Lauren Celenza
Lauren Celenza is a software designer and writer examining the systems and stories shaping our lives, with work featured in Fast Company, Forbes, and The New York Times. From making millions of places and routes visible in Google Maps, to generating over $90 million in tax refunds in the US, to advancing global land restoration, she translates intricate systems into stories and experiences that move people and money, bringing clarity to complexity at Google, Adobe, Code for America, and the World Resources Institute. She has taught design and storytelling to tech makers in over 40 countries, advocating for technology that preserves human agency.
She also writes Tech Without Losing Your Soul, a sharp newsletter and interview series, blending personal essay and reporting to examine tech’s power, burnout culture, and how to live and build with AI without surrendering our humanity or sense of reality.
Talk: Living Through an AI Takeover Without Losing Your Soul
As AI reshapes work and creativity, the question that haunts us isn’t what AI can do, but what it’s leaving us to figure out about ourselves.
In this talk, Lauren makes the case that the designers, engineers, and leaders who will stand apart in the age of AI are not the ones who prompt the best, but those who bring taste, intention, community, and genuine humanity to everything they touch.
Through real-world case studies, sharp provocations, and an honest reckoning with how AI is reshaping our industry, economy, and environment, this talk offers a practical framework for reclaiming your creative soul and your strategic value.
