Three Things Thing One: Summit 2026 Tickets for the Artificiality Summit 2026 are now available! Same place (Bend, Oregon) and
We tried using AI to shape a collective manifesto for the future of AI. My takeaway is that AI doesn’t necessarily make this process easier, although I did see moments that it did.
We are thrilled to announce the Artificiality Summit 2026! AI is dissolving our inherited boundaries—between knowing and not-knowing, between
Tickets for the Artificiality Summit 2026 are now available! Same place (Bend, Oregon) and nearly the same dates (October 22-24).
Our theme will be Unknowing. Why? For centuries, humans believed we were the only species with reason, agency, self-improvement. Then came AI. We are no longer the only system that learns, adapts, or acts with agency. And when the boundary of intelligence moves, the boundary of humanity moves with it.
Something is happening to our thinking, our being, our becoming. If AI changes how we think, and how we think shapes who we become, then how might AI change what it means to be human?
Unknowing is how we stay conscious and make space for emergence.
Becoming is what happens when we do.
Don't miss an experience that our community has described as:
"I feel like I just attended the first TED."
"I feel like I just attended the first Royal Society."
"I feel like I just attended the first Burning Man."
Register now—Super Early discounted rate expires on December 31.
We have refreshed our speaking offer with three keynotes plus the ability to design your own custom Summit.
Our keynote experiences are designed not just to inform, but to shift how people feel and think about AI. We weave story-based research, live conversation, and philosophical insight to help audiences see AI not as a technical upgrade, but as a profound human transformation already underway. And, we can bring our research inside your organization by interviewing your people so the message reflects your culture.
And, yes, you can have your own custom summit experience: a bespoke convening that brings the Artificiality Summit inside your organization. We blend keynotes, guided discussions, research insights, and collaborative imagination exercises to help your teams see their work—and their future with AI—in a new way. Your custom summit becomes a shared turning point: a space where leaders pause, rethink assumptions, and design what flourishing with AI could look like for them.
We would be thrilled to talk with any of you about these engagements. And we would very much appreciate any referrals you can make to companies, organizations, or associations you work with. Please help us get the word out!
Find more info and a downloadable guide here
Giving Tuesday is just over two weeks away. As you consider your gifts, please consider supporting the work of the Artificiality Institute.
We're building the first public archive of human experience in the age of AI—real stories from real people navigating this shift. Through research, education, and design, we're creating tools and frameworks that put humanity at the center of technological change.
Your support powers three essential programs:
Every contribution helps build a future where technology serves human flourishing, not just profit margins.
At our recent Summit, we ran an experiment to write a manifesto for AI, using AI. Starting from a "seed" manifesto, the group was prompted to answer a series of questions designed to elicit ideas to shape a new, group manifesto for society-scale decisions with AI. We took photos of answers written on stickies, uploaded them to the AI, and then watched the manifesto take shape on a shared screen.
We wanted to know what it would be like to include an AI in a social construct—would it help or hinder the process of collective authoring? Well, after talking to people who were there, it seems that half the room loved it and half hated it.
Setting aside setup and logistical challenges, the experiment ultimately revealed that there’s no single answer—or single experience—when it comes to using AI in a social context.
Read the rest of Helen's takeaways here
If you haven't watched Murderbot, put it at the top of your queue.
Based on The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, the show is centered on a "security construct" (a robot manufactured from cloned human tissue and mechanical parts) which calls itself Murderbot. The show is beautifully produced and very well acted. But that's not why I'm recommending it.
Murderbot is fascinating and, at times, hilarious for two reasons.
First, Murderbot has hacked its "governor module" which gives it unusual agency. What does it do with its ability to make its own decisions? It watches soap operas. A lot of soap operas. Its so addicted to soap operas that (small plot bust) it gets in hot water for having deleted some important documents to make more room for more soap operas.
Second, Murderbot's internal monologue analyzing humans is quite an exposé on the human condition. Watching a machine try to make sense of the irrationality of humans is both humorous and insightful—especially given his soap opera training data.
As a TV show, Murderbot's reactions are a great device. The monologues also beg to be considered beyond a TV show. If we actually make agentic, physical AI systems, how will they react to "stupid" humans who are simply being their authentic, messy selves? Murderbot is constrained by the Wells' plot and finds the humans in his care flawed—but still worthy of his protection. But what might happen in the real world? How will rational, algorithmically-driven machines react to the variety of seemingly irrational human preference?
A great watch whether you want to consider the existential or not.
