AI & Humanity: A Public Policy Agenda for U.S. Innovation, Safety, & Security
AI & Humanity will examine what it means to govern a technology whose capabilities are advancing faster than our institutions: where regulation is necessary, how advanced research can make AI safer, and where cooperation—even with geopolitical rivals—may be necessary.
About the Speakers
Seth Center
Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University
Former Acting Special Envoy for Critical & Emerging Technologies at the U.S. Department of State
Seth Center is a strategist, tech diplomat, and historian who operates at the intersection of artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and statecraft. From 2023 to 2025, Center served as the Acting Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technologies at the U.S. Department of State. In this role, he led the United States international strategy and diplomatic engagement on AI, quantum computing, and biotechnology. Previously, Center was Senior Advisor to the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), where he directed the drafting of the Commission’s final report. His government service also includes a tenure as Director for National Security Strategy and History at the National Security Council (2017–2019), where he directed the 2017 National Security Strategy. Center has also served on the State Department’s Policy Planning staff and as the historian for the National Security Council. Outside of government, he has held senior advisory and fellow roles at the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He earned a PhD from the University of Virginia and a BA from Cornell University.
Peter Stone
Head of the School of Computing, University of Texas at Austin. Chief Scientist, Sony AI
Dr. Peter Stone holds the Truchard Foundation Chair in Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin. He is Head of the School of Computing, as well as Founding Director of Texas Robotics. In 2013 he was awarded the University of Texas System Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award and in 2014 he was inducted into the UT Austin Academy of Distinguished Teachers, earning him the title of University Distinguished Teaching Professor. Professor Stone's research interests in Artificial Intelligence include machine learning (especially reinforcement learning), multiagent systems, and robotics. Professor Stone received his Ph.D in Computer Science in 1998 from Carnegie Mellon University. From 1999 to 2002 he was a Senior Technical Staff Member in the Artificial Intelligence Principles Research Department at AT&T Labs - Research. He is an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, Guggenheim Fellow, AAAI Fellow, IEEE Fellow, AAAS Fellow, ACM Fellow, Fulbright Scholar, and 2004 ONR Young Investigator. In 2007 he received the prestigious IJCAI Computers and Thought Award, given biannually to the top AI researcher under the age of 35, in 2016, he was awarded the ACM/SIGAI Autonomous Agents Research Award, and in 2024 he was awarded the ACM/AAAI Allen Newell Award. Professor Stone co-founded Cogitai, Inc., a startup company focused on continual learning, in 2015, and currently serves as Chief Scientist of Sony Corporate Technology Center.
Moderated by:
Dilawar Syed
Professor, LBJ School of Public Affairs & McCombs School of Business
Dilawar Syed is an entrepreneur, educator, and former senior U.S. government official working at the intersection of business, technology, and public policy. He serves on the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin's LBJ School of Public Affairs and McCombs School of Business, and founded the LBJ Business Policy Forum to advance ideas that strengthen American competitiveness. Following bipartisan confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Dilawar served as Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. He helped expand access to capital and federal contracting, and coordinated the SBA's response to major disasters. Earlier, as Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, he was America's top commercial diplomat, championing U.S. companies globally and mobilizing private-sector support for Ukraine. For over two decades, Dilawar has built and led ventures in Silicon Valley — as CEO of Lumiata, an AI healthcare company, and in establishing Freshworks' North American business ahead of its IPO. He currently serves on the board of and advises AI startups. He holds an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and a bachelor's degree from The University of Texas at Austin