TOGETHERArtificial Living Summit
Screens, AI and ultra-processed everything now stand between us and the real world.
01Endless feeds.Drains our energy: keeps us up and still.
02Algorithms choosing what you see.Drains our energy: decides how our day goes.
03Food made in a factory, eaten out of a wrapper.Drains our energy: fuel, but not the real kind.
04AI standing in for people.Drains our energy: less time with each other.
05Days with no sun, no movement, and no friends in the room.Drains our energy: nothing real to run on.
The name for it
A life run on artificial inputs. Screens in place of people. Algorithms in place of choices. Ultra-processed everything in place of real food, real light and real time outside. It did not arrive as one big event. It arrived one convenient thing at a time, and nobody voted for it.
We think young people are growing up inside it with nothing to compare it to. This is not a left problem or a right problem. It is a human one, and it is why we want to put people in a room.
Metabolic health is how well your body turns food, sleep, light and movement into energy, and it is what keeps you feeling alive.
Artificial living wears it down. Metabolic health is how we fight it.
What it costs
Tap each one to see how it drains our energy. Some come with a real number and a link to where it came from. The rest is just what we see.
We think late-night screens cost us sleep, and everything feels harder when you are tired.
Energy Sleep is how our bodies recharge.
24 percent
of US high school students got at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night in 2025.
Source: CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2025 (opens in a new tab)We think a lot of apps are built to keep us looking. We find it harder to look up, finish a book, or stay in a conversation.
Energy Endless scrolling keeps us still, up late and indoors.
1 in 3
teens say they use social media “almost constantly.”
Source: U.S. Surgeon General advisory on social media and youth mental health (opens in a new tab)We think a day spent sitting with a screen leaves very little room to move.
Energy Moving is how our bodies make and use energy.
25 percent
of US high school students were physically active for at least 60 minutes a day, every day of the week, in 2025.
Source: CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2025 (opens in a new tab)We think food that comes in a wrapper and long hours sitting still go hand in hand with the screens.
Energy Food is our body's fuel. We think real food is the fuel it was built for.
67 percent
of the calories US kids and teens (ages 2 to 19) ate in 2017 to 2018 came from ultra-processed foods.
Source: JAMA, Wang et al., 2021 (opens in a new tab)A message is not a conversation. We think time with friends turns into time near them, online, and a full group chat can still feel lonely.
Energy We think time with people is part of what keeps us feeling alive.
No number on this one. This part is just what we see, and we would rather say so than make one up.
We think a screen day that long leaves very little room for the outside.
Energy Daylight is how our bodies know when to wake and when to wind down.
8 hours 39 minutes
a day: what US teens (13 to 18) averaged on entertainment screens in 2021. School and homework screen time is not counted.
Source: Common Sense Media Census 2021 (opens in a new tab)None of this needs a new app. We think it starts with looking up.
The sun is still up. We just stopped looking.
Four things in this room are glowing. Keep scrolling and we will show you each one.
What we want to leave with
What the day looks like
This is a draft outline. It will change. The exact schedule is coming once the date and venue are settled.
Draft outlineCheck in, find a seat, and have the first real conversations of the day.
We will explain why we think this is the problem underneath many other problems, and why metabolic health is how we fight it.
Young people on what it is actually like to grow up inside it, and how it feels in their bodies.
Short talks on screens, AI and what we eat, and what each one does to our energy. No one is confirmed yet.
Time to eat and talk with someone new, away from the phone.
What can change at school, at home and in our own towns, so sleep, movement and real food come first.
Everyone leaves with one thing to do and one thing to ask for.
Speakers
We are inviting people now. No one is confirmed, so we are not going to name anyone until they say yes in writing. We want every talk to come back to one question: what does this do to our energy, and how do we get it back?
Who it is for
You live in it, and you have opinions about it. Come say them to people who will listen.
You are trying to hold a line at home and it feels like you are doing it alone. You are not.
Teachers, clinicians, organizers and anyone already working on screens, food or kids. Bring what you know.
A small group of people asked to share what they have seen. Their names come once they confirm.
Sponsors
Date and place
Washington, DC. Venue to be announced.
The date depends on the venue and on the people we are inviting. If it moves, we will tell everyone on the list first.
Counting down to a tentative date.
Get notified
One short email. No more than that until there is something real to say.