Human Flourishing
in the Age of AI

RICE GLOBAL PARIS CENTER | PARIS, FRANCE

June 3-5, 2026

On June 3-5, 2026, Rice University will host an international conference on "Human Flourishing in the Age of AI" at Rice Global Paris Center. The conference will focus on interdisciplinary inquiry and dialogue into pressing ethical and political questions about emerging technologies. As AI increasingly improves its performance on tasks traditionally reserved for us, humans, what impact will that have on our ability to flourish or thrive as human beings? How will AI challenge our own ability to gain satisfaction from our own endeavors or achievements? Will we farm out tasks and abilities that are part of what it means to be a moral agent? What will happen to our ability to think, reason, and dialogue?

This conference is a collaboration between the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing and the Department of Philosophy in the School of Humanities and Arts, with additional support from the Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Itinerary

The event will begin the evening of June 3 with a welcome reception at the Rice Global Paris Center. There will be a full day of presentations and discussion on June 4, followed by dinner. On June 5, there will be a half-day of presentations, with the conference concluding in the early afternoon after lunch.

This page will be updated with a full schedule, including speaker biographies and abstracts of their talks, once available.

Space is limited. If you are interested in attending, please email the organizers.

Invited participants are encouraged to stay at the Ibis Paris Bastille Opera, in the 11th arrondissement, within a 20-minute walking distance of the Rice Global Paris Center. We will be in touch to help you make arrangements there unless you prefer otherwise.

Organizer contact information: Rodrigo Ferreira (rf29@rice.edu); Robert Howell (rh77@rice.edu); Steven Gubka (sg222@rice.edu)