The Willard Lecture with Dr. Sherry Turkle

March 1, 2026 | 5:30-7 PM | First Presbyterian Church Sanctuary

What is special about being human?
What do we forget when we talk to machines?
What are practical steps to maintain human connection in a digital world?

Dr. Sherry Turkle, founding director of MIT's Initiative on Technology and Self, is one of the first scientists to examine AI as it was being created. She argues that over-reliance on devices is harming our ability to have valuable face-to-face conversations. In her lecture, she will guide us to consciously reclaim and nurture empathy in our workplaces, communities, schools, and homes as we mindfully integrate the digital into our lives. She will help us think carefully and hopefully about AI and will invite us to imagine how we might use technology in ways that enhance, rather than erode, the sacred work of being present with one another.  

Dr. Turkle is the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at MIT. She’s also the author of “Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other” (2012), "Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age" (2015), and "The Empathy Diaries: A Memoir" (2021), and several others.

Dr. Andrew Zirschky, Director of the Master of Arts in Youth Ministry program at Austin Seminary, and author of Beyond the Screen: Youth Ministry for the Connected But Alone Generation, will join Dr. Turkle for conversation in the Q&R portion of the event. He will expand on Dr. Turkle’s lecture and help identify practical ways we can maintain empathy and humanness in a digital world.