Conference Schedule
All conference events (except the opening reception!) take place at the Vanderbilt Student Life Center, located at 310 25th Ave. S. Nashville. Get directions ↗
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Opening Reception
Start the conference with an evening of connection and inspiration, co-hosted by Jon Shaw and the Vanderbilt Library, on Friday, May 31st.
8:00 am – 9:00 am
Registration & Light Breakfast
9:00 am – 10:15 am
Being Human in the Age of AI
Ben Hunt and Rusty Guinn welcome attendees to Epsilon Connect 2024, share what they hope to learn from the event, and describe their personal experience with generative AI as a tool for creativity and connection.
10:15 am – 11:00 am
Exploration Time
11:00 am – 11:45 am
What's Breaking Modern Capitalism?
Dave Nadig, Adam Butler and Grant Williams discuss the assault on capitalism from the political left and the political right. Now that capital markets have been transformed into a political utility, what’s next?
11:45 am – 1:00 pm
Exploration Time & Speaker's Corner
Lunch
Grab a bite while you listen to to three rapid-fire Speaker's Corner talks:
- Evolution of a Finance Bro, Chris McNew
- The Epsilon Connect Zine, Dave Nadig
- The Brain/Gut Interface, Steve Lindemann
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm
Smartphones, Schools, and the Rewiring of our Children’s Brains
Elliot Blake reviews the latest research on the neurological and behavioral impact of smartphone usage on children, and Mark Desjardins describes a smartphone policy initiative at All Saints Episcopal School in Tyler, Texas.
2:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Media, Language, and Nihilism
Kyla Scanlon, Brian Portnoy and Matt Zeigler discuss the growing phenomenon of ‘financial nihilism’ and personal despair in a world of material abundance. In a YOLO world of profound mistrust, how do we rebuild trust and personal agency?
3:00 pm – 3:45 pm
Why College?
Raj Vinnakota describes his efforts to bring together college presidents to create meaningful curriculum change, and Rafa Mayer leads the discussion on how to reshape college into more than a Hogwarts sorting hat for modern social castes.
3:45 pm – 4:30 pm
Exploration Time
4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
Make, Protect, Teach with Scott Bradlee
Scott Bradlee, noted jazz pianist and founder of Postmodern Jukebox, talks about art, entrepreneurialism and life through the lens of Make, Protect, Teach. Matt Zeigler leads the Q&A, and of course there is a live performance!
6:00 pm – 7:00pm
Drinks
Join us for a quick drink before heading out to enjoy the Nashville nightlife.
8:00 am – 9:00 am
Light Breakfast
9:00 am – 10:15 am
Human Being in the Age of AI
Ben Hunt explores how generative AI changes the structure of human society, human dominion and human being. We’re past the point of debating whether this is good or bad … it IS … and in this new chapter for the Epsilon Theory project Ben outlines a course of action to reclaim our humanity by reclaiming our words.
10:15 am – 11:00 am
Exploration Time
11:00 am – 11:45 am
Parenting in the Age of AI
Building on Saturday’s presentations on smartphones, neuroplasticity, K-12 education and college reform, Rusty Guinn leads a conversation with Elliot Blake, Mark Desjardins, Raj Vinnakota, Steve Lindemann and the entire Connect audience on how to parent with clear eyes and full hearts in an alienating world.
11:45 am – 1:00 pm
Exploration Time & Speaker's Corner
Lunch
Grab a bite while you listen to to three rapid-fire Speaker's Corner talks:
- Active Inference, Richard Smith
- Metamodernism, Adam Shields
- FutureYOU Assessment Tool, David Gustin
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm
AI Agents and Human Brilliance
Andrew Smith Lewis describes the range of human-enhancing software agents available with today’s generative AI technology, and Brian Portnoy leads the discussion on what’s next.
2:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Curiosity as Human Superpower
Tom Morgan, Dave Nadig and Adam Butler discuss new research on neurophysiology and its implications for how society is structured, as well as how we can navigate those structures for a more fulfilling life.
3:00 pm – 3:45 pm
Models of Humans
Filip Dousek examines how humans and LLMs solve the problem of prediction, and Rafa Mayer leads the discussion on architecture, abstraction and agents.
3:45 pm – 4:30 pm
Exploration Time
4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
AMA with Ben Hunt and Rusty Guinn
Grant Williams hosts a no-holds-barred Ask Me Anything session with Ben Hunt and Rusty Guinn to close out the Epsilon Connect 2024 programming.
6:00 pm – 9:00pm
Drinks and Dinner
Join us for a relaxed night of drinks, southern comfort food, and great conversation.
8:00 am – 9:00 am
Breakfast
9:00 am – 9:30 am
Closing Remarks
Ben Hunt closes out the conference with final remarks.
9:30 am – 12:00 am
Relax and Depart
Continue enjoying breakfast and a comfortable space to unwind before we officially say goodbye.