Human Formation
in the Digital Age

An in-person Lyceum Institute conference
on the Future of Education and Technology

St. Louis, MO | 16-17 September 2026

Technological change hangs over us like a storm cloud ready to burst.  The advent of networked digital technology, followed by the arrival of sufficient computing power to enable algorithmic processing of data at scales previously unimaginable—the technologies commonly called “the internet” and “artificial intelligence”, respectively—promise or threaten to affect every domain of human activity.

Although a few dismiss the significance of these immanent technological changes as overstated, most fall into two predictable camps: some decry them as inhuman abominations; others await their arrival like the dawn of a utopian age.

Regardless of where one falls on this spectrum—even if its anticipated effects are pure hype that remain unrealized—we must recognize that these technological developments have already had profound effects on both the individual psyche and on society as a whole.  Such effects pose challenges for us in both the present and near future:

Each of these domains has already been deeply impacted by the worldwide digital network.  AI will certainly amplify this influence many times over.

Alongside these challenges, however, are opportunities—not only for retrieving lost wisdom, or for re-discovering our own nature, our habits, and our constitution of culture, but so too of building instruments and environments truly conducive to human flourishing.  That we successfully confront the challenges and rightfully pursue the opportunities will require a true understanding of each; and most of all, a deep understanding of what it means to be human.

This conference proposes to bring into focus this threefold conceptual framework—to bring technology, its possibilities both negative and positive, and of their resolution to the flourishing of humankind—and through this framework, equip its participants to navigate the changing technological landscape.  By gathering serious people committed to genuine inquiry, we aim to both understand deeply and begin answering the most-essential challenges of our twenty-first century technologies.  The findings of this conference will be the first crucial step in the Lyceum Institute bringing moral and intellectual clarity to the technological environments of the present and near future.

Structure

Unlike a traditional conference which features scholars presenting a series of papers, this conference is organized around dynamic, persistent, and thematic intellectual engagement.  The first day will establish a common ground through informal gathering and an open conversation on human personhood and the implications of artificial intelligence.  The second day will provide specific focus on key aspects of these issues through plenary lectures and a keynote address, before shifting to intensive, participant-driven discussions in the afternoon, where the central questions are examined in depth.

The program will be much more conversationally-oriented than the conventional conference. We will distribute short readings in advance to focus conversation in these participant-driven discussions (of 10-20 people) led by our faculty.

The conference will culminate in a published set of proceedings (accepting submissions from participants) in a unique format (combining print and video), intended not merely to record what was said, but to extend the thinking initiated by our conversations into the years to come.

Details

Dates: 16-17 September 2026
Location: Drury Hotel at the Arch, St. Louis, MO [map]
– Conference rates are $155/night.
– Book your hotel room by 14 August 2026 for the special conference rate (group code 10180412).

Member Registration: $45
Public Registration: $75
Thursday Banquet: $35

St. Louis Lambert International Airport is roughly 20 minutes from the hotel by car and 45 minutes by the MetroLink Red Line train (to the 8th & Pine stop, followed by a walk of roughly 6 blocks).