What Makes Us Human? A Conversation on Meaning, Technology, and Leadership in the Age of AI

<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, and Videos</div></div></div> <h1 class="header__title has-h3-variant">Archives</h1> <div class="header__metadata"><div class="header__metas"><div class="favorite-block"> <button class="favorite" data-id="290608" 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"> August 11, 2026</div> <div class="header__meta header__meta--taxonomy header__meta--tax-program_tax"> Aspen Global Leadership Network</div></div></div> </div> </div> <figure class="header__media" role="presentation"> <img decoding="async" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Opening-Plenary-Panel-Photo.png" alt="2026 Resnick Aspen Action Opening Plenary Panel" width="1760" height="990" srcset="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Opening-Plenary-Panel-Photo.png 1760w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Opening-Plenary-Panel-Photo-800x450.png 800w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Opening-Plenary-Panel-Photo-1500x844.png 1500w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Opening-Plenary-Panel-Photo-768x432.png 768w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Opening-Plenary-Panel-Photo-1536x864.png 1536w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Opening-Plenary-Panel-Photo-1600x900.png 1600w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Opening-Plenary-Panel-Photo-1200x675.png 1200w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Opening-Plenary-Panel-Photo-1024x576.png 1024w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Opening-Plenary-Panel-Photo-300x169.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 1760px) 100vw, 1760px" loading="eager" class="header__image" style="object-position: 51% 90%"> <span class="header__overlay" style="opacity: 0.8"></span> </figure> </div> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">What does it mean to be human when machines can think, reason, and create? Four leaders with expertise in AI research, political psychology, ethics, and social science explore what it means to be human as technology reshapes intuition, attention, and connection.</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="What Makes Us Human? A Conversation on Leadership in the Age of AI | 2026 Resnick Aspen Action Forum" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rwD1Gnzx-rE?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"><strong>Speakers:</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li class=""><strong>Al-Zain Al-Sabah</strong>, Ambassador to the United States from the State of Kuwait (Middle East Leadership Initiative)</li> <li class=""><strong>John Clippinger</strong>, Co-founder, First Principles First</li> <li class=""><strong>Caroline Emmer De Albuquerque Green</strong>, Director of Research, Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford</li> <li class=""><strong>Stephen Hawkins</strong>, Global Director of Research, More in Common</li> </ul> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Moderated by: <strong>Chris Varelas</strong>, Founder, Finance Leaders Fellowship and Technology Leaders Initiative; Aspen Institute Trustee</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Through personal stories of faith, loss, and care, the panel wrestled with humanity&#8217;s biggest challenge: not technology itself, but the wisdom to keep pace with it. The conversation moved from emotional intelligence and the erosion of social trust to what leaders owe the people who follow them.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8220;We are all dependent on each other from the moment we are born all the way to the end,&#8221; said Caroline Emmer De Albuquerque Green.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">It&#8217;s a simple claim, but one the panel returned to again and again. Connection, care, and vulnerability, they argued, are what technology still can&#8217;t replicate. Al-Zain Al-Sabah put it most simply, reframing Descartes for the current moment: &#8220;I feel, therefore I am.&#8221;</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/what-makes-us-human-a-conversation-on-meaning-technology-and-leadership-in-the-age-of-ai/">What Makes Us Human? A Conversation on Meaning, Technology, and Leadership in the Age of AI</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org">Aspen Institute</a>.</p>