The Future Civilizations Conference

Designing the Next Human City in an Age of Artificial Intelligence.

Led by Cornell University, the Future Civilizations Conference brings together scholars, engineers, artists, designers, and builders to examine how artificial intelligence and autonomous systems will shape cities, infrastructure, social life, food systems, and future human environments.

Attend the Conference Explore Themes

At a glance

Focus

AI, autonomous systems, urban futures, human identity, sustainability, and off-world civilization.

Format

Speakers, live demonstrations, interdisciplinary exchange, and conference-wide public conversation.

Audience

Students, scholars, designers, technologists, researchers, artists, and builders.

Date

April 18, 2026

Venue

Phillips Hall, Cornell University

Attendance

Cornell and External Registration

Conference Theme

How will the next human city look?

Using the next human city as its central lens, the conference examines how emerging technologies will reshape architecture, infrastructure, social systems, food production, and future settlement beyond Earth. The program is organized around four thematic pillars.

Themes

Thematic pillars

Structured to feel rigorous, expansive, and alive — ideas you can debate, systems you can see, futures you can interrogate.

01

Designing the Autonomous City

How AI, robotics, and autonomous systems will transform the built environment, including architecture, mobility, urban planning, infrastructure, and the experience of public space.

02

Human Psychology, Purpose, and Social Life

How identity, belonging, creativity, and emotional life may evolve when everyday life is deeply integrated with autonomous agents, from caregiving robots to AI therapists to automated social systems.

03

Sustainability, Agriculture, and Future Food Systems

How AI-driven agriculture, resource distribution, food systems, and environmental technologies will sustain future cities and human populations.

04

Frontier Cities: Beyond Earth

A speculative but serious exploration of how these principles extend to off-world environments such as Mars, and how AI may become essential to building entirely new forms of settlement.

Featured Work

Live demonstrations

Research demonstrations exploring robotics, design, agriculture, and human-machine interaction.

Fashion Robotics

Maia Hirsch

Fashion Robotics explores the fusion of wearable technology, soft robotics, and fashion to create garments that respond to the body, environment, and social interaction.

The lab will present an exhibition of interactive robotic dresses, demonstrating how clothing can become an expressive, adaptive interface between humans and machines.

View Lab Research →

Automation and Robotics Laboratory

Lirong Xiang

The Automation and Robotics Laboratory develops AI-driven robotic systems for sustainable agriculture, integrating robotics, computer vision, and machine learning.

The lab will present Spyder Bot, a legged agricultural robot designed to navigate complex terrain and perform autonomous sensing and monitoring for future food systems.

View Lab Research →

Machine Poetics

Sangh Leigh

Machine Poetics investigates technology as an expressive and critical medium, exploring embodied human-machine relationships through art, design, and robotics.

The group will present an experiential work that invites participants to encounter unfamiliar machine intelligence and reflect on intimacy, alienness, and coexistence with AI.

View Lab Research →

Academic Faculty & Cross-Disciplinary Dialogue

Featured Faculty & Panelists

Dr. Manoj Karkee

Agricultural Robotics

Dr. Manoj Karkee

Cornell University

Norman R. and Sharon R. Scott Professor of Agriculture and Life Sciences working on AI, machine vision, and robotics for precision agriculture and specialty crop automation.

Research Portfolio →
Dr. Lirong Xiang

Sustainable Agricultural Systems

Dr. Lirong Xiang

Assistant Professor · Cornell University

Researches robotics, computer vision, and machine learning for sustainable agricultural systems, with a focus on intelligent sensing, crop monitoring, and field automation.

Research Portfolio →
Dr. Rosa Santomartino

Space Biotechnology

Dr. Rosa Santomartino

Assistant Professor · Cornell University

Space microbiologist and biotechnologist advancing sustainable life-support systems and microbial technologies for space exploration and environmental challenges on Earth.

Research Portfolio →
Professor Shane Henderson

Operations Research

Professor Shane Henderson

Cornell University

Charles W. Lake, Jr. Chair in ORIE whose research includes simulation optimization, emergency services planning, pandemic response, and transportation systems.

Research Portfolio →
Dr. JoAnn Difede

Clinical Psychology & PTSD Research

Dr. JoAnn Difede

Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry · Weill Cornell Medicine

Director of the Program for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies and a pioneer in virtual reality exposure therapy for PTSD, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders.

Research Portfolio →
Samitha Samaranayake

Transportation Systems

Samitha Samaranayake

Associate Professor · Civil and Environmental Engineering

Researches mobility systems, transportation networks, urban informatics, and optimization for resilient and efficient infrastructure.

Research Portfolio →

Leadership & Team

Organizing team

The conference is supported by a cross-disciplinary student team working alongside faculty leadership.

Founder & Director

Daniyal Virk

Conference founder and director.

Faculty Advisor

Sangh Leigh

Faculty advisor.

Team Members

Jonathan Segal Angela Xu Ahmed Arif Abdallah Gazal Wasif Atcha Tanay Naik Galiba Anjum Habiba Khan

Registration

Registration and venue

The conference will be held in Phillips Hall at Cornell University. Choose the appropriate registration pathway below.

Phillips Hall

Cornell University · Ithaca, New York

Visit the venue panel for directions and location access before the event.

Directions Open in Maps

Cornell Affiliates

CampusGroups Registration

For Cornell students, faculty, staff, and affiliated attendees registering through the university platform.

  • • Cornell login supported
  • • Best option for on-campus attendees
  • • Direct university registration flow
Register via CampusGroups

External Attendees

Eventbrite Registration

For non-Cornell affiliates registering through the secure external ticketing platform.

  • • Secure ticket purchase flow
  • • Intended for non-Cornell participants
  • • External registration and payment
Registration for non-Cornellians