Last week I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural symposium on The Future of Being Human, hosted by Elizabeth Churchill at the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi. The event brought together around sixty researchers and industry leaders from across the world who share a common interest: understanding how advances in AI, especially generative AI, will shape the future of human computer interaction.
The symposium spanned two intensive days filled with keynotes, panel discussions, breakout sessions, and group reflections. While the agenda covered a broad range of topics, one theme remained central throughout: how intelligent systems are transforming the way we design, develop, and engage with technology, and how our understanding of “the human” must evolve in response.
Human Complexity as a Core Challenge
In the breakout group I joined, we focused on the human side of AI interaction. Our discussions circled around a provocative but accurate observation: humans are a mess. People rarely behave consistently. Context shifts, intuition plays a role, and gut feelings often override rational patterns. Even our goals, emotions, and attention fluctuate from moment to moment.
For AI systems that aim to respond meaningfully to human behavior, this inconsistency poses a major challenge. As we argued in the group, machines may become increasingly powerful and capable, but they will continue to struggle with producing “perfect” reactions or interpretations as long as human behavior remains this variable and deeply contextual.
Understanding people is still one of the biggest unsolved problems in AI and HCI. And any future where AI supports humans effectively must grapple directly with this complexity.
Our group included: Aaron Quigley, Antonia Saske, David Shamma, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Jessica Cauchard, Lena Hegemann, Per Ola Kristensson, and Steven Dow, and I am grateful for the thoughtful and inspiring conversations we shared.
A Global Conversation About AI and Humanity
What made the symposium particularly exciting was the diversity of perspectives. Participants represented different research traditions, methodological approaches, and cultural backgrounds, yet shared a clear commitment to shaping AI technologies that support human flourishing.
Across discussions, several themes emerged:
- The need to rethink design frameworks in a world where AI systems shape behavior, expectations, and daily routines
- The tension between human unpredictability and machine optimization
- The importance of embedding ethics and responsibility into design processes
- The potential for AI to support new forms of creativity, collaboration, and learning
- The role of researchers and educators in guiding society through these transformations
These conversations highlighted not only the challenges ahead but also the opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.
Looking Forward
The symposium closed with a collective commitment to continue building a community around the human implications of AI. A shared research statement is currently in development and follow-up collaborations are already planned. I am excited to see how these discussions will evolve and how they will shape future research at the intersection of HCI and AI.
A sincere thank you to Elizabeth Churchill and MBZUAI for hosting this thoughtful and inspiring event. It marked an important step in bringing together global voices to imagine what it means to be human in an increasingly AI-infused world.