Lincoln Ideas Forum: Authenticity in the Age of AI

It was at the Cottage, away from chaos in the White House, that Lincoln could be himself. Here he connected with colleagues, friends, and family. He spent time alone with just his own thoughts. It was at the Cottage, away from chaos in the White House, that Lincoln could be himself. Lincoln's perceived authenticity took him far as a politician. His humanity is central to his legacy.

Today, with the advent and rapid utilization of artificial intelligence, people from around the world are thinking about what it means to be human. What makes humans unique? What do we value about authenticity in human relationships? How does humanity show up in our work? Join us as we bring together experts, scholars, and the public to explore these questions and more.

President Lincoln’s Cottage hosts the annual Lincoln Ideas Forum to commemorate Lincoln’s last visit to the Cottage, which was the day before his assassination. The Forum brings together scholars and practitioners from distinct disciplines to give voice to topics and perspectives that connect the history of this place and what Lincoln accomplished here with how his ideas and life are understood today.

If you're not able to join us in person, please tune in to the livestream day-of, and register using a Virtual ticket.

VIRTUAL ACCESS:

The event will be livestreamed from our YouTube Channel. To access the livestream, please click here: https://www.youtube.com/@LincolnsCottage/streams or go to https://www.youtube.com/user/lincolnscottage and click “Live."

If it is 10:00am and the livestream has not yet started, try refreshing your screen.

If you need support, please contact Cameron Walpole at [email protected] or 202-688-3735.

Bio coming soon...

Kate Bowler, PhD is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and an Associate Professor of American Religious History at Duke University. She studies the cultural stories we tell ourselves about success, suffering, and whether (or not) we’re capable of change. She is the author of Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel and The Preacher’s Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities. After being unexpectedly diagnosed with Stage IV cancer at age 35, she penned the New York Times bestselling memoir, Everything Happens for a Reason (and Other Lies I’ve Loved) and No Cure For Being Human (and Other Truths I Need to Hear). She has also co-written with Jessica Richie, spiritual reflections: Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection and The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days. Kate’s most recent book, Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day! Daily Meditations for the Ups, Downs, and In-Betweens, is packed with bite-sized reflections and action-oriented steps to help you get through the day, be it good, bad, or totally mediocre. Kate hosts the award-winning Everything Happens podcast where, in warm, insightful, often funny conversations, she talks with people like Malcolm Gladwell and Beth Moore about what they’ve learned in difficult times. She lives in Durham, North Carolina with her family and continues to teach do-gooders at Duke Divinity School.

Nancy Horan is the author of three novels. Loving Frank (2007) chronicles a little-known chapter in the life of legendary American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and his client, Mamah Borthwick Cheney. Loving Frank remained on the New York Times Bestseller list for over a year. It has been translated into sixteen languages and received the 2009 Prize for Historical Fiction awarded by the Society of American Historians.

The House Of Lincoln (2023) chronicles the intersecting lives of three families in Springfield, Illinois beginning in the 1850s. A Portuguese house girl for the Lincoln family narrates the struggle of her immigrant family and her experiences inside the home of the her employer; a minister and barber to Lincoln reveals the Underground Railroad activities of his free Black family; and Mary Todd Lincoln’s point of view reveals her joys and profound losses over the course of her life. Culminating in the 1908 Springfield Race Riot, The House of Lincoln documents the Civil War and its aftermath in Abraham Lincoln’s chosen hometown. The House of Lincoln is the result of the author’s journey to portray a history beneath the more familiar history of Abraham Lincoln.

Horan aims to understand the past by interpreting and portraying the impact of real events on the lives of real people. A native Midwesterner, Nancy Horan was a Chicago journalist before turning to fiction writing. She now lives with her husband on an island in Puget Sound.

Sheena S. Iyengar is the S.T. Lee Professor of Business and the Academic Director of the Innovation Hub at the Columbia Business School. She is one of the world’s experts on choice and problem-solving.

Iyengar is the recipient of the Thinkers50 2023 Innovation Award and the author of two award-winning books, The Art of Choosing (2010, Financial Times Business Book of the Year, Amazon #3 Bestselling Business Book) and Think Bigger: How to Innovate (2023, Thinkers50 Top 10 Management Book of 2023). Her recorded TED Talks have received a collective 7 million views and she regularly appears in top tier media such as The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, The New Yorker, The Economist, Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC, CNN, The BBC, and NPR.

Iyengar is famously recognized for her “Jam Study,” which transformed the way we think about products offered in the marketplace and how we curate them for customers. Iyengar created the Think Bigger method for innovative thinking and problem-solving based on recent advances in neuro- and cognitive sciences. Think Bigger concentrates on how creative ideas form in your mind and teaches a six-step method for innovation.

She was ranked by the Thinkers50 as a Top 10 Management Thinker in 2023. In 2022, Iyengar was ranked by the Asian American Business Development Center as one of the 50 Outstanding Asian Americans in Business. She received the Outstanding Faculty Award from the CBS Executive MBA Class of 2021. In 2002, she was the only social scientist to receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the Office of the President.

Iyengar holds a dual degree from the University of Pennsylvania, with a BS in Economics from the Wharton School and a BA in psychology from the College of Arts and Sciences. She received her PhD from Stanford University.

In her personal life, as a blind woman, Iyengar intuitively used Think Bigger to find her calling and strives to inspire others to do the same.

Armed Forces Retirement Home

President Lincoln’s Cottage is on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home. Security for the Armed Forces Retirement Home requires visitors to show valid identification at the security gate in order to enter the property. Please be prepared to show your ID.

Exploring beyond the boundaries of President Lincoln's Cottage is not permitted and results in trespassing on federal property.

Agreement

Please note that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. Choosing to visit President Lincoln’s Cottage, you voluntarily assume all risks related to COVID-19 exposure. By completing this transaction, you agree to follow masking guidelines , maintain social distancing, and observe all posted notices. More information and details about our safety guidelines are available on our website.

All events are considered public events for the purpose of photography and video.

Contact

Questions? Contact President Lincoln’s Cottage with any questions at 202-829-0436 or [email protected].

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

President Lincoln's Cottage, 140 Rock Creek Church Road Northwest, Washington, United States