AI Anxiety + Human Flourishing

November 18-19, public
Organized by the AI + Human Flourishing Initiative
Contemplative Sciences Center
Contemplative Commons, University of Virginia

At a time when anxiety is increasingly felt about the rapid advancement, widespread adoption, and future uncertainty of artificial intelligence, this symposium convenes changemaking leaders in emerging technology, higher education, and the contemplative sciences to address the driving question, “How can we prepare students for the future of AI?” Seeking to understand the stressors – career obsolescence, digital alienation, existential dread – the focus is on how AI anxiety is affecting the minds of young adults and interventions that can inform the human-AI interface. By identifying possible future pathways, the symposium is an incubator to learn from global contemplative traditions and cutting-edge science, gain perspective on emerging technologies, and actualize the human capacity to revitalize for flourishing.

The deliverable of the symposium will be an undergraduate course offered at the University of Virginia on AI Anxiety.

Day 1

Session I — AI Anxiety — (3 hrs.) This session identifies and articulates dynamic stressors felt by the rapid onset of artificial intelligence with a focus on human responses. The opening remarks announce the outcomes of a recent poll among young adults on AI anxiety.
9:00am-9:30am	Opening Remarks, announcement of poll outcomes
9:30am-10:15am	3 mini presentations (15 mins each) AI Tech Leader Educator Psychologist
10:15am-10:30am	Break
10:30am-11:15am	Moderated discussion with speakers
11:15am-11:30am	Break
11:30am-12:00pm	Audience Q&A with speakers
12:00pm-2:00pm	Lunch [w/ experiential offerings: facilitated meditations, VR in the lab, Conservatory exhibition, etc.]
Session II — Agency — (2.5 hrs.) This session gives attention to human agency, and issues of alignment, with a focus on developmental perspectives through the lens of young adults.
2:00pm-2:45pm	3 mini presentations (15 mins each) AI Tech Leader Psychologist Contemplative
2:45pm-3:00pm	Break
3:00pm-3:45pm	Moderated discussion with speakers
3:45pm-4:00pm	Break
4:00pm-4:30pm	Audience Q&A with speakers
4:30pm-5:30pm	Social in the Gallery
5:30pm-7:30pm	Dinner at restaurant

Day 2

Session III — Interventions — (2.5 hrs.) This session explores novel interventions with a focus on how global contemplative traditions and the contemplative sciences can contribute to human flourishing in relationship with AI.
9:00am	Arrival and logistical remarks
9:15am-9:30am	Opening guided meditation
9:30am-10:15am	3 Mini-presentations (15 mins each) Educator Scientist Contemplative
10:15am-10:30am	Break
10:30am-11:15am	Moderated discussion with speakers
11:15am-11:30am	Break
11:30am-12:00pm	Audience Q&A with speakers
12:00pm-2:00pm	Lunch [w/ experiential offerings: facilitated meditations, VR in the lab, Conservatory exhibition, etc.]
Session IV — Tomorrow — (3 hrs.) This session gives attention to human agency, and issues of alignment, with a focus on developmental perspectives through the lens of young adults.
2:00pm-2:45pm	3 mini presentations (15 mins each) Historian Economist Humanitarian
2:45pm-3:00pm	Break
3:00pm-3:45pm	Moderated discussion with speakers
3:45pm-4:00pm	Break
4:00pm-4:30pm	Audience Q&A with speakers
4:30pm-5:00pm	Closing remarks
5:00pm-6:00pm	Social in the Gallery
6:00-8:00pm	Dinner at restaurant