Vibe with AI Salon Launches at Benedictine University to Explore What Still Requires Human Judgment in an AI Age

Lisle, Illinois | January 27, 2026
A new kind of AI conversation is coming to Chicagoland.
On Tuesday, January 27, Benedictine University will host the inaugural Vibe with AI Salon: More Human, an in-person gathering designed to slow down the AI conversation and return it to shared human sense-making. The salon steps away from traditional keynotes, panels, and demos in favor of something increasingly rare: people thinking together in the same room.
This is not an event about tools or tactics. It is about how artificial intelligence is actually showing up in real work, judgment, culture, and decision-making, and what still requires human discernment.
The salon will feature short framing remarks, five-minute Human Shares from participants, and guided conversation. There are no slides and no performances. The intent is clarity, not affirmation.
"AI is moving faster than our ability to make sense of it," said Arthur Zards, creator of Vibe with AI. "When understanding lags behind adoption, people default to fear, hype, or imitation. This salon is designed to interrupt that pattern and restore human judgment as a collective act."
Zards is an early internet pioneer and startup founder and the founding curator of TEDxNaperville, one of the longest-running TEDx events in the Midwest. That experience informs the salon's design, bringing TED and TEDx sensibilities around ideas worth sharing into a format centered on dialogue, reflection, and meaning rather than performance.
Joining Zards is Phillip Hardy, Director of Innovation and Strategic Partnerships at Benedictine University and longtime political science professor whose work examines human behavior, mass communications, civic belief formation, and the intersection of culture and public life.
The salon also features Jose DeFrancisco, an award-winning technology executive and design innovator. A Bell Labs Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, DeFrancisco is a pioneer in Human-Scale AI with experience spanning startups, Fortune 500 corporations, and global innovation forums.
Attendance is intentionally limited. The event is free, but registration is required.
Event Details
Vibe with AI Salon: More Human
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
6:30-8:00 PM
Daniel Goodwin Hall of Business
Benedictine University, Lisle, Illinois
Registration:
https://tedxnaperville.ticketspice.com/vibe-with-ai-salon
Sponsors and Partners
This salon is hosted by Benedictine University and supported by Lab Z and Waident Technology Solutions.
About Vibe with AI
Vibe with AI is a salon-based community, keynote platform, and organizational workshop practice focused on helping people understand and work with artificial intelligence in human, meaningful ways.
More information:
https://vibewith.ai/
Media Contact
Arthur Zards
zards@labz.io

Arthur Zards
861 Tulip Lane
Naperville, IL 60540

Vibe with AI is a salon-based community, keynote platform, and organizational workshop practice focused on helping people understand and work with artificial intelligence in human, meaningful ways.

This release was published on openPR.