A Transformative Lecture Series
Charting The Future Of Artificial Intelligence
PRESENTING PARTNER
FOUNDING PARTNERS
EVENING SPONSOR
NOVEMBER 9–11, 2026 · 6:00–7:30 P.M. · DOORS OPEN 5:30 P.M. · JOHN W. H. BASSETT THEATRE · TORONTO
ABOUT THE SERIES
The Hinton Lectures explore the risks, revelations, and revolutionary solutions shaping tomorrow's world. Hosted by Professor Geoffrey Hinton, Nobel laureate, the series brings the world's leading AI safety researchers to a public audience over three consecutive evenings.
The 2026 edition takes place at the John W.H. Bassett Theatre in downtown Toronto, in person and online. Each night pairs a keynote lecture with a moderated conversation. The closing night ends with a networking reception.
The Hinton Lectures are ticketed. Each night requires its own ticket. Online registration only; no tickets will be sold at the door.
All times Eastern (Toronto).
6pm – 7:30pm
6pm
–7:30pm
Doors Open 5:30 p.m.
The opening lecture examines AI alignment through the evidence we have today: where existing approaches appear to be working, where they are falling short and what remains unresolved.
J.W.H. Bassett Theatre · Public lecture
Professor Geoffrey Hinton
Paul Christiano
Sínead BovellAll times Eastern (Toronto).
6pm – 7:30pm
6pm
–7:30pm
Doors Open 5:30 p.m.
The second lecture turns to oversight and the challenge of maintaining meaningful control as AI systems become increasingly capable and able to improve their own performance.
J.W.H. Bassett Theatre
Professor Geoffrey HintonPaul ChristianoSínead BovellAll times Eastern (Toronto).
6pm – 7:30pm
6pm
–7:30pm
Doors Open 5:30 p.m.
The final lecture examines coordination and governance, asking what will be required to manage transformative AI responsibly as its capabilities and implications extend beyond any single organization or institution.
J.W.H. Bassett Theatre
Professor Geoffrey HintonPaul ChristianoSínead BovellSPEAKERS
HOST
Nobel laureate in Physics, 2024
Considered the "Godfather of AI," Geoffrey Hinton is a distinguished British-Canadian computer scientist and cognitive psychologist celebrated for his groundbreaking work in artificial neural networks. He has held pivotal roles at Google and the University of Toronto, with over 800,000 citations and collaborations with the most influential minds in AI. In 2024, Professor Hinton was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics. His career continues to be a relentless pursuit of innovation and excellence in the field. Professor Hinton is a co-founder of the AI Safety Foundation (host of The Hinton Lectures), where he also serves on the Nominating Committee for the annual lecture series alongside Beth Barnes, Founder & CEO of METR; Roger Grosse, Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society; and, Shane Legg, co-founder and Chief AGI Scientist at Google DeepMind.
LECTURER
Executive Director and Founder, Alignment Research Center
Paul Christiano is a researcher in AI alignment who has led teams across industry, government and civil society. He is the founder and executive director of the Alignment Research Center, where he leads research on white-box analysis of neural networks. He was previously the technical director of the US AI Safety Institute, focused on building technical capacity for AI evaluation within the U.S. government. Before that he was an early researcher at OpenAI, where he developed reinforcement learning from human feedback and led a team scaling it up to production environments. He has been writing and speaking about alignment for more than a decade and received his PhD from UC Berkeley. On September 9, 2026 Paul also joined the OpenAI Foundation Board and the Safety and Security Committee (SSC) of the OpenAI Foundation.
MODERATOR
Strategic Foresight Advisor and Founder, WAYE
Sínead Bovell is a futurist and strategic foresight advisor whose work examines how emerging technologies reshape the systems and institutions that underpin society. She advises senior leaders across business, government and multilateral institutions on making anticipatory decisions that strengthen institutional and societal resilience. Through her writing and public talks, podcast I’ve Got Questions, and technology education initiative WAYE, she works to broaden public understanding of technological change and its implications for society. Sínead is a 14-time speaker at the United Nations and has delivered keynotes and formal addresses to presidents, royalty, NATO and Fortune 500 leaders on the societal and strategic implications of emerging technologies.
VENUE
The John W.H. Bassett Theatre is located inside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto. Enter through the North Building at 255 Front Street West, where the theatre is located. Signs within the building will direct you to the theatre.
The Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the John W.H. Bassett Theatre are fully accessible, with ramps and elevators for those requiring assistance.