CDS 17th Floor
The philosopher Simone Weil observed that "uprootedness is by far the most dangerous disease of human societies because it propagates itself." Today, we are regularly reminded, in news and surveys, of the disconnection, loneliness, distrust and polarization corroding to modern life. Too many feel ungrounded, untethered: to our peers, our communities, the ecologies that sustain us, even to our own faculties of attention.
The Center for Media Innovation & Social Impact's 2026 Summit asks: In a twenty-first century digital society, what does it mean to be rooted? In the midst of jarring technological change — and overlapping crises of climate, politics, and attention — how do we maintain ties to what is essential to human flourishing? As thinkers and civic leaders, how do we keep human needs at the forefront as our society grapples with emerging technologies?
The summit will gather scholars, journalists, scientists, community leaders, influencers, technologists, and others to reckon with these growing challenges. We will grapple with questions, such as: What should we demand from new technology, and how do we shift public attitudes from passive acceptance to active engagement — so that the public helps to shape the world being built by new digital technologies?
Panels and workshops will explore the problem of uprootedness related to three intersecting areas: community, ecology and attention; and practical questions about how digital tools can foster — rather than stunt — genuine rootedness. Ecologists and foresters will show how they use digital tools to share their love of the living world and connect to likeminded communities; municipal leaders will explain how they are bridging digital divides; and scientists and engineers will explore how best to pierce the digital distortions to communicate their findings with a skeptical public.
The question is not whether we need roots, but how, in our current conditions, we grow them.