Toward Tech Advancement or Tyranny?: A Weekend Conference for College Students

Calendar
DATE
October 28-31, 2022
Location
LOCATION
Magnolia Hotel, 1401 Commerce St, Dallas, TX 75201

Toward Tech Advancement or Tyranny?: Liberty, Human Flourishing, and the Soul

Technology has transformed human societies, changing the way that we relate to each other and how we approach the tasks of daily living. As early as the introduction of the wheel and early irrigation, technology has undoubtedly improved human outcomes, made our lives easier, and opened new opportunities. It has also pushed us to think about what it means to be a human being. Technology threatens to take the place of human work across various industries, and can even be used to simulate other essential human functions, or alter the human form altogether. These concerns are at the heart of questions of human flourishing. How can technological innovation improve our worldly experience without corrupting the essence of human life — the soul?

Join ISI in Dallas, TX on October 28-30 to discuss these fundamental and important questions: how does technology offer ways to advance human well-being? How can the free market encourage technological innovation that sets America apart? Can technology threaten to change human nature? Hear from leading writers, thinkers and technological practitioners, including James Poulos, author of Human Forever, self-styled reactionary feminist Mary Harrington, tech investor Michael Gibson, and esteemed Catholic philosopher Peter Kreeft. Join us on the first night of the conference to hear a debate on Bitcoin between tech luminary George Gilder and theologian of money Jacob Imam, co-sponsored by American Moment. 

The application period for the Dallas Conference is now closed. We recommend you apply to our Pittsburgh Regional Conference: “Titans of Industry or Crony Capitalists?”

Reach out to Tom Sarrouf at tsarrouf@isi.org with any questions or concerns. 

Peter Kreeft
Mary Harrington

Mary Harrington is a writer based in the UK, and contributing editor at UnHerd, where she writes a weekly column. A self-styled “reactionary feminist,” Mary’s interests include (among other things) the political and cultural side-effects of globalization, the replacement of class politics by identity politics, the joy of limits, and women’s rights in the biotech age, which is the subject of her forthcoming book Feminism Against Progress.

James Poulos
James Poulos

James Poulos creates and advises brands and ventures at the intersection of technology, media, and design. He is the Cofounder and Editor of The American Mind at the Claremont Institute and the Founder and Editorial Director of RETURN at New Founding. 

James is the author of the books Human Forever and The Art of Being Free and the subscription newsletter The Build. His work has appeared in The Claremont Review of BooksLe FigaroNational AffairsThe New York Times, and The Washington Post, among many other publications. 

He holds a PhD in Government from Georgetown University and a BA in Political Science from Duke University. A fellow at the Center for the Study of Digital Life, he was previously the communications director at the Heraion Foundation, a veterans-run rescue and recovery nonprofit operating in failed and fragile states. He lives on the edge of Los Angeles.

Michael Gibson

Michael is co-founder and general partner at 1517. If the rust belt has come to define the hollowed-out industries of the Midwest, in the next ten years the paper belt will come to define the paper-based industries from Washington DC to Boston. In DC, they print money, visas, and laws on paper. In Delaware, companies incorporate on paper. In NYC, they print media on paper. And in Boston Harvard and MIT print diplomas on paper. Michael is dedicated to lighting the paper belt on fire.