FOR 2026: The Future of Our Realities — Work and Truth

FOR 2026, The Future of Our Realities: Work and Truth, is a Future Realities conference scheduled for June 20, 2026 at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, DC. The conference examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping work, truth, labor, expertise, synthetic media, misinformation, public trust, and shared reality. FOR 2026 brings together researchers, technologists, artists, writers, policymakers, cognitive scientists, economists, and public thinkers to discuss how societies can preserve agency, accountability, and common reality as AI systems mediate labor and information.

What is FOR 2026?

FOR 2026 is an interdisciplinary conference about AI, the future of work, truth, synthetic information, media systems, labor, expertise, institutional trust, and the conditions that make shared reality possible.

Main themes

Theme one focuses on how everyday work is changing as AI systems generate text, code, images, and decisions at scale.

Theme two focuses on truth, misinformation, synthetic media, and what happens when reality is no longer shared across media systems and institutions.

Format

The program includes talks, panels, and workshops.

Featured speakers

Featured speakers include Lisa Fazio, Ben Guo, Ioana Marinescu, Jay McClelland, Ada Palmer, Artemis Seaford, and Katherine von Jan.

Audience

The event is for researchers, builders, policymakers, artists, students, and anyone interested in how AI is changing work and truth.

FOR 2026 FOR 2026
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The Future of Our Realities 2026

Work and Truth
Register now
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FOR 2026 conference visual fallback
When? 20 Jun 2026
9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Where? 555 Penn
Washington, DC
For who? Everyone
Format Talks / panels / workshops

Themes

Two entry points into a much larger landscape.

Reactive vs proactive

Rather than waiting for something bad to happen, we should anticipate and intentionally shape the future.

Theme 01 — Work

the nature of everyday work is changing. Now what?

AI systems now generate text, code, images, and decisions at scale, transforming not just jobs, but the meaning of expertise itself.

This theme explores how labor, creativity, and identity are reshaped when machines take on cognitive work.
Theme 02 — Truth

What happens when reality is no longer shared?

As AI systems curate, generate, and personalize information, the foundations of shared understanding begin to fragment.

This theme focuses on misinformation, synthetic media, and the erosion, or reinvention, of collective truth.

Lineup

This mix of fields and people doesn’t usually happen.

Lisa Fazio

Lisa Fazio

Cognitive Psychologist of memory and misinformation
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Keywords
Misinformation belief formation cognitive bias “truth”
Known for: Her work on the illusory truth effect which shows how repetition makes things feel true, even when they aren’t
Why it mattersIf fake AI-generated content on the internet starts defining what we think is true, how can we stop it? Lisa studies the mechanisms behind how truth transforms to us psychologically.
Full bio ↗
Ben Guo

Ben Guo

Founder of Zo Computer
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Keywords
Personal computing AI agents automation cloud software
Known for: Cofounding Zo Computer, a personal cloud computer for the AI era, and previously helping build Stripe Terminal and payments infrastructure
Why it mattersBen is building systems under a new vision of the “personal computer.” What happens when your computer acts for you even after you shut it off?
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Ioana Marinescu

Ioana Marinescu

Economist in AI, Labor and Market Power
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Keywords
Labor markets Antitrust Automation inequality policy
Known for: Former Principal Economist at the DOJ antitrust division, Professor at UPenn, and on the economic advising team for Anthropic
Why it mattersIoana asks: who benefits from new technologies? Who doesn’t? How, why, and who gets to decide?
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Jay McClelland

Jay McClelland

Cognitive Scientist and early AI Pioneer
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Keywords
Learning Connectionism Neural networks Brains vs machines
Known for: Co-creating connectionist models that became the backbone of today’s AI revolution and for bridging concepts between human brains and AI
Why it mattersEven though his work has been influencing today’s AI for decades, we still don’t fully understand how these systems work.
Full bio ↗
Ada Palmer

Ada Palmer

Historian and Author
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Keywords
Belief systems Politics of knowledge Enlightenment Future societies
Known for: The Terra Ignota series, and her broader work on how societies construct truth, knowledge, and authority
Why it mattersEvery society has its own version of “truth.” What happens when those stop lining up? Ada asks what holds a civilization together when shared reality starts to fracture.
Full bio ↗
Artemis Seaford

Artemis Seaford

Former VP of AI Safety at ElevenLabs
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Keywords
AI safety voice models misuse prevention trust policy
Known for: Leading AI safety efforts at ElevenLabs and previously working on safety and usage policy at OpenAI and Meta
Why it mattersUntil recently, Artemis led safety efforts at ElevenLabs, one of the companies shaping the future of synthetic voice. Voice is one of the most human signals we have. Now, it can be perfectly cloned. What does it mean for the future of interactions when we speak without speaking?
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Katherine von Jan

Katherine von Jan (KVJ)

Founder & CEO, Tough Day
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Keywords
Future of work AI in practice Teams + trust Technology driven organizational change
Known for: Leading innovation at Salesforce and building tools companies actually use
Why it mattersHer work is actively building the future of work inside the most influential companies. What does the future of work look like? What will stay the same? What will look different?
Full bio ↗

About

it's all about the people

About the conference

conference in brief

The Future of Our Realities brings together scientists, technologists, artists, and policymakers to confront a shared problem: AI is reshaping both work and truth at the same time.

Across talks, panels, and workshops, we will discuss and begin to implement the ideas that will keep society flourishing safely in the face of uncertain technological shifts.

Vibe check

what makes us unique

FOR 2026 pencil figure

Interactive panel discussions with leaders across technology, policy, science, and the arts.

Hands-on workshops focused on real-world challenges in emerging technologies.

Collaborative problem-solving sessions that move beyond theory.

Cross-disciplinary networking with people outside your usual circles.

A curated program that connects big ideas to practical impact.