Past eventHeld October 22–24, 2026
The Artificiality Summit 2026
The Artificiality Summit was billed as an immersive gathering built around speakers, contributors, and deep discussion.
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon, Bend, Oregon
- Held
- October 22–24, 2026
- Venue
- Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon, Bend, Oregon
- Capacity
- 150 participants
TL;DR
- The Artificiality Summit 2026 took place October 22–24 at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon in Bend, Oregon.
- The program was scheduled to span three days and to include five meals from Bend restaurants, chai and coffee, and fresh popcorn.
- Capacity was limited to 150 participants.
About
The organizers described a participatory format in which attendees were contributors to the community rather than an audience, with the program built around deep discussion. Speakers came from fields such as academia, design, art, technology and writing, including researchers from UC Berkeley and Stanford University and staff from Microsoft and IDEO. The event was billed as intimate and capacity-limited, with about 150 attendees reported.
Who was in the room
AI conferences
tech showcases
human potential retreats
Public posts about this edition
3 postsQuoted word for word from public posts; each links to the original.
“His talk, "Being Smart Is a Stupid Idea," argued that building a toilet takes intelligence, but coming up with the idea of a toilet takes insight, and insight often looks dumb.”
Peter Spear
Read the post“Right now AI generation is like "toddler show and tell"”
Melissa Evers
Read the post“I may be the dumbest person in the room, and yet nobody really knows anything. Not even the geniuses.”
Carl Loeb
Read the post
Featured speakers
27 listedCameron Allen
Research Scientist · UC Berkeley CHAI
Greg Amanti
Artist, Sculptor
Gasper Begus
Associate Professor of Linguistics · UC Berkeley
Nina Begus
Researcher · UC Berkeley
Taylor Black
Director of AI & Venture Ecosystems · Microsoft
Ricky Bloomfield
Chief Medical Officer · OURA
Moe Carrick
Founder · Moementum
Danielle Caruso
Producer
Heather Crank
Artist and Motion Designer · Crahmanti
Dave Edwards
Co-Founder · Artificiality Institute
Helen Edwards
Co-Founder · Artificiality Institute
Judith Fan
Professor, Cognitive Tools Lab · Stanford University
Jenna Fizel
Global Head of Emerging Technology · IDEO
Robert Hawkins
Assistant Professor of Linguistics · Stanford University
Jess Holbrook
Head of UX Research · Microsoft
Jamer Hunt
Professor · Parsons School of Design
Maggie Jackson
Author
Kate Joyce
Photographer, Resident Artist · Santa Fe Institute
Savannah Kunovsky
Managing Director, Emerging Technology Lab · IDEO
Josh Lovejoy
Designer · Autodesk
Wakanyi Macharia-Hoffman
Head of African AI, Inclusive AI Lab · Utrecht University
Adam Mastroianni
Experimental Psychologist and Writer · Experimental History
Chris Messina
Product Leader · Ride Home Fund
Stephanie Player
Graphic Designer & Creative Technologist
Caleb Scharf
Astrobiologist and Author
David Wolpert
Professor · Santa Fe Institute
Julian Yocum
AI PhD · UC Berkeley CHAI
What attendees say
“The Summit centered complex social systems. It held space for multiple definitions of intelligence. It focused on uncertainty, not-knowing, and multiple ways of knowing.”
“Thank you, Helen Edwards and Dave Edwards for the engaging, diverse group you have put together. This is not your everyday conference, and especially not the everyday AI conference.”
“Still glowing from the conference, so much intelligence, but also kindness, safety and warmth. A humane and vital discussion of technology as a part of humanity and humanity as part of something much bigger.”
“That was one of the best tech experiences I have ever had. I have been to all sorts of screwball conferences and big-name experiences. I even built a few. But yours was something different. It was intimate, humble, and curious. A little feisty, a little nervous, but completely authentic. On Sunday afternoon, I looked around and thought, 'THIS is my tribe.'”
Venue & travel
Venue
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon, 61980 Skyline Ranch Road, Bend, OregonGetting there
Bend is served by RDM, a small airport in Redmond, Oregon, 20–30 minutes from downtown Bend.
Getting there
RDM is served by Alaska Air, American Airlines, Avelo Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines.
Questions people ask
5 answeredThe Artificiality Summit 2026 took place October 22–24, 2026.
The summit was limited to 150 participants.
It was held at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon in Bend, Oregon.
It suited researchers, designers and technologists interested in how people and AI think together, rather than product-focused buyers, since the speakers ranged from Stanford and UC Berkeley academics to IDEO and Microsoft staff, plus artists and writers. With 150 attendees and a format that asked everyone to take part in discussion, it favored people who wanted conversation over a large audience; those seeking vendor demos, a big expo or a low-cost trip would have gotten less, in Bend.
Attendees at small design and technology gatherings usually wear smart casual, and Bend in late October is cool, so layers and comfortable shoes suited a venue in a fellowship hall on a ranch road.
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