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AI Conference 2026 Videos

Our recent Greater Good Gathering at Columbia University gathered worldwide experts to discuss one of the most daunting topics of our times: ​"The Artificial Future." Panelists shared their insights on ways AI can advance the greater good along with guardrails that prevent harm. Feel free to view our panelists sharing their thoughts and engaging in spirited conversation. 

Day 1: State of Artificial Intelligence

Global Challenges of Artificial Intelligence: In the News

Our first panelist, Maria Teresa Arnal, former chief executive for Mexico and/or Latin America of several of the world’s leading tech firms and currently an advisor to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, presented her perspective on artificial intelligence.

Global Challenges of Artificial Intelligence: AI as New World Order—or Old? [Part 1]

Paola Ricaurte, media and digital culture professor at Mexico’s Tecnológico de Monterrey.

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Dr. Rianna Walcott, Associate Director of the Black Communication and Technology (BCaT) Lab, combining digital research, Black feminist praxis, decolonial studies, arts and culture, and mental health advocacy in her work.

Global Challenges of Artificial Intelligence: AI as New World Order—or Old? [Part 2]

Anatoly Motkin, founder and president, StrategEast Center for a New Economy, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering knowledge-driven economies in developing countries.

Musical Interlude #1

Music Interlude with Jaron Lanier, computer scientists, author, and visual artist.

Understanding AI

What Is Artificial Intelligence? - Dr. Melanie Mitchell, professor at the Santa Fe Institute and author of numerous books and scholarly papers on AI including Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans.

 

For That Matter, What is Intelligence? - Dr. Benjamin Rosman, founding director, Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

A Conversation with Gary Marcus

Dr. Gary Marcus, professor emeritus of psychology and neural science at New York University; founder of Geometric Intelligence, a machine learning company; and author of The Algebraic Mind, Kluge, The Birth of the Mind, and Guitar Zero.

AI & The Coming Economy

  • Moderator: Grace Landrieu, former senior White House policy and economic advisor

  • Matthew Stoller, founder of the American Economic Liberties Project and author of Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy.

  • Andrew Stern, former president of the Service Workers International Union – the nation’s largest union – and expert on the future of work.

  • Dr. Benjamin Rosman, founding director, Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

  • Matthew Platkin, former Attorney General of New Jersey.

  • Dr. Valeria Sadovykh, researcher at Microsoft Germany specializing in AI, digital transformation, and decision intelligence.

  • Dr. Kathryn Anne Edwards, economist, opinion columnist for Bloomberg News, and co-host of the podcast, Optimist Economy.

International Competition & (In)security

  • Moderator: Bob Shapiro, Vice Dean, Columbia School of International & Public Affairs; President, Academy of Political Science

  • Jason Healey, Senior Research Scholar at Columbia and Founding Director of the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative.

  • Dr. Heidy Khlaaf, Chief AI Scientist at the AI Now Institute, focusing on the assessment and safety of AI within autonomous weapons systems.

  • Dr. Kevin Cutright, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Converging Risks Lab of the Council on Strategic Risks; former West Point philosophy professor; author, The Empathetic Soldier; leveraging his Army career to research AI as a decision-making aid in the national security domain.

  • Dan Manning, former fighter pilot and Pentagon official focusing on human involvement in AI decision-making.

Musical Interlude #2

Music Interlude with King Willonius, comedian, author, futurist, creative technologist, and cultural innovator.

The Future of Creativity

  • Moderator: Linda Peek Schacht, communications veteran of the White House, Congress, corporate and higher education institutions.

  • King Willonius, comedian, author, futurist, creative technologist, and cultural innovator.

  • Justine Bateman, filmmaker, author, and founder of the non-AI CREDO 23 Film Festival.

  • Tuhin Chakrabarty, assistant professor of computer science at SUNY Stonybrook studying labor-market effects of A.I. models, including their ability to copy well-known authors.

  • Hito Steyerl, repeatedly named one of the most influential figures in contemporary art, filmmaker, moving image artist, writer, and innovator of the essay documentary.

  • Kevin Erickson, director of the Future of Music Coalition, with direct experience in concert booking and promotion, community radio, independent music retail, and as record producer and musician.

  • Carol Reiley, called "The Woman defining the 21st Century AI Movement" by Forbes Magazine, is an engineering entrepreneur, AI roboticist, Creative Collaborator of the San Francisco Symphony, and co-founder with violinist Hillary Hahn of Deepmusic.ai.

The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist - Film Screening

Eric Schnurer in Conversation with Charlie Tyrell, Canadian filmmaker who co-produced the acclaimed film, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, shared his thoughts and a screening of the film prior to its nationwide theatrical release to the Greater Good Gathering audience.

Day 2: Artificial Intelligence and I

People vs. AI

Keynote:  Jaron Lanier, computer scientist, author, and visual artist.

Governance Of, By and For AI

  • Moderator: Jon Alter

  • Michelle Parker, executive leader focused on advancing AI policy and governance – bridging technology, national security, and organizational change.

  • Tiago C. Peixoto, the World Bank’s Digital Government/GovTech Coordinator for the Western Balkans and the EU.

  • Bruce Schneier, fellow and lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School working at the intersection of security, technology, and people.

  • Tara Thwing, AI researcher and recognized subject matter expert on democracy, human rights and governance, shrinking civic space, democratic backsliding, elections and participatory governance reforms in sub-Saharan Africa.

Impacts on People: Health & Mental Health

  • Moderator: Dr. Linda Rhodes, Former Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging, consultant on technology's impact on health care jobs.

  • Natasha Dow Schüll, cultural anthropologist and NYU associate professor exploring the psychic life of technology with a focus on addiction, anxiety, and affect modulation.

  • Chris Hemphill, Healthcare Data Scientist, Founder - Head of Applied Data Science & AI, and Fellow for Healthcare AI & Health Equity at the NYU McSilver Institute.

  • Dr. Catalina González Uribe, research associate at the Center for Sustainable Development Goals for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Universidad de los Andes (Colombia) focusing on the complexity of health processes and disease in Colombia and other Latin American countries and their intersection with questions of gender, social determinants, and digital health.

  • Dr. Gary Marcus, professor emeritus of psychology and neural science at New York University; founder of Geometric Intelligence, a machine learning company; and author of The Algebraic Mind, Kluge, The Birth of the Mind, and Guitar Zero. 

The Future of AI: Policy & Morality

  • Moderator:  Dr. Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary (Live)

  • Keynote: Jim Fruchterman, leading social entrepreneur, MacArthur Fellow, Founder of Benetech and Tech Matters, and author of Technology for Good. (Virtual from London)

  • Linda Raftree, founder of the MERL Tech Initiative, a social venture sitting at the intersection of digital technology and the social sector supporting thoughtful tech-enabled program design, implementation, and monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (MERL). (Live in New York)

  • Dr. Gabby Cudjoe Wilkes, Director of Union Theological Seminary’s Technology, Innovation & Digital Engagement Lab (TIDEL). (Live in New York)

Student Social Entrepreneurs

  • Moderator: Eric Schnurer​

  • Students from Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs social entrepreneurship competition:​

    • Cross-border payment infrastructure enabling humanitarian organizations to move money faster, cheaper, and more reliably across borders;

    • AI-driven, integrated platform to help governments prototype solutions rapidly;

    • Public engagement platform using NLP to aggregate community feedback into real-time, actionable insights for public agencies;

    • Secure, LLM-based assistant that helps small and medium-sized municipalities fix their biggest fiscal challenge;

    • Secure, AI-powered platform that discovers, manages, and transfers online assets; and,

    • AI-powered low-bandwidth digital support system that empowers rural teachers in Colombia to deliver project-based, multigrade learning.

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