What I saw around the Curve, 2026

Last weekend, we held our big annual conference, The Curve. For the second year running, we’re publishing a guest post by Eli Pariser, sharing his observations and reflections. Eli does a terrific job of capturing the experience of this unique event. Much of the talk this year was about the risks and challenges that lie ahead – I came away sobered by how much work there is to be done, but heartened by a widespread readiness to meet the moment.Eli is author of The Filter Bubble and Co-Director at New_ Public, a nonprofit product studio focused on reimagining community, connection, and conversation online. You can follow their biweekly newsletter here: newpublic.substack.com.What I saw around the Curve, 2026For the second year in a row, I went to The Curve, the Golden Gate Institute for AI’s annual gathering of AI researchers, lab executives, safety activists, funders, politicians, organizers, and journalists (with a few show-stealing sci-fi writers thrown in for spice).The Curve draws…