AI and the Future of Society: A Conversation with Jack Clark and Samuel Kimbriel

<div class="header alignfull header--article header--min-height-full has-background has-tonal-black-background-color"> <div class="header__layout"> <div class="header__content"> <div class="header__metadata"><div class="header__metas"><div class="header__meta header__meta--taxonomy header__meta--tax-category"> Blog Posts</div></div></div> <h1 class="header__title has-h2-variant">Archives</h1> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">By John Peabody, Director, Content Strategy</p> <div class="header__metadata"><div class="header__metas"><div class="favorite-block"> <button class="favorite" data-id="258143" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" /></svg></button></div> <div class="header__meta header__meta--date"> July 9, 2026</div> <div class="header__meta header__meta--taxonomy header__meta--tax-program_tax"> Philosophy &amp; Society</div></div></div> </div> </div> <figure class="header__media" role="presentation"> <img decoding="async" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/anthropic-aspen-1635x1090.jpg" alt="Jack Clark (Anthropic, Co-founder and Head of Public Benefit) and Samuel Kimbriel (Philosophy &amp; Society, Aspen Institute, Founder and Executive Director)." width="1635" height="1090" srcset="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/anthropic-aspen-1635x1090.jpg 1635w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/anthropic-aspen-800x533.jpg 800w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/anthropic-aspen-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/anthropic-aspen-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/anthropic-aspen-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/anthropic-aspen-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/anthropic-aspen-1600x1067.jpg 1600w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/anthropic-aspen-1013x675.jpg 1013w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/anthropic-aspen-1014x676.jpg 1014w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/anthropic-aspen-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 1635px) 100vw, 1635px" loading="eager" class="header__image" style="object-position: 50% 50%"> <span class="header__overlay" style="opacity: 0.93"></span> </figure> </div> <div class="wp-block-group is-style-default has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-c6a4094c wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" style="padding-right:0;padding-left:0"> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Few questions today feel more timely than those surrounding artificial intelligence and humanity. As AI advances at a remarkable pace, it raises profound philosophical questions: What does human agency look like in an age of artificial intelligence? What happens to human community? And is it possible to realize a vision of a good society in our technological age?</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">These are the kinds of questions at the heart of the Aspen Institute&#8217;s work.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Before a packed audience at The Times Center in New York, Jack Clark, Co-Founder of Anthropic and Head of Public Benefit, joined Samuel Kimbriel, Founder and Director of the <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/philosophy-and-society/">Aspen Institute&#8217;s Philosophy &amp; Society</a>, for a wide-ranging conversation about AI&#8217;s philosophical and societal implications. Rather than focusing only on the technology&#8217;s capabilities or risks, they explored the deeper challenge of ensuring that technological progress serves human flourishing.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe loading="lazy" title="AI and the Future of Society" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iP9wk0pkCGM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div></figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The conversation was both expansive and candid. Audience members lined up to ask Clark thoughtful questions about AI, its impact on society, and who we want to become as these technologies reshape our world. Together, the discussion invited participants to think beyond what AI can do and consider the values that should guide its development and use.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">We thank Jack Clark and Samuel Kimbriel for their willingness to face such primary disagreements directly.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p> </div> <div class="wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <div class="card-slider alignfull has-grid-spacing-small"><div class="card-slider__nav"> <h2 id="h-related" class="wp-block-heading has-h4-variant">Related</h2> <button type="button" class="card-slider__go card-slider__go--back" aria-label="Previous"> <svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-arrow-left" role="img" focusable="false" height="0" width="0"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-arrow-left"/></svg> </button> <button type="button" class="card-slider__go card-slider__go--forward" aria-label="Next"> <svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-arrow-right" role="img" focusable="false" height="0" width="0"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-arrow-right"/></svg> </button> </div> <div class="card-slider__content"><div class="dyn-card"> <div class="dyn-card__wrap"> <div class="dyn-card__media"> <figure class="dyn-card__image"> <a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/who-keeps-the-golem/" tabindex="-1"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="844" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/golem-ai-and-literature-1500x844.png" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="FIG. 1 SYNTAX-MATTER APPARATUS (GOLEM) illustration shows a stone golem with a &quot;void area (absence of subjectivity)&quot; labeled on its left arm. 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