On October 14, MIT professor and bestselling author Sherry Turkle will join mindfulness pioneer Jon Kabat-Zinn at All Souls Church in New York City for a live conversation about Turkle's new book, Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines. Published September 29 by Little, Brown and Company, the book examines what happens as artificial intelligence moves beyond information and productivity into the deeply human territory of companionship, empathy, advice, loneliness, and relationships. The event, produced by Steve Stein and WisdomFeed Publishing, marks the third conversation between Turkle and Kabat-Zinn, following two online episodes of the StreetSmart Wisdom Podcast.
The significance of this announcement lies in its timing and the urgency of the questions it raises. As conversational AI becomes increasingly integrated into daily life, Turkle and Kabat-Zinn argue that society faces a critical juncture. During their first StreetSmart Wisdom conversation, Turkle described the moment as a "break the glass" emergency, asking, "How are we going to govern? How are we going to think about the challenge we face?" Kabat-Zinn framed the challenge through the convergence of the analog and digital worlds, warning that we must "realize the full dimensionality and potential of the analog world before... we lose it to... fake empathy from machines." Their dialogue underscores a growing concern: that machines may soon substitute for genuine human connection, with profound consequences for individual well-being and social fabric.
Turkle's book delves into what happens when people turn to machines not just for tasks but for companionship, counsel, and emotional connection once associated with human relationships. In their earlier conversation, she posed a central question: "Is pretend empathy enough? And how do we as people who have this extraordinary gift for real empathy because of... the arc of a human life... How do we connect?" These questions have become increasingly pressing as AI chatbots and virtual assistants proliferate. The October 14 event, held in person at 80th Street and Lexington Avenue and via livestream, brings these issues to a public forum, moving the conversation from online episodes to street level. It also coincides with the book's publication, positioning Turkle's research at the center of the ongoing dialogue.
The event highlights the intersection of two distinct fields: Turkle's decades of research into human-technology relationships and Kabat-Zinn's work on mindfulness, awareness, and presence. Kabat-Zinn founded Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and his efforts have been instrumental in bringing mindfulness into medicine and mainstream culture. Turkle, the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT, has authored numerous books on identity, conversation, and life in the digital age. Their collaboration, produced by WisdomFeed Publishing, reflects the publisher's mission to take ancient ideas down to street level and to explore the intersection of technology and humanity. For those interested in attending, information and registration are available at https://wisdomfeed.thrivecart.com/artificial-intimacy/. The conversation promises to offer critical insights into how we navigate an increasingly digital world while preserving authentic human connection.
