The Evolution of Mindfulness Speaker Series | Making Sense of AI
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how we work, learn, communicate and relate to one another. Yet public conversations about AI often swing between uncritical enthusiasm and fear, leaving many people wondering how to engage thoughtfully with these technologies.
Join us for a moderated conversation with Randima Fernando, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, former executive director of Mindful Schools and former board member of Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Together, we'll explore what contemplative wisdom can contribute to one of the defining technological shifts of our time.
The conversation will examine both the promise and the risks of AI while considering deeper questions about attention, discernment, human flourishing and the kind of future we hope to create. Rather than providing a comprehensive overview of AI, the discussion will focus on a handful of questions that matter most to our audience, creating space for reflection, practical insight and dialogue.
Speaker Bio:
Randima Fernando helps leading technology companies, nonprofits, policymakers, government leaders and others understand and act on the intersections of technology, ethics, mindfulness and social good. His work explores how mindsets, conditioning and incentives shape complex systems and how contemplative practice can inform more humane approaches to technology.
Fernando is the co-founder and former executive director of the Center for Humane Technology, whose work has helped shape global conversations about the societal impacts of technology and inspired The Social Dilemma, the Emmy Award-winning documentary viewed by more than 100 million people worldwide. He also appears in the documentary The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist.
Previously, Fernando served as founding executive director of Mindful Schools, helping grow the organization into a global nonprofit that has introduced mindfulness to millions of children and trained more than 70,000 educators. Earlier in his career, he spent seven years at NVIDIA managing award-winning graphics projects, authoring three bestselling books on computer graphics and serving as a founding board member of the NVIDIA Foundation.
Born in Sri Lanka, Fernando was introduced to meditation by his mother and programming by his father. A lifelong Buddhist practitioner, he has also served on the board of Spirit Rock Meditation Center.