Join the Open Lecture Hall "Inventing the Future: Limits of the Human"

Today, technology is penetrating the very fabric of human existence — our bodies, our thinking and even our perception of reality. We have become both the creators and the subjects of these changes. And the faster we move forward, the easier it is to lose touch with what makes us human. How can we remain human in an age of rapid technological change? This question will be explored on 26 September at the National Centre RUSSIA during the Open Lecture Hall "Inventing the Future", within the thematic track "Limits of the Human". Registration is now open to everyone on the website russia.ru.

The thematic track "Inventing the Future: Limits of the Human" will address a key question: can progress expand human capabilities while preserving our ability to create, feel, choose and remain ourselves? Participants in the Lecture Hall can look forward to a packed programme featuring three thematic blocks, leading experts from different countries and an interactive illusionist show, which will continue the conversation about the boundaries of human perception through the power of wonder.

The first block, "The Creating Human", will explore how the accelerating pace of the world is increasing anxiety, further intensified by the virtual environment. The response to stress and destruction is creativity. When we share it with others, it gives us greater strength. Anetta Orlova, psychologist, Candidate of Sociological Sciences, author of books on psychology and business coach, and Amirrudin Kamsin, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Computer Systems and Technology at the University of Malaya (Malaysia), will discuss how to recognise overload in time, shape our own approach to interacting with the digital environment and find sources of support that help us preserve the strength to create and move forward.

The second block, "The Thinking Human", will focus on the ability to think and be self-aware — qualities that have always been considered the defining difference between humans, animals and machines. It is the humans who create meanings that cannot be reduced to computation. But today, we have a new tool. Algorithms and artificial intelligence are taking on an increasing amount of work, including intellectual tasks, and are gradually entering processes we have always considered our own. What abilities should we develop now to ensure that humans remain the authors of meaning, while machines and algorithms remain our tools? The central speaker of the block, Suzana Herculano-Houzel, Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Comparative Neurology and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Vanderbilt University (USA), will share her perspective.

The third block, "Homo Sapiens or Homo Technologicus", will examine how neural interfaces, bionic prosthetics and exoskeletons are already blurring the line between the human body and technology. What norms and values can help us avoid crossing the line? This will be discussed by Mikhail Lebedev, Professor at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Chief Researcher and Head of the Laboratory of Neurotechnologies at the Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Rómulo Fuentes Flores, Professor at the Department of Neuroscience at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Chile.

The atmosphere of the future will be further enhanced by a performance by illusionists, whose art is built on the imperfections of human perception. We do not notice every detail and construct parts of the picture ourselves. Their illusions will remind us that it is our ability to be amazed that, in part, keeps us human. 

The Open Lecture Hall "Inventing the Future" is an original project of the National Centre RUSSIA, which premiered on 7 February 2026. The event brings together experts from different countries to jointly explore positive scenarios for the future and maintain dialogue with the global professional community across different areas of society. The Lecture Hall develops the ideas of the International Symposium "Inventing the Future", dedicated to scenarios for tomorrow that bring together key areas of human development — from culture and creativity to science and technology.

Join the conversation about what tomorrow will look like. Places at the Lecture Hall are limited, so do not delay your registration.