Held in partnership with the China Fellowship Program, please join us on October 16-18 at the Asia Society in Hong Kong for this timely seminar on AI and humanity. If you are interested, email [email protected]. Seminar tuition is HKD 28,000 (US $3,500), which includes meals and participation.
If you would like to join, please submit the expression of interest form.
Living in Truth in the AI Age: What Does It Mean to Be Human Now?
Across cultures and centuries, human beings have returned to a simple but enduring question: What makes us human? Foundational Western traditions have often sought its answer in pure intellect, ranging from Aristotle’s definition of humans as uniquely “rational animals” to Descartes’ framing of identity around the isolated, thinking mind (“I think, therefore I am”). In the Chinese intellectual tradition, answering this has never been about inquiring abstract, objective facts, but about self-cultivation and “living in truth” – whether through the Confucian pursuit of authenticity (Cheng) and social benevolence (Ren), the Taoist alignment with spontaneous nature (Wu-wei), or the Chan Buddhist grounding in present-moment, non-dual reality.
Today, advances in artificial intelligence are forcing this ancient question into new territory. Machines can now generate language, compose art, make scientific discoveries, even simulate emotional understanding. And they do it with no body, no mortality, and no skin in the game. If the things we once pointed to as proof of our distinctiveness can be performed without being human at all, perhaps those capacities were never what made us special. Perhaps they were only the story we told ourselves.
As this region stands at the global frontier of AI integration, this Socrates Seminar invites leaders and thinkers to examine how these emerging technologies are reshaping our understanding of identity, truth, dignity, and purpose. Together, we will ask deeper, existential questions:
- If intelligence is no longer uniquely ours, where does human value actually live? Does it reside in our physical vulnerability, our deep-rooted relationships , our capacity for moral choice, or our spiritual faith?
- In an era of deepfakes, algorithmic echo chambers, and synthetic realities, what does it mean to “live in truth”? How do we maintain authenticity and intellectual integrity when the line between the real and the simulated is permanently blurred?
- Could technological progress change not just what we do, but who we become?
- What do we owe future generations in preserving the cultural, ethical, and philosophical conditions for a fully human life?
As humans advance AI, the most urgent question may not be what machines can do, but what kind of beings we wish to be. This seminar explores how one of humanity’s oldest philosophical questions is being reshaped by one of its newest technologies, and what is at stake if we get the answer wrong.
Moderator: Ryan Patel is a globally recognized futurist and leading voice on global business, political economy, and corporate governance. An expert in scaling businesses, he has worked for startups to publicly traded companies; his extensive knowledge in strategic global market development, concept scalability, digital transformation, global trade, and consumer-driven marketing makes him a thought leader in the global business realm. He’s a sought-after TV news contributor, Board Director, and Senior Fellow at the Drucker School of Management, Claremont Graduate University. Ryan also hosts Yahoo Finance’s “How They Run with Ryan Patel”.
This event is organized in partnership with the China Fellowship Program, with Asia Society Hong Kong as the Strategic Partner.
