The AI Era & What It Means to Be Human

AI is changing how we work, learn, create, and make decisions. But underneath the conversation about models, agents, and automation is a more fundamental question: what does it mean to be human in an age of increasingly capable machines?

On September 30, The AI Collective is bringing together 100 people in Washington, DC for an evening exploring the human side of the AI era.

We’ll move beyond the usual conversation about what AI can do and look instead at what its rise asks of us: how we learn, how we maintain agency, how we relate to one another, and which distinctly human capacities become more important as technology advances.

The evening will combine conversation, small-group discussion, and experiential exercises.

We’ll begin with a fireside chat with Mohan Nair, author of Unreachable: How Not to Lose Your Mind in an AI-Obsessed Era, followed by audience breakouts designed around questions informed by our community. The second half of the evening turns inward, exploring the science of wellbeing, mindfulness, resilience, and what these practices can teach us about navigating a period of rapid technological change.

This is not a technical AI event. It’s a conversation about the human layer: the trust, awareness, connection, and shared understanding we’ll need to build alongside the technology.

Come curious. Expect to participate.

September 30, Washington, DCFood and beverages provided. Space is limited to 100 participants.

Co-hosted by The AI Collective and Manas Ram with support from JQ Consulting LLC, whose work focuses on the science of human wellbeing, resilience, happiness, mindfulness, and the human condition.

Please be advised: Unfortunately, space is very limited at these community events and we can not always accept everyone we would like to. If you are not accepted to this event, please keep applying! We appreciate your application tremendously and we are looking forward to seeing you at a future event very soon!

The AI Collective is a global non-profit building the human layer for the AI era. We unite 200,000+ leaders, builders, and stakeholders across 100+ forums worldwide to democratize the frontier, build trust, and coordinate how society navigates the rapid acceleration of technological progress.

All attendees and organizers at events affiliated with The AI Collective agree to our privacy policy and are subject to our code of conduct.