AI and the Future We Choose
October 9, 2026
Photographs: Pétur Fjeldsted.
The President participates in an event with Tristan Harris and the Raskins.
In her opening remarks, the President said that the documentaries The Social Dilemma and The AI Doc had drawn her attention to important work of Harris and the Raskins.
A recent interview with Tristan Harris on The AI Doc is available on YouTube.
Learn more.
The President of Iceland Halla Tómasdóttir participated in a thought-provoking event on the promises and perils of artificial intelligence at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Harpa Concert Hall. Entitled The Humanity Dilemma: AI and the Future We Choose, the programme explored one of the defining challenges of our time: how to ensure that rapidly advancing technology serves humanity rather than undermines it.
First, Tristan Harris, Aza Raskin and Joy Mauthe Raskin and Markéta Irglová guided the audience through an immersive Concert Talk that combined spoken word, storytelling and music in a powerful reflection on the opportunities and risks presented by artificial intelligence.
Following the performance, President Tómasdóttir and Harris engaged in a wide-ranging conversation on the urgent need to steer AI development in a more responsible and human-centred direction. Their discussion highlighted the importance of ensuring that technological progress is aligned with democratic values, human dignity and the long-term wellbeing of societies.
Harris and the Raskins are engaged in raising awareness among political, business and civic leaders of the profound implications of artificial intelligence and the need for collective action to ensure that AI serves the common good. The conversation focused on the responsibility of governments, technology companies and international institutions to work together to establish effective safeguards and governance frameworks for AI, particularly in light of growing concerns about the unpredictability of increasingly advanced systems.
The event concluded with a moving performance by the Kársnesskóli Choir, who sang John Lennon’s Imagine to Icelandic lyrics by poet Þórarinn Eldjárn.
Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin founded the Center for Humane Technology, in 2018. They were also involved in the acclaimed documentaries The Social Dilemma (2020) and The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026). In recent months, President Tómasdóttir has consistently called for greater awareness of the societal impacts of artificial intelligence. In July, she joined the United Nations AI for Good Global Commission.
Following the event at Harpa, President Tómasdóttir, Harris and the Raskins met with a group of Icelandic professionals and researchers working in the field of AI.
In the evening, the presidential couple and their guests travelled to Viðey Island, where they attended the annual lighting of Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace Tower, a symbol of hope, dialogue and a more peaceful future.
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