Human and More-than-human Futures: Innovating Technologies for Coexistence

Event Overview

This conference investigates how transforming technological and non-technological innovations can forge resilient and adaptable futures amidst rapid change of human everyday life and geopolitical shifts. It fosters a ‘more-than-human’ perspective, exploring nascent ideas and designing senseable, inclusive ecosystems that promote harmonious coexistence and well-being across all entities—from humans to nature and emerging technologies.

This is a public science event designed to bring together diverse stakeholders for a collaborative discussion about the challenges within technological transformations, offering an invaluable opportunity to learn from leading global experts. Participants can expect to gain a deeper understanding of complex technologies through presentations thoughtfully designed for accessibility and broad participation, expand their professional network and connections, and meet leading scientists from Lithuania and MIT, as well as prominent representatives from the business sector.

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In a world increasingly shaped by rapid evolution, geopolitical flux and fragmentation a fundamental human desire for stability amidst uncertainty persists. While anxieties about the future compel us to seek firm guidelines, true progress lies in collectively forging resilient paths, rather than adhering to rigid answers. This gathering is not about delivering predetermined narratives, but about a shared inquiry into the present and a collaborative sculpting of the future. It aims to explore the "untimely" – those nascent forms and thoughts that describe our current era but remain as yet unarticulated or unacknowledged. Through this collective process, we seek to move beyond conventional discourse, embracing radical transformation and fostering a deeper understanding of our interwoven existence with technology and the natural world.

The framework for understanding delves into the multifaceted dimensions of human and more-than-human coexistence, seeking to challenge anthropocentric views and foster harmonious interactions across humanity, technology, and the natural environment. This is achieved through strategic clarity and accessibility, drawing inspiration from leading philosophies to ensure presentations are clear, vision-driven and avoid jargon for practical, impactful outcomes. This understanding necessitates a focus on designing responsive futures, moving beyond mere "smart" solutions to cultivate "senseable" ecosystems that acknowledge the inherent agency of matter itself. Such adaptive, interactive environments, from livable cities to factories of the future, demand human-centric technology, robust feedback loops, and profound interdisciplinary collaboration. Furthermore, it addresses the critical need to harness synthetic biology and genomics for biological responses to climate change and future health, while responsibly navigating the challenges of generative AI for innovation and growth, particularly in light of concerns about "useless classes" and "data dictatorships". The current context also highlights the urgency of radical educational innovations, transforming lifelong learning through new radical pedagogies and AI to enable individuals and societies to adapt and thrive in a constantly changing world. This landscape profoundly necessitates critical inquiry and participatory engagement, actively fostering civic discourse and collective problem-solving, including discussions on ensuring robust societal resilience and preparedness in an unpredictable world.

Finally, it re-imagines coexistence by embracing a "more-than-human" perspective that acknowledges the agency of all entities—humans, animals, plants, and AI—to foster justice, well-being, and caring relationships through multispecies interaction design. Ultimately, the conference seeks to inspire collective action and responsible innovation, transforming dialogue into a catalyst for shaping shared, adaptable, and inclusive futures.

Program

October 8, 2025

Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas

9:00

Wetland.Games

Gediminas & Nomeda Urbonas (MIT Climate Visions)
Raphaël Mathevet (French National Centre for Scientific Research)
Registration is closed

Wetland.Games is a role-playing game that enacts wetlands as a system of collective intelligence, where human and non-human actors navigate ecological, social, and material interdependencies through negotiation, diplomacy, and embodied experimentation.

DAY 1 – October 9, 2025

The main stage - Vilnius University Life Sciences Center, Saulėtekio av. 7, R106 aud., Vilnius
The second stage - Vilnius University Library, Saulėtekio av. 5, Conference hall, Vilnius

8:30	Vilnius University Life Sciences Center, Saulėtekio av. 7, R106 aud., Vilnius Registration
9:00	Opening Ceremony Welcome Addresses: H.E. Gitanas Nausėda, President of the Republic of Lithuania \| Speech to be delivered by Advisor to the President of the Republic of Lithuania Mr. Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space \| Delivering a video address Ms. Audra Plepytė, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ineta Dabašinskienė, Rector of Vytautas Magnus University Prof. Dr. (HP) Gintaras Valušis, Vice-Rector of Vilnius University Dr. Duane Boning, Vice Provost of MIT Dr. Gintaras Valinčius, Chairman of the Research Council of Lithuania
9:30	Keynote Address Innovation in Energy Systems Prof. Dr. Jessika Trancik \| MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
10:00	Vilnius University Life Sciences Center, Saulėtekio av. 7, R106 aud., Vilnius Session 1. From Sensing to Resilience Building Livable Cities for Human and More-than-human Futures 10:00 Green Mobility City. Tools for Modeling Built Environments at the Pedestrian Scale. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Andres Sevtsuk \| Charles and Ann Spaulding Associate Professor of Urban Science and Planning; Director of the City Form Lab, Head of the City Design and Development Group, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, MIT 10:30 Climate-Resilient Communities: Interconnected Systems of Different Scales Dr. Sergey Paltsev \| Deputy Director of the MIT Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy, a Senior Research Scientist at MIT Energy Initiative 11:00 Landscape Urbanism for the Nature-Based Future Dr. Gintaras Stauskis \| Vilnius Gediminas Technical University 11:20 Nature-Inspired City Stability: What the Maps Reveal Dr. Kęstutis Zaleckis \| Vilnius Academy of Arts	10:00	Vilnius University Library, Saulėtekio av. 5, Conference hall, Vilnius Session 2. Factories of the Future: From Quantum Precision to Advanced Materials 10:00 The Autonomous Factory: How Data, Digital Twins, and Real-Time Control Are Revolutionizing Manufacturing Prof. Dr. Brian Anthony \| Associate Director at MIT.nano, Director of Advanced Manufacturing and Design Program 10:30 Quantum computing and sensing with superconducting circuits Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kevin P. O’Brien \| Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT 11:00 Quantum technologies with ultracold atoms Prof. Dr. Gediminas Juzeliūnas \| Vilnius University 11:20 Advanced Organic Molecules for Next Generation Solar Cells Dr. Artiom Magomedov \| Kaunas University of Technology
11:40	Panel Discussion Moderator: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jūratė Tutlytė \| Vytautas Magnus University, Vilnius Academy of Arts Panelists: Vytautas Bitinas, LTG Assoc. Prof. Dr. Andres Sevtsuk, MIT Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ieva Misiūnė, Vilnius University Prof. Dr. Andrius Jurelionis, Kaunas University of Technology Prof. Dr. Darius Milčius, Vytautas Magnus University Prof. habil. Dr. Antanas Čenys, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University	11:40	Panel Discussion Moderator: Dr. Mažena Mackoit-Sinkevičienė \| Vilnius University Panelists: Evaldas Pabrėža, Integrated Optics Irina Nikitina, Staticus Prof. Brian Anthony, MIT Prof. Dr. Mangirdas Malinauskas, Vilnius University Dr. Rolandas Paulauskas, Lithuanian Energy Institute Prof. Dr. Sigitas Tamulevičius, Kaunas University of Technology
12:40	Lunch Break
14:00	Session 4. The Future of DSR (Defence, Security, and Resilience) 14:00 Dual Use as a National Development Strategy Gene Keselman \| MIT Sloan School of Management, Executive Director of the MIT Mission Innovation Experimental (MIx), Managing Director of MIT’s venture studio, Proto Ventures, The Reagan Institute’s National Security Industrial Base Advisory Board 14:30 Adversarial Intelligence and the Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Cybersecurity Prof. Dr. Una May O’Reilly \| Senior Research Scientist at MIT CSAIL 15:00 Intelligent Defense: How University Research Strengthens Trust in the Digital Domain Dr. Šarūnas Grigaliūnas \| Kaunas University of Technology 15:20 Cognitive OSINT: Harnessing Next-Gen AI for Hybrid Threat Foresight Paulius Vaitkevičius \| NOVIAN 15:40 Panel Discussion Moderator: Prof. Dr. Antanas Čenys, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University Panelists: Paulius Nezabitauskas, Tech-Park Kaunas Gene Keselman, MIT Prof. Dr. Una May O’Reilly, MIT Colonel Linas Idzelis, Commander of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union Gediminas Šečkus, LTG Dr. Linas Bukauskas, Vilnius University	14:00	Session 3. Harnessing Synthetic Biology and Genomics for Biological Responses to Climate Change and Future Health In partnership with Northway Biotech *14:00* Biomolecular engineering in service of human health Dr. Hadley Sikes \| Willard Henry Dow Professor in Chemical Engineering, MIT 14:30 Mechanism of action of the SPARDA prokaryotic defense system Dr. Mindaugas Zaremba \| Vilnius University 15:00 Crops by design: how genomics and phenotyping advance progress in agri-food Dr. Gintaras Brazauskas \| Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry 15:30 Panel Discussion Moderator: Agnė Vaitkevičienė \| Lithuanian Biotechnology Association Panelists: Hadley Sikes, MIT Dr. Vidmantas Bendokas, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Assoc. prof. dr. Viktorija Vaštakaitė-Kairienė, Vytautas Magnus University Research professor dr. Gytis Dudas, Vilnius University Prof. Dr. Naglis Malys, Kaunas University of Technology
16:30	Vilnius University Life Sciences Center, Saulėtekio al. 7-R106, Vilnius Closing Remarks: The Human Impact of Innovation: Addressing Polarization and Societal Shifts Participants: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Viktoras Bachmetjevas (Vytautas Magnus University), Dr. Aldis Gedutis (Klaipėda University), Prof. Dr. Jessika Trancik (MIT), Prof. Gediminas Urbonas (MIT), Prof. Dr. Jurgita Verbickienė (Vilnius University)

DAY 2 – October 10, 2025

Vytautas Magnus University - V. Putvinskio str. 23, Kaunas

8:30	Registration
9:05 9:10	Welcome Address Dr. Ineta Dabašinskienė, Rector of Vytautas Magnus University Welcome Address by Duane Boning \| Vice Provost, MIT
9:30	Vytautas Magnus University, Putvinskio str. 23-106, Kaunas Keynote MIT Policy Lab: A Model for Academic Engagement in Public Policy Dr. Drew Story \| Managing Director of MIT’s Policy Lab
10:00	Vytautas Magnus University, Putvinskio str. 23-106, Kaunas Session 1. Unlocking Minds: Radical Innovations in Learning for a Changing World 10:00 Art, AI, and Reflective Learning Prof. Dr. Fox Harrell \| Professor of Digital Media and Artificial Intelligence in the Comparative Media Studies Program and Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT 10:30 Academic Freedom in the Age of AI and EdTech Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aušrinė Pasvenskienė, Prof. Dr. Tomas Berkmanas \| Vytautas Magnus University 11:00 Digital Mirrors & Smart Maps: AI for Competency Reflection and Learning Navigation Dr. Simona Ramanauskaitė \| Vilnius Gediminas Technical University	10:00	Vytautas Magnus University, Putvinskio str. 23-103, Kaunas Session 2. The Multifaceted Nature of Intelligens in the Age of Digitalization 10:00 Intelligent Governance Ahead? Enlightening Governance in the Digital Age of Multiple Intelligence Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jurga Bučaitė-Vilkė, Prof. Dr. Eran-Vigoda-Gadot \| Vytautas Magnus University 10:30 Generative AI: a Common Denominator for Knowledge. How Does This Change Our Understanding of Growth? Dr. Vaidotas Zemlys-Balevičius \| Euromonitor International 11:00 Reading Between the Lines: Using Language Models to Amplify Human Data in Robot Learning Assoc. Prof. Dr. Andreea Bobu \| Assistant Professor, MIT AeroAstro and CSAIL, Head of the Collaborative Learning and Autonomy Research Lab (CLEAR Lab)
11:30	Panel Discussion Moderator: Prof. Dr. Kristupas Sabolius, Vilnius University (Post)Authoritarian Landscapes Research CenterPanelists: Dr. Živilė Skibarkienė, Ignitis Group Irena Jankutė-Balkūnė, LTG Prof. Dr. Fox Harrell, MIT Dr. Osvaldas Stripeikis, VMU Minded Dr. Asta Daunorienė, KTU EduLab Dr. Paulius Jurčys, Vilnius University	11:30	Panel Discussion Moderator: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jurga Bučaitė-Vilkė, Vytautas Magnus University Panelists: Dr. Algimantas Černiauskas, IBM Client Innovation Center Baltic Karolis Mirinavičius, Ignitis Group Paulius Vaitkevičius, NOVIAN Prof. Dr. Monika Petraitė, Kaunas University of Technology Prof. Dr. Artūras Serackis, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University
12:30	Lunch
	Vytautas Magnus University, Putvinskio str. 23-106, Kaunas
13:30	Playing with perspectives: serious games and the voices of humans and animals in environmental governance Dr. Raphaël Mathevet \| CNRS Research Director at CEFE; University of Montpellier and Director of Studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études; Paris Sciences & Lettres University (PSL)