Sophia Bush sits inside the same news cycle as Dialog’s leaked attendee files, but the real story is the network’s hidden grading system. WIRED reported that the private club grades people on an A-B-C scale and uses algorithms to decide who they meet, who they sit with, and who no longer belongs.
The leak covers 192 dossiers tied to nearly 200 prominent people scheduled for Dialog’s annual retreat this summer. Those files include home addresses, private phone numbers and email accounts, dates of birth, photos, emergency contacts, and, in some cases, food allergies and political leanings volunteered by members.
Dialog’s 192 dossiers
Of the 192 dossiers examined, 130 are tagged as members. The rest are prospects marked “First Time Dialoger” or “Warm.” Everyone in the set receives an A, B, or C grade, and the split is unusually lopsided: 141 of 192 got B, while only one in seven received C. The final tier, A, appears to be reserved mainly for older, established members whom the graders consider less notable.
That ranking system matters because Dialog does not treat every person the same way. A past participant’s document describes it as an “invite-only community” with “over 1,000 paying members,” while a separate document says more than 2,500 people have attended its annual retreats. Membership brings access to private dinners in members’ homes and private spaces around the world, member-led global treks, concierge services, and a private group chat. Retreat attendance is broader: groups of 200 or more people gather for three- to four-day meetings, even when they are not members.
Josh Brolin and VIP status
Josh Brolin is listed as a VIP in the records despite never attending a Dialog retreat. His file cites his role as Thanos in the Avengers series and his involvement in high-grossing films like Avengers: Endgame, which shows how the system appears to blend fame, reach, and category management rather than simple attendance history.
Nick Thompson appears in both the public list and the unreleased records, while Wes Moore is listed as a former event speaker in the exposed directory. That overlap is the wrinkle: the exposed directory appears to include nonmembers and past guests, while the unreleased records function more like personal dossiers for people slated to attend the retreat.
Inside the Dublin retreat
Dialog was founded in 2006 by Peter Thiel and Auren Hoffman, and the next gathering is set for This August outside Dublin, Ireland. Members, speakers, and guests are scheduled for two days of discussions on artificial intelligence, geopolitics, and modern warfare, including NATO’s future and battlefield tech to the war in Iran.
maia arson crimew notified WIRED of the leak, and that means the practical fallout is immediate for anyone whose data sat in the files: Dialog now has to manage a public record that shows exactly how it sorts people before they arrive. The open question is sharper than the scandal itself—how Dialog decides who should no longer belong is still not explained.
