BSmAI x Bescy: The Augmented Mind - What AI is doing to how we think, work, and find meaning
AI tools are changing how we work.
As AI takes over more of the visible work, what happens to human judgment, to the skills we're proud of, and to the meaning we find in our jobs and who decides whether that shift goes well?
This event explores the emerging evidence on human-AI collaboration, upskilling and reskilling, the triad of skills failure (deskilling, never-skilling, and mis-skilling) and what it might take to design tools and habits that preserve and develop the capabilities we rely on.
Questions anchoring the discussion:
How AI reshapes human thinking
Where do these tools sharpen our reasoning, and where do they quietly do the thinking for us?
What happens to attention, judgment and memory when we offload cognitive work?
Skills, identity and meaning
If the visible parts of a job get automated, what's left that feels like "ours"?
Where does AI free people up for more meaningful work, and where does it hollow the work out?
Does prior expertise protect against overreliance, and when does it fail to?
Deskilling, never-skilling and mis-skilling: what they are and when do they occur?
Agency and who decides
What's actually holding people back, and who gets to shape how it enters their lives?
Guest panel
Dr Michael Hallsworth, Chief Behavioural Scientist at BIT
Amia Oberai, Human-AI Experience Lead at Genentech
Dr Manuel Garcia-Garcia, Global Lead - Science Activation, Research & Strategy at Ipsos
Anushka Kumar, Research Assistant at Wharton Generative AI Labs
Event format
In-person, discussion-led evening with a strong emphasis on networking, connecting people working across technology, research, and policy
Short introductory remarks from each speaker to ground the discussion
Moderated Q&A panel, drawing connections across perspectives and real-world challenges
Open conversation and networking throughout, with time to connect informally after the panel