The second annual DELTA Summit on AI, Faith, and Human Flourishing will take place Sept. 21 to 23 at the University of Notre Dame.
Hosted by the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, the event will bring together nearly 300 technologists, ecumenical faith leaders, educators, scholars, students, and policymakers for three days of events organized around the theme of navigating the AI transition in a way that centers human formation. The conference will spotlight real-world applications of the DELTA framework (Dignity, Embodiment, Love, Transcendence, and Agency), a faith-based approach to AI ethics launched at last year’s inaugural DELTA Summit.
“We have been truly amazed at how quickly the DELTA framework has caught fire over the last year,” said Meghan Sullivan, the Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy and the director of the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good and the Notre Dame Ethics Initiative. “We can’t wait to gather together again to continue learning and working together to ensure the dignity of all humans stays top of mind as we navigate the rapidly changing AI landscape.”
For the first time, the gathering will also bring together over 50 young adults, ranging in age from 14-25, who are part of the emerging GenDELTA Network. Recognizing that current high school and college students will be disproportionately impacted by both the promise and peril of AI and other emerging technologies, the Network brings together young adults interested in wrestling with tough questions about AI and exploring how to tangibly support human flourishing and the common good as they navigate this transition.
“Centering the voices of these emerging adults and young leaders is a key priority for us as the DELTA Network continues to grow,” said Adam Kronk, director of the DELTA Network. “We are so grateful that so many individuals have responded to our invitation to participate in these conversations, and we can’t wait to see the ways that they help expand our understanding of the DELTA framework and the way forward.”
The summit will begin at 5:15 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, with an opening Mass at the University’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart. His Eminence Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, will serve as primary celebrant and homilist with University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., as concelebrant. All members of the campus community are invited to attend this opening Mass.
Throughout the Summit, attendees will have the opportunity to attend keynote lectures and panel discussions, as well as interactive breakout sessions and times of music and prayer. There will also be resourcing workshops with presentations from recipients of DELTA’s Rapid Response grants, who received support to create high-impact, practical resources for educators, students, and pastoral leaders as they lead in the midst of the rapidly changing technological landscape. The Summit schedule also includes activities designed to help attendees step out of the conference room and get hands-on with the Framework’s principles.
Summit speakers include Lily Abadal, University of South Florida; D. Graham Burnett, Princeton University and the Strother School for Radical Attention; Curtis Chang, Good Faith; Nathaniel Cook and Conal Fagan, Special Olympics International; Meaghan Crowley, Loyola Marymount University; Kelechi Ebi Kamanu, former Meta; Brian Green, Santa Clara University; Elizabeth Lev, Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas; Rosalind Picard, MIT Media Laboratory; Ann Skeet, Santa Clara University; Esther Tinklenberg, Faith and Work Movement Global; and Karl Wirth, Nimbalyst.
Although most Summit sessions are by invitation only, several keynote sessions will be livestreamed, including:
Opening Mass
Monday, Sept. 21, 5:15 p.m. EDT
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, preaching and presiding, with Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., President, University of Notre Dame, concelebrating.
Opening Dinner
Monday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m. EDT
Remarks by Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., President, University of Notre Dame.
One Year of DELTA: Stories, Epiphanies, and Prophecies
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 9 a.m. EDT
Keynote reflections from Meghan Sullivan on what we’ve learned since the DELTA framework was launched one year ago, and what to expect in the coming year.
DELTA in The Last Judgment: How Sacred Art Can Illuminate the DELTA Framework
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 11 a.m. EDT
Keynote address by Elizabeth Lev, Art Historian, Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Lev will explore how Michelangelo’s monumental masterpiece, “The Last Judgment,” allows a visual experience of the five DELTA principles.
GenDELTA: AI as an Agent of Change
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 1 p.m. EDT
A discussion featuring Nathaniel Cook, Chief Information and Technology Officer, and Conal Fagan, Senior Manager for Global Strategic Partnerships, Special Olympics International.
All livestream sessions will be viewable on the DELTA website.
The DELTA Summit on AI, Faith and Human Flourishing is supported through a grant provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.