Addressing AI Anxiety

Date and Time

• Thursday, Nov 12, 2026  4pm - 6pm

Location

Details

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Concerned about artificial intelligence (AI)? It can be difficult to deal with the relentless news and extreme and varying, predictions.
In this workshop, we will be exploring our own reactions to the existence and development of artificial intelligence and try to have more clarity on what we feel and why we feel it. We will also hear from a leader in artificial intelligence who is working on some of the cutting edge applications of AI to get a better understanding of how a deep expert is assessing the impact of AI on society and our lives.

The workshop is intended to provide an opportunity to really examine our own beliefs, emotions, and narratives regarding AI while also receiving more clarity on how AI is actually being used.

Adam Bender is a Principal Engineer at Google and works at the cutting edge of implementation of artificial intelligence into the operations of large organizations. He has been invited to speak at forums such as Google I/O on the impact of AI.

Peter Weng is the Executive Director at the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, the mindfulness and emotional intelligence nonprofit focused on supporting human flourishing in people and organizations.

This workshop will include:

- Separating fact and fiction in the news about AI

- Providing more clarity on our own reactions to AI

- Assessing the positions we would like to have on AI

- Learning about the direction of AI from an expert in the field

- Journaling and a guided contemplative practice

There will be opportunities for individual reflection, discussion, as well as a question and answer session.

Session will be held in-person in downtown Santa Cruz (choose the in-person ticket when purchasing to attend in-person) as well as live streamed in Aptos, CA and also available live online via Zoom.