Boston Global Forum · AI World Society

America at 250

A Beacon for the AI Age

Loeb House Harvard University May 1, 2026
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Section I

Agenda & Concept Note

The vision and the program of America at 250: A Beacon for the AI Age

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Document I.1

Conference Agenda

The full program of the May 1, 2026 gathering at Loeb House — opening remarks, keynote, panels, symbolic award presentations, and reception.

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Document I.2

Concept Note

The intellectual and historical framing of the Conference: why America at 250 is a beacon for the AI Age, and what the gathering at Harvard is convened to achieve.

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Section II

Speakers

The voices convened at Loeb House to shape the AI Age — keynote speakers, panelists, and award recipients

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Document II.1

Confirmed Speakers

The full list of speakers, panelists, and moderators participating in the America at 250 Conference, with affiliations and panel assignments.

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Document II.2

Panels & Sessions

Panel structure, topics, moderators, and session timing across the day at Loeb House and the Harvard Faculty Club.

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Section III

Special Profiles

Conference Co-Chairs · Symbolic Award Recipients · AI Pioneer Panelists

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Conference Co-Chairs

The Convening Authority

Co-founders of the Boston Global Forum and the AI World Society

Governor Michael Dukakis
Co-Chair · Conference Convener

Governor Michael S. Dukakis

Co-Founder & Chairman, Boston Global Forum
Three-Term Governor of Massachusetts · 1988 Democratic Presidential Nominee
View Special Profile ›
Nguyen Anh Tuan
Co-Chair · Conference Convener

Nguyen Anh Tuan

Founder & CEO, Boston Global Forum
Co-Founder, AI World Society · Architect of the AIWS Framework
View Special Profile ›
Symbolic Recognitions

Honored Leaders for Peace and the Open World

President Jimmy Carter (legacy) and Vinton G. Cerf — recognized at the Conference

Carter family
Symbolic Recognition

President Jimmy Carter

and the Generations of American Leaders Devoted to Peace
Award accepted by Jason Carter on behalf of the Carter family
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Vinton G. Cerf
American People · World Leader for Peace and Security Award

Vinton G. Cerf

Father of the Internet · Co-Designer of TCP/IP
VP & Chief Internet Evangelist, Google · ACM Turing Award · Presidential Medal of Freedom
View Special Profile ›
AI Pioneer Panelists

Featured Panelists at the Conference

Selected from the fifty America 250 · AI Pioneers — Special Profiles available

Alex Pentland
AI Pioneer · #12

Alex Pentland

Pioneer of Computational Social Science and Human-AI Society
Toshiba Professor at MIT · Founder, MIT Connection Science · Co-Founder, MIT Media Lab
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Cynthia Dwork
AI Pioneer · #22

Cynthia Dwork

Architect of Differential Privacy and Algorithmic Fairness
View Special Profile ›
Regina Barzilay
AI Pioneer · #28

Regina Barzilay

Pioneer of AI for Healthcare, Diagnosis, and Drug Discovery
View Special Profile ›
Cynthia Breazeal
AI Pioneer · #10

Cynthia Breazeal

Pioneer of Social Robotics and AI Literacy
View Special Profile ›
Herbert Lin
AI Pioneer · #47

Herbert Lin

Architect of Cyber Policy for the National Security Era
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Daphne Koller
AI Pioneer · #40

Daphne Koller

Pioneer of Probabilistic AI, Online Education, and AI-Driven Medicine
View Special Profile ›
Section IV

American People · World Leader for Peace and Security Award

Recognizing leaders whose lifetime of work has advanced peace, security, and the open world — on behalf of the American people

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2026 Recipient

Vinton G. Cerf

Father of the Internet, co-designer of TCP/IP, ACM Turing Award laureate, and recipient of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom — honored for a lifetime devoted to building the technical and civic foundations of a peaceful, connected world.

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Document V.1

Award Citation & History

The history of the American People · World Leader for Peace and Security Award, the citation for the 2026 honoree, and the framework of recognition.

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Section V

America 250 · AI Pioneers

The fifty leaders whose work is shaping America in the Age of Artificial Intelligence — honored at the Conference across six domains

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I

AI Research & Science

The Architects of the AI Age

01
Jeff Dean
AI Infrastructure & Systems
02
John Hopfield
Neural Networks & Physics of AI
03
Chelsea Finn
Meta-Learning & Robotics AI
04
Judea Pearl
Causal AI & Bayesian Reasoning
05
Vint Cerf
Internet & AI Infrastructure
06
Yann LeCun
Deep Learning & Computer Vision
07
Fei-Fei Li
Computer Vision & Human-Centered AI
08
Andrew Ng
Deep Learning & AI Education
09
Sam Altman
Generative AI
10
Cynthia Breazeal
Social Robotics & Human-AI Interaction
11
Andrej Karpathy
Deep Learning & AI Education
II

AI Governance & Ethics

Ensuring AI Serves Humanity

12
Alex Pentland
Data Science & AI Governance
13
Daniela Rus
Robotics & AI
14
Alondra Nelson
AI Policy & Equity
15
Timnit Gebru
Algorithmic Justice & AI Ethics
16
Joy Buolamwini
Algorithmic Justice
17
Stuart Russell
AI Safety & Alignment
18
Kate Crawford
AI & Society
19
Shoshana Zuboff
Surveillance Capitalism
20
Eric Schmidt
AI & National Security
21
Peter Shor
Quantum Computing & AI Cryptography
22
Cynthia Dwork
Differential Privacy & Algorithmic Fairness
III

AI & Health, Biology & Medicine

AI for Human Flourishing

23
Jennifer Doudna
CRISPR & Genomics
24
Eric Lander
Genomics & Science Policy
25
Katalin Karikó
mRNA Medicine
26
Eric Topol
AI & Medicine
27
Robert Desimone
Neuroscience & Brain-AI
28
Regina Barzilay
AI & Oncology
29
Isaac Kohane
AI & Biomedical Informatics
IV

AI & Economy, Business & Innovation

Building the AI Economy

30
Jensen Huang
AI Hardware & Infrastructure
31
Dario Amodei
Safe & Beneficial AI
32
Larry Page
AI & Search Intelligence
33
Sergey Brin
AI & Information Architecture
34
Satya Nadella
AI & Enterprise
35
Jeff Bezos
Cloud & AI Infrastructure
36
Marc Benioff
AI & Ethical Business
37
John Schulman
Agentic AI & Reinforcement Learning
V

AI, Education & Social Sciences

AI for Knowledge and Society

38
Sal Khan
AI & Education
39
John Preskill
Quantum Information & Computing
40
Daphne Koller
AI & Online Education
41
Robert Putnam
Social Capital & Democratic AI
42
Sherry Turkle
Technology, Identity & Society
43
Beth Simone Noveck
AI Governance & Democratic Innovation
VI

AI & Security, Defense & Geopolitics

Protecting Democracy in the AI Age

44
Paul Nakasone
Cybersecurity & AI Defense
45
Michèle Flournoy
AI & National Security
46
James Clapper
Intelligence & AI
47
Herbert Lin
AI, Cybersecurity & Policy
48
Katharine Hicks
AI & Defense Policy
49
Bruce Schneier
Cybersecurity & AI Trust
50
Paul Scharre
Autonomous Weapons & AI Ethics

Pioneers marked with ★ have published Special Profiles available at the Conference. Click any starred card to view.

Section VI

Official Documents

The frameworks, declarations, speeches, and records of the America at 250 Conference

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The Conference Book
America at 250
A Beacon for the AI Age
Boston Global Forum
AI World Society
2026
Featured Publication

America at 250: A Beacon for the AI Age

The full book of the Conference

The full literary and intellectual companion to the May 1, 2026 Conference at Harvard — a book for students, young adults, and the general reader, framing how the United States, in its 250th year, can be a beacon for the world in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Includes the Massachusetts Miracle, the AIWS Cultural Framework, the AI Pioneers profiles, and the founding ideas of the Beacon Declaration.

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From Governor Michael Dukakis

America at 250: A Beacon for the AI Age is a work that both honors the 250th anniversary of the United States and looks ahead to the future of our nation and humanity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.

I am proud to have co-authored this book with Nguyen Anh Tuan. He is an exceptional thinker of the AI Age, and my good friend, with a profound vision for how technology can serve humanity, strengthen trust, and uphold the values that define a free and democratic society.

At this historic moment, we hope this book will contribute to shaping a future where innovation is guided by responsibility, and where America continues to serve as a beacon for the world.

Michael S. Dukakis
Co-Founder & Chairman, Boston Global Forum
Governor of Massachusetts (1975–1979, 1983–1991)
VI · 1

AIWS Trust Architecture

The full AIWS Trust Standards v1.0 — the comprehensive AI governance framework across six domains: Transparency, Safety, Fairness, Accountability, Privacy, and Democratic Alignment.

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VI · 2

AIWS Lumina

The AIWS Lumina framework — the illuminating principles of the AI World Society for the responsible governance and stewardship of artificial intelligence.

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VI · 3

Beacon Declaration & Process

The Beacon Declaration of the America at 250 Conference — the framework, the process of adoption, and the signatories committing to its principles.

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VI · 4

Conference Speeches

The full transcripts of opening remarks, keynote addresses, panel introductions, and closing reflections delivered at Loeb House on May 1, 2026.

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VI · 5

Participants List

The full roster of speakers, panelists, honorees, BGF and AIWS leadership, Harvard institutional representatives, and invited guests at the Conference.

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VI · 6

Conference Program

The official printed program — distributed at Loeb House — combining agenda, panel structure, speaker biographies, AI Pioneers list, and venue information.

Open Document ›
Section VII

Videos

Conference recordings, opening remarks, panel sessions, and reflections from the day at Harvard

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Conference Opening

Opening Remarks & Welcome
Keynote Address

A Beacon for the AI Age — Keynote
Panel I

The Architects of the AI Age
Panel II

Ensuring AI Serves Humanity
Symbolic Recognitions

World Leader for Peace and Security Award Ceremony
Conference Close

Closing Reflections & Beacon Declaration