Connected Life 2026: New Intelligence, Old Questions

About

The Connected Life Summit is a one-day, student-led conference focused on what it means to live in an increasingly connected world. It is supported by the Oxford Internet Institute and will be hosted at the Oxford Union on Thursday, 25 June 2026.

The Summit will bring together researchers, business leaders, and policymakers to explore how technology shapes society, and how society shapes technology. Around 100 invited participants will take part in smaller, closed sessions during the day. From 4pm, the event opens to a wider audience in the Oxford Union Debate Chamber, where up to 200 attendees will join a public debate on the future of global AI governance. For over nine centuries, Oxford has been a place where intellectual and technological transformations have been studied and debated. The Connected Life Summit builds on that tradition by examining how new forms of intelligence build on longstanding questions of governance, ethics, and social organisation. Themes include:

• Data & Insights – How new forms of intelligence reshape our understanding of society
• Tech & Culture – How digital systems transform everyday life and social norms
• Governance & Power – Who shapes emerging technologies, and who they serve
• Ethics & Inequality – How innovation can be pursued responsibly and fairly

Public Session Agenda

Join us 4-6pm for a debate on the topic of “This House Believes that AI is the Great Equalizer”

Tickets cost £20 and will be available soon.

Note: Portable ramps allow wheelchairs to access the Debating Chamber, Goodman Library, and Members’ Bar. There is a RADAR key accessible disabled toilet on the ground floor. The other rooms are reached by stairs. The Oxford Union does not have a lift.

Please note tickets are non-refundable and are valid only for the public session 4-6pm, 25th June.

For more information visit https://connectedlife.oii.ox.ac.uk/ 

If you have questions, please email connectedlife@oii.ox.ac.uk.