward to explore what he describes as a missing piece of the longevity equation: our emotional infrastructure. Drawing on one of the world's largest studies of emotional intelligence, spanning more than 28,000 adults across 166 countries, Freedman reveals what Six Seconds calls the *Emotional Recession*: a sustained, measurable decline in the human capacities that help us navigate complexity, build resilient relationships, make wise decisions, and create meaningful lives. At a moment when artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping what humans can do, Freedman asks a more fundamental question: *who do we choose to become?* Technology may increase our capabilities. Science may extend healthspan. Better policies can reshape the conditions in which we live. But none of these advances automatically give us greater purpose, stronger relationships, deeper resilience, or the emotional wisdom required to use them well. Freedman argues that shared longevity therefore requires another kind of investment: in the *inner infrastructure of presence, purpose, connection, and emotional intelligence*. This is not separate from systems change. It may be one of its prerequisites. Because institutions do not make decisions. People do. Organisations do not possess wisdom independently of the people within them. And societies cannot become more resilient if the individuals and relationships that sustain them are increasingly fragile. Presented by *Louisa Burwood-Taylor*, Chief Communications Officer at AgFunder. Ultimately, *The Missing System* offers a provocation for anyone working to redesign the future: *Every system is only as wise as the people inside it. And perhaps the longest-lasting transformation begins within.* *Powered by Chenot* #MilanLongevitySummit #JoshuaFreedman #EmotionalIntelligence #Longevity #MentalHealth #Humanity #OneHealth #HumanPotential #FutureOfHumanity #SystemsChange