AI Anxiety + Human Flourishing

November 18-19, 2026
Open to the public
Contemplative Commons, University of Virginia
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At a time when anxiety is increasingly felt about the rapid advancement, widespread adoption, and future uncertainty of artificial intelligence, this symposium convenes changemakers in emerging technology, higher education, and the contemplative sciences to address the driving question, “How can we prepare young adults for a future with AI?”

Seeking to understand the stressors – career obsolescence, digital alienation, existential dread – the focus is on how AI anxiety is affecting the minds of young adults and how contemplative interventions can enhance wellbeing at the human-AI interface. By identifying possible future pathways, the symposium is an incubator to learn from global contemplative traditions and cutting-edge science, gain perspective on emerging technologies, and actualize the human capacity to revitalize for flourishing.

The symposium kicks off the AI + Human Flourishing Initiative homed at UVA’s Contemplative Sciences Center. The format of the symposium is designed to facilitate dialogue among three core interlocutors: 1) AI Industry Leaders, 2) Educators, and 3) Contemplatives.

The program will foster meaningful dialogue to advance research and practice in four distinct yet overlapping half-day sessions. Each session will begin by announcing outcomes of a recent poll among young adults on AI anxiety. The deliverable of the symposium will be an undergraduate course offered at the University of Virginia on AI Anxiety.

This symposium is organized by the AI + Human Flourishing Initiative at the Contemplative Sciences Center.

Learn more | Schedule | Participants

Schedule

Day 1

I — AI Anxiety Identifies and articulates dynamic psychological and societal stressors felt by the rapid onset of artificial intelligence.
9:00-9:30am	Opening Remarks
9:30am-12:00pm	Three 15-minute presentations Moderated discussion with speakers Audience Q&A with speakers
12:00-2:00pm	Lunch [Including experiential offerings: meditations, exhibitions, etc.]
II — Agency Examines questions related to human agency and issues of alignment.
2:00-4:30pm	Three 15-minute presentations Moderated discussion with speakers Audience Q&A with speakers
4:30-5:30pm	Social in the Gallery

Day 2

III — Contemplative Interventions Explores novel evidence-based interventions with a focus on how global contemplative traditions and the contemplative sciences can contribute to human flourishing in relationship with AI.
9:00-9:30am	Opening Remarks
9:30-12:00pm	Three 15-minute presentations Moderated discussion with speakers Audience Q&A with speakers
12:00-2:00pm	Lunch [Including experiential offerings: meditations, exhibitions, etc.]
IV — Possible Futures Envisions a world in which the human-AI interface positions flourishing while addressing critical stress points, namely: career obsolescence, digital alienation, and existential dread.
2:00-4:30pm	Three 15-minute presentations Moderated discussion with speakers Audience Q&A with speakers
4:30-5:00pm	Closing Remarks
5:00-6:00pm	Social in the Gallery

Participants

Alexis Ohanian

Alexis Ohanian is a tech founder and venture capitalist. He is the Co-Founder and former Executive Chairman of Reddit, which he started in 2005, left in 2010 and then returned to lead the turnaround in 2014 before resigning in protest in 2020; it's currently valued at $30B+. In 2020, he founded Seven Seven Six, a new firm built like a technology company that deploys venture capital with over $1.3B in assets under management. He is the founding control owner of Angel City Football Club and Los Angeles Golf Club, and the founder of ATHLOS. Alexis is also an investor in Chelsea FC Women, winner of six consecutive WSL titles. In 2022, he launched the 776 Foundation to support marginalized individuals and announced a $20M commitment to climate action through his new 776 Fellowship Program. He's written a national bestselling book, Without Their Permission, and also created the Business Dad Podcast to interview fathers about what it means to be a dad in today’s world balancing family and career.

Fr. Michael Baggot

Fr. Michael Baggot is an Associate Professor of Bioethics at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum and Invited Professor of Theology at the Angelicum. He is a Research Scholar at the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights and serves on advisory boards for Magisterium AI and the Center for Technology and Human Dignity. His writing has appeared in the Journal of Ethics and Emerging Technologies, First Things, and other publications, and he edited Enhancement Fit for Humanity: Perspectives on Emerging Technologies (Routledge, 2022). He has appeared on the BBC, NBC, NPR, and PBS, and co-hosts the YouTube channel Those Two Priests.

Megan Barnett

Megan Barnett is Vice Provost for Pan University Initiatives at the University of Virginia, where she assists and advises the provost, faculty, and university leaders on academic and strategic initiatives. She partners with the Vice President for Research on initiatives to support and enhance research across the University.

Prior to returning to Virginia, Megan worked in the Office of the Provost at Yale University from 2015 - 2020, first as Associate Provost and Chief of Staff, and then as Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives. There she participated in all planning functions of the university, including budget, space, and people. She worked with the provost and other university leaders on strategic planning, academic priorities, advancement, and special projects.

Scott C. Beardsley

Scott C. Beardsley is the 10th President of the University of Virginia. He previously served a record third term as ninth dean of the UVA Darden School of Business and as a chaired professor in Strategy, Ethics and Entrepreneurship. As CEO of the financially self-sufficient Darden enterprise (Foundation and School), he worked closely with top UVA leadership on University-wide priorities. He is an experienced board chair and senior executive.

Kelly Crace

Kelly Crace is Executive Director of the Contemplative Sciences Center. He previously served as associate vice president for health and wellness and director of the Center for Mindfulness and Authentic Excellence at William & Mary and directed college mental health centers at both William & Mary and Duke University. A licensed psychologist, he is co-author of Authentic Excellence: Flourishing & Resilience in a Relentless World and the Life Values Inventory. He has conducted more than 3,000 seminars for organizations on values, flourishing, resilience, and organizational development.

David Danks

David Danks is the Polk JSF Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy, AI, & Data Science at the University of Virginia. His research examines the ethical, psychological, and policy issues around AI and robotics, and he also develops novel AI systems and computational cognitive models. He was an inaugural member of the National AI Advisory Committee (USA) and serves on multiple advisory boards for industry, government, and academia. Danks is a recipient of a James S. McDonnell Foundation Scholar Award and an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship.

Steve Haberlin

Steve Haberlin, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Learning Sciences and Educational Research at the University of Central Florida, working at the intersection of contemplative practice, higher education, and AI. He co-authored the Bounded Convergence Framework for ethical AI integration in contemplative education and developed the Mindful AI Practitioner Certificate Program. He co-hosts the ConsciousAI podcast, co-founded the Global Healing Educators Alliance, and is helping organize ICCHAI 2026 with IIT Delhi. Dr. Haberlin is the author of four books, including Meta-Meditation for Mental Health (Routledge, 2026), and maintains a 30-year meditation practice rooted in Vedic tradition.

Pir Zia Inayat Khan

Pir Zia Inayat Khan, PhD, is a scholar of religion and teacher of Sufism in the universalist lineage of his grandfather, Hazrat Inayat Khan. He is president of the Inayatiyya and founder of Sulūk Academy, a school of Sufi contemplative study and practice. His most recent books are Tears from the Mother of the Sun (Inner Traditions, 2026) and Immortality: A Traveler's Guide (Sulūk Press, 2023). He divides his time between Richmond, Virginia and Suresnes, France.

Shiva Jahani

Shiva Jahani, PhD, is a lecturer, data scientist, statistician, and wellness practitioner whose work bridges research with evidence-informed approaches to well-being. She serves as a lecturer, statistician, and graduate faculty member at the University of Central Florida, teaching research methods, yoga, and meditation. She is a certified meditation practitioner through the Chopra Center, a certified sound healing practitioner, trained in breathwork, and has co-published three books. Dr. Jahani offers virtual and in-person classes, corporate retreats, and workshops in meditation, sound healing, breathwork, and yoga.

Paul Tudor Jones

Paul Tudor Jones is founder, Co-Chairman, and Chief Investment Officer of Tudor Investment Corporation, which he formed in 1980. He served as Chairman of the New York Cotton Exchange and helped create its Financial Instrument Exchange (FINEX). His philanthropic work includes founding the Robin Hood Foundation and serving on the boards of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Everglades Foundation, and UVA's Contemplative Sciences Center. Mr. Jones graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in economics.

Michael Sheehy

Michael R. Sheehy, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor and the Director of Research at the Contemplative Sciences Center, University of Virginia. He is a meditation researcher and founding Principal of the CIRCL, Contemplative Innovation + Research Co-Lab, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Contemplative Studies (JCS), and Co-Director of the AI + Human Flourishing Initiative that investigates the bidirectional loop of the human-AI interface vectored toward flourishing.

Sally Steele

Sally Steele is a tech founder, nonprofit leader, and ordained minister working at the intersection of nature, technology, and spirituality. She is co-founder and CEO of Outdoorithm, an AI-powered platform expanding access to public lands, and of Outdoorithm Collective, a nonprofit bringing underrepresented families onto those lands. She previously served as co-Executive Director of City Hope San Francisco and as a chaplain at the San Francisco County Jail. Sally is a 2024 REI Path Ahead Ventures Embark Fellow, a 2026 TED Ignite member, and holds an MDiv from Gordon-Conwell and BAs from the University of Virginia.

James R. Stone

James R. Stone, MD, PhD is Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. His research uses advanced neuroimaging and computational analysis to understand human brain health, including work with the Department of Defense on repeated low-level blast exposure. He is developing the Normative Neurological Health (NNH) framework, a precision-health approach to characterizing individual brain structure, function, and performance. A key application is precision contemplative health, using NNH profiles to understand why individuals respond differently to practices like meditation and breathwork.

Bethany Teachman

Bethany Teachman is a Commonwealth Professor of Psychology and Director of Clinical Training at the University of Virginia and co-directs UVA TYDE: Thriving Youth in a Digital Environment. She directs MindTrails, a digital intervention platform for anxious thinking, and Project Implicit Health, which has assessed implicit health associations for over a million visitors. She has received the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology Distinguished Scientist Award and a Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association. Dr. Teachman was a founding board member of the Society for Digital Mental Health and inaugural Chair of the Coalition for the Advancement and Application of Psychological Science.