Who Governs the Machine? Rules, Responsibilities, and the Public Good

Who Governs the Machine? Rules, Responsibilities, and the Public Good brings scholars, policymakers, technologists, and journalists together to examine how artificial intelligence should be governed and directed toward the public good. Part of the Next Conversations series, the discussion considers who should write the rules for AI, who is accountable when these systems cause harm, and what obligations research universities have during a period of rapid technological change.

The event reflects on Johns Hopkins’ founding ideal that carefully pursued and openly shared knowledge can improve human life, asking how that mission applies when AI systems absorb, reproduce, and act on knowledge at unprecedented scale.

When: September 14, 2026

Showtimes: 5:30–7:30 p.m. EDT

Run time: Approximately two hours

Tickets: Free

Registration: Advance registration is required.

Who can attend: Johns Hopkins faculty, staff, and students

Venue: Theater, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center

Address: 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001

Panelists: Stuart Russell, director of the Center for Human-Compatible AI and professor at the University of California, Berkeley; Dean Ball, head of Strategic Futures at OpenAI and author of *Hyperdimensional*; Gillian Hadfield, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of AI Alignment and Governance at Johns Hopkins University; and Eugene Scott, award-winning journalist and SNF Agora Institute visiting fellow, serving as moderator.