Utah Valley University (UVU) hosted the AI and the Future of Freedom conference, bringing together leaders from industry, government, and academia to examine how artificial intelligence is reshaping American freedom, civic engagement, and the relationship between citizens and their government.
Sessions featured open discussion among public officials, scholars, and industry leaders on how the country navigates the changes AI is already producing, covering topics from government transparency and journalism to education, energy, and the protection of individual rights. Organizers framed the conference around a core distinction: the difference between increasingly capable machine intelligence and the human judgment required to use it responsibly.
“This conference gave UVU a chance to be part of one of the most consequential conversations of our time,” said Scott Paul, executive director of UVU’s Center for Constitutional Studies. “By bringing together the people shaping AI alongside the people shaping policy, UVU helped move that conversation from theory to action.”
Speakers included David Walker, former comptroller general of the United States; Barclay Burns, UVU’s chief AI officer and Cambridge University Fellow; Margaret Busse, commissioner of the Utah Department of Commerce; Paul Allen, founder of Ancestry and CEO of Soar.com and citizenportal.ai; Trina Limpert, founder and CEO of RizeNext; and John Hart, CEO of Mars Hill Strategies, alongside state treasurers from Utah and Indiana.
The second day, Freedom Tech Demo Day, featured live showcases of open-data tools, AI platforms, and blockchain applications focused on government accountability, decentralization, and individual control of personal data. Attendees were invited to interact directly with the tools on display and participate in Q&A and breakout discussions with presenters.
For more information, visit uvu.edu/ccs.
