The New Frontier
Location: Columbia University, Pupin Hall
Date: March 28, 2026
Human Ingenuity in an AI-Driven World
“Can we survive technology?” John von Neumann asked this question in 1955 in Fortune magazine. Today, as artificial intelligence enters a new phase of rapid development, it is more relevant than ever. AI is transforming education, research, and labor markets worldwide, posing challenges across society. As AI appears to devalue hard work and fundamental knowledge, not only the sciences but also the arts face profound disruption. The new technology increasingly reshapes - and threatens to replace - scientists, teachers, and artists. These developments are deeply connected to von Neumann’s revolutionary contributions to computing, game theory, and scientific reasoning, which demonstrate how abstract theory can drive rapid and far-reaching societal change. Echoing von Neumann’s enduring insight, the conference argues that human survival depends on advancing wisdom, ethics, methods, and governance at the same pace as technological power. Building on the 2023–2025 editions, the Neumann Series has never been a historical or biographical event, but rather a unique forum integrating basic research and applied science while addressing emerging challenges from multiple perspectives. Its guiding conviction is that technological breakthroughs do not mark the end of history, but instead signal new beginnings. By bringing together students, early-career researchers, and senior scholars across disciplines, the Neumann Series fosters interdisciplinary exchange and a vision of innovation grounded in responsibility, creativity, and human values - reflecting the belief that we are not at the end of creativity and thought, but at the threshold of a bold new era. This is the dialogue we seek to start - a conversation about embracing technology without surrendering the ingenuity that defines humanity.