2026 Conference (test page)

NEW DIRECTIONS 2026

Our tenth annual “New Directions in Research on the Psychology of Technology” conference will be held at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business on November 6-7, 2026. The theme will be “The Future of Meaning”, focusing on how emerging technologies are reshaping what people find meaningful—and how tech can strengthen purpose, belonging, and agency. It will be co-sponsored by: UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, the Center for Human-Compatible AI, the UC Berkeley Information School, and the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public.

Please note that all the times indicated in the schedule are provided in Pacific Time.

08:30am - 08:45am | Dean's Welcome

08:45am - 09:00am | Conference Overview & Organizers’ Welcome

09:00am - 11:00am | Opening Speaker Session: Technology and the Transformation of Meaning

09:00am - 09:30am | Pattie Maes (Germeshausen Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, MIT Media Lab)
09:30am - 10:00am | Barry Schwartz (Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Swarthmore College)
10:00am - 10:30am | Beth Goldberg (Head of Research & Development, Jigsaw / Google)
10:30am - 10:50am | Discussion
- Moderator: Juliana Schroeder (Harold Furst Chair in Management Philosophy and Values, Berkeley Haas; Co-Director, Psychology of Technology Institute)

10:50am - 11:00am | Break

11:00am - 12:00pm | Panel: Regulating for Meaning

12:00pm - 01:00pm | Lunch

01:00pm - 02:00pm | Debate: Embodied AI - When Intelligence Meets the Physical World

01:00pm - 01:30pm | Ken Goldberg (William S. Floyd Jr. Distinguished Chair in Engineering, UC Berkeley; Professor of IEOR, EECS, School of Information, and Art Practice)
01:30pm - 02:00pm | TBA
02:00pm - 02:20pm | Discussion
- Moderator: Don Moore (Lorraine Tyson Mitchell Chair in Leadership and Communication, Berkeley Haas)

02:20pm - 02:30pm | Break

02:30pm - 04:15pm | Speaker Session: AI and Society - Risks, Benefits, Responsibility

02:30pm - 03:00pm | Sendhil Mullainathan (Professor of Economics and Peter de Florez Professor of EECS, MIT)
03:00pm - 03:30pm | Jenny Radesky (David G. Dickinson Collegiate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Michigan; Co-Medical Director, AAP Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health)
03:00pm - 04:00pm | Stuart Russell (Smith-Zadeh Chair in Engineering and Professor of EECS, UC Berkeley; Director, Center for Human-Compatible AI)
04:00pm - 04:15pm | Discussion
- Moderator: Nate Fast (Professor of Management and Organization, USC Marshall; Director, Neely Center; Co-Director, Psychology of Technology Institute)

04:15pm - 05:15pm | Discussion Potluck: Bring Your Own Topics to Discuss!

05:15pm - 05:30pm | Day 1 Wrap-up

05:30pm - 06:30pm | Poster Session & Happy Hour

06:30pm - 08:30pm | Dinner

08:30am - 09:00am | Opening Keynote: Design for a Better World

09:00am - 10:00am | Panel: Designing AI for Human Values

Jodi Halpern (Professor of Bioethics, UC Berkeley; Co-Director, Berkeley’s Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public)
Ryn Lynthicum (Head of User Well-Being Policy, Anthropic)
Amanda McCroskery (Applied AI Ethics & Governance Researcher, Google DeepMind)

10:00am - 10:10am | Break

10:10am - 12:00pm | Talk Session: Connection, Conflict, and Communication in the AI Age

10:10am - 10:40am | Jeff Hancock (Harry & Norman Chandler Professor of Communication, Stanford University; Founding Director, Stanford Social Media
10:40am - 11:10am | Lena Slachmuijlder (Executive Director of Digital Peacebuilding, Search for Common Ground; Co-Chair, Council on Tech and Social
11:10am - 11:40am | Xuan Zhao (CEO & Co-Founder, Flourish Science; Research Scientist, Stanford University)
11:40am - 12:00pm | Discussion
- Moderator: Ravi Iyer (Managing Director, Neely Center for Ethical Leadership and Decision Making; Managing Director, Psychology of Technology Institute)

12:00pm - 01:00pm | Lunch

01:00pm - 02:00pm | Datablitz

02:00om - 02:15pm | Break

02:15pm - 04:15pm | Talk Session: The Social Mind in the Digital World

02:15pm - 02:45pm | Nicholas Epley (Lorraine Tyson Mitchell Chair in Leadership and Communication, Berkeley Haas)
02:45pm - 03:15pm | Amit Goldenberg (Assistant Professor, Harvard Business School)
03:15pm - 03:45pm | Michael Inzlicht (Professor of Psychology, University of Toronto)
03:45pm - 04:00pm | Discussion
- Moderator: Juliana Schroeder (Harold Furst Chair in Management Philosophy and Values, Berkeley Haas; Co-Director, Psychology of Technology Institute)

04:00pm - 04:15pm | Break

04:15pm - 04:45pm | Closing Keynote / Fireside Chat

04:45pm - 05:30pm | Final Discussion

05:30pm - 08:30pm | Social Event