Admission by Waitlist

Join the Waitlist

AI TownSquare's mission is to bridge the gap between AI advancement and societal readiness. Sessions are capped at 25 seats. Waitlist members get first access before any public announcement.

See how a session works
— people already on the list

Sessions happen in cities across the region. We'll reach out when one is confirmed near you. By joining you agree we may email you about sessions — nothing else, and we never share your details.

The Format

One question. Twenty-five people. Sixty minutes. On the record.

AI TownSquare runs a seven-phase civic dialogue protocol. A composed room works a single question to the point of friction, and the disagreement is the output.

25Seats per session
1Question, worked in full
60Minutes, structured
48hTo published Civic Brief
Why Take the Seat

You're not an audience. You're on the record.

A seat at AI TownSquare is sixty minutes of work, not attendance. Here is what the hour asks of you — and what it does with what you say.

The hour, from your chair

01

The question, framed

You're given one live question and the sharpest way to hold it. No keynote, no slides.

02

The trade-offs, in a small group

You work the hard edges with four or five others before the full room reconvenes.

03

Your position, to the room

You put your argument on the table. Disagreement is the point, not a risk.

04

The synthesis, together

You help name what the room actually concluded — and where it split.

What the hour does with it

On the record

Your argument is captured and published in the Civic Brief within 48 hours. Attribution is by your consent; the claim stands either way. You leave a contributor, not an attendee.

In one room

Twenty-four others you would never normally share a table with — regulator beside founder beside academic beside investor. Real friction, no networking floor.

Past the room

Your input becomes a signal in the Societal Readiness Index. The Brief reaches policymakers and institutions. The archive is permanent.

"This isn't conversation for its own sake. It's a civic mechanism for turning dialogue into readiness."
After the Session

Your hour keeps working

The Societal Readiness Index measures how prepared societies are for AI. What the room produces becomes real data in it — and stays on the record long after the session ends.

Within 48 hours

The Civic Brief is published — key themes, tensions, and quotes, on the public record.

Ongoing

Its readiness signals feed the Societal Readiness Index as live diagnostic data.

Annually

Aggregated across nodes, that data informs the global SRI rankings.

Always

Your contribution stays in the public archive — citable, and attributed by your consent.

In the Room — Dubai

Who a composed room looks like

The Dubai Node convened founders, partners, regulators and academics across six sectors. Seats are held for range — sector, seniority, and stance — not for seniority alone.

Facilitated by an independent Civic Catalyst.

What the Room Produced

Dubai Node · CB-DXB-001

"Is AI going to take our jobs — or is that the wrong question entirely?"

01

Accountability Cannot Be Automated

The speed of an AI decision does not change who bears responsibility for it. The room demanded documented decision trails and named accountable parties.

02

The Upskilling Paradox

A direct disagreement over whether an organisation that displaces workers owes them a transition — fiduciary logic against civic logic. Sharpened, not resolved.

03

AI Is Reshaping Cognition, Not Just Employment

A late shift from job displacement to cognitive displacement: sycophantic systems reduce users' willingness to take responsibility. The readiness gap is cognitive too.

"AI is scaling decisions faster than we are scaling accountability. Accountability is the missing link." — Legal consultant, Dubai Node
"If the institution moves faster than its governance, and the citizen moves slower than the institution — who is actually in control?" — Civic Catalyst, closing thesis
Read the full Civic Brief → Download PDF
How Seats Work

Composed, not sold

The waitlist is the front door

There is no public ticket. Every seat is filled from the waitlist, in the order a session forms in each city.

We build the room for range

Sector, seniority, and stance. A room where everyone agrees produces nothing worth publishing.

Your contribution is on the record

What you say in the room becomes part of a public Civic Brief. Personal attribution is by consent; the themes and claims are always published.

Questions

Before you join

Is there a cost?

No. Sessions are free to attend. AI TownSquare is a civic platform, not a commercial event — there is nothing to buy.

In person or virtual?

In person, in a host city, with a livestream. The Dubai Node ran at DIFC, Dubai International Financial Centre.

Is it on the record?

The dialogue produces a published Civic Brief within 48 hours. Themes, tensions and claims are always recorded. Personal attribution is Chatham-House-style — by your consent, name by name.

What's the time commitment?

One 60-minute session, plus a short readiness survey at the end. Preparation is a single question, sent to you in advance.

Who runs this?

AI TownSquare is an independent civic platform. The method is public — see the 7-Phase Protocol — and the standing body is the Readiness Institute.

What is a Civic Brief?

The structured public output of a session — themes, tensions, readiness signals, and recommended actions — submitted to the Societal Readiness Index. Read the Dubai brief.

The Network

Where sessions form next

AI TownSquare launched in Doha in 2024. The Dubai Node published in April 2026. Three more nodes are forming.