As a precaution related to the global outbreak of COVID-19 this event has been postponed. Our priority is the health and wellbeing of our speakers, participants, attendees, and staff.

Socrates Jerusalem
May 4-8,  2020
Order Amid Chaos: Major Trends Shaping the Future of Technology, Business and Society

Held in partnership with Google, the Socrates Jerusalem Seminar will take place from May 4-8, 2020. Socrates international seminars include three seminar sessions, program meals, and local excursions/tours. Seminar tuition is $3,000, which includes lodging, materials, meals, excursions in Jerusalem. Tuition does not include travel.

The Socrates Program will be heading to Jerusalem in May of 2020. In addition to the seminar, our group will experience everything Jerusalem has to offer through various activities, starting with “Food for Thought & Soul: The Israeli Palate” a tasting tour the Machane Yehuda. Next, the group will explore the city with a unique audio experience. Our hipster tour of East Jerusalem will allow us to experience Palestinian culture through East Jerusalem’s vibrant art scene. Last but not least, the group will explore the City of David. This tour will head the through the underground tunnel leading to the Davidson Center, continue to the Western Wall tunnels, and explore the newly discovered Roman period Theater.

Order Amid Chaos: Major Trends Shaping the Future of Technology, Business and Society

Artificial intelligence (AI) is radically changing life on earth. Everything we do, from raising families to running businesses to governing huge societies in currently being reshaped by these technologies. What are the most important coming changes and how can we prepare for them? How is AI altering the workplace and the roles humans play in it? We’ll examine the rise of what some are calling “surveillance capitalism” as the dominant business tech model, and consider its broader political and social implications. Finally, we’ll consider the humanistic questions that these technologies are bringing to the fore. Are we on the path to a better world or have we gone down a dark alley? Are we losing touch with the qualitative, spiritual aspects of existence that make life worth living? Some believe that we can endow AI with human values and ideals that will ensure this revolution goes to a good place. Is this a realistic endeavor or a quixotic dream?

Moderator: William Powers, Research Scientist at MIT Media Lab and best-selling author of Hamlet’s Blackberry.