The Viaduct: Talking to Humans (in a post-human world)
This is the third lecture of The Viaduct Winter 2025 Lecture Series. More information on the full series is below.
Talking to Humans (in a post-human world) by Michelle Jia
Do we still live in a “human-centered” age? And if not, what are the new values of our time? Join us as we discuss the implicit metaphors that define our current age, and consider practical tools that may allow us to interact with each other at deeper, more meaningful levels. Suitable both from an organizational problem-solving context as well as a personal one.
Come for memes about the AI apocalypse, stay for the warm and fuzzy feeling of being seen/known/understood.
By day, Michelle Jia is a lecturer and design research practitioner who teaches at the Stanford d.school. Her work, often conducted with her main collaborator Michael Barry, has involved the applications of ethnographic research on innovation, particularly in the realm of wicked social problems (e.g. improving public education in the USA). She thinks anthropologists should work at startups and at the highest levels of government.
By night, she makes poems, essays, experiments and indie folk songs and tries not to stay up too late.
Event Timing
6:30 PM: Doors Open
7:15 PM: Lecture Begins
8:15 PM: Q&A Session
9:00 PM: Social Hour
10:00 PM: Event Concludes
Our Vibe
Toronto deserves the most welcoming, encouraging, spirited, and fun intellectual community in the world.
Our events are a place for our community to come together to learn, make friends, and develop ideas. It is a space where people can feel energized, engaged, and most importantly at ease.
We follow the Chatham House Rule. That means everything is open to discussion and after the event you can share any ideas you learned with others but - apart from the content of the lecture itself - you cannot reveal the identity or the affiliation of the person who you learned the idea from.
Come with a posture of openness and care and be ready to have a good time.
About the Viaduct
The Viaduct is an experiment in education for a new Toronto. A lecture series highlighting people and ideas that could transform our city. The first winter series of 5 lectures is taking place in early 2025 featuring talks on world building, the housing crisis, agency in politics, everyday anthropology, and the founding myth of Toronto.
Supporter Tickets
Individual lectures are available on Luma under the Toronto Society calendar. If you are interested in purchasing a series pass. A limited number of Supporter tickets are now available. Tickets include:
A reserved front row seat for every lecture
Access to all future series before public release
A shout out for supporting The Viaduct
About the Toronto Society
The Toronto Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge is building intellectual infrastructure that will promote education, community, and cultural creativity for the next 100 years and beyond.
Notice of Filming and Photography
When you attend this event, you enter an area where photography, audio, and video recording will occur. By entering the event premises, you consent to this recording and its release, publication, exhibition or reproduction.