AI and the Imagination

AI and the Imagination

An Interdisciplinary Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Human Agency, and the Human Future

April 20–23, 2027 | Oral Roberts University | Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

Artificial intelligence is changing what humans can create, what we choose to delegate, and how we understand intelligence, responsibility, and human flourishing. These developments raise philosophical questions that cannot be answered by technology alone.

AI and the Imagination brings together philosophers, theologians, scientists, educators, writers, artists, technologists, and leaders to explore the emerging relationship between artificial intelligence and the human future.

The conference welcomes contributions addressing such questions as:

• What does artificial intelligence reveal or challenge about human intelligence, consciousness, and personhood?
• How does delegating cognition and decision-making affect human agency, autonomy, responsibility, and moral formation?
• What are the ethical and theological implications of increasingly capable AI systems?
• How should AI reshape our understanding of education, knowledge, expertise, creativity, and human flourishing?
• What can science fiction and imaginative literature contribute to philosophical reflection on technological futures?
• How should societies and institutions govern AI while preserving human dignity and meaningful participation?

Featured speakers include Orson Scott Card, award-winning author of Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead; Pat Gelsinger, former CEO of Intel and VMware; Joan Slonczewski, PhD, award-winning science fiction author and Professor of Biology; and Ben John, PhD, technology executive and former Microsoft AI leader.

Call for Papers and Presentations

We invite proposals from scholars, professionals, graduate students, and undergraduate students across disciplines. Interdisciplinary and philosophically engaged contributions are particularly welcome.

Submission deadline: March 5, 2027. Proposals receive rolling consideration.

Submission requirements: A presentation title, 250–500 word abstract, preferred conference track, presenter affiliation, and contact information.

Presentations will be in person, with 15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for discussion. Accepted abstracts will be included in the online program; no formal conference proceedings will be published.

Organizers: Dr. Andrew Lang and Dr. Mark Hall, Oral Roberts University.

Conference website: https://oru.edu/academics/cose/ai-and-the-imagination/index.php

Submit proposals to: [email protected] or [email protected]