CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Greater Good Gathering: The Artificial Future

April 20–21, 2026
IN-PERSON AND ONLINE

Day One | Monday, April 20, 2026, 9:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. ET
Day Two | Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET

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The 2026 Greater Good Gathering will cover how artificial intelligence will affect our future, everything from national security and surveillance to artistic creation, mental health, and the future of work. Speakers include founders of major AI ventures, filmmakers and musicians (with video and music presentations), leading academics, and government decision-makers.

Daniel Hulme, Founder & CEO of Conscium, the world’s first commercial research organization focused on understanding machine consciousness.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

Charlie Tyrell, Canadian filmmaker whose debut feature, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, premiered at Sundance in 2026 and receives its nationwide theatrical release this Spring.

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.

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

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.

Jim Fruchterman, leading social entrepreneur, MacArthur Fellow, Founder of Benetech and Tech Matters, and author of Technology for Good.

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).

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

EVENT CO-SPONSORS

Public Works LLC
Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
The Academy of Political Science
Union Theological Seminary