Transformations of the Human (ToftH) Graduates From the Berggruen Institute and Launches Tofth School

The former Transformations of the Human (ToftH) program at the Berggruen Institute has graduated! The program has become its own independent nonprofit organization aimed at bringing philosophy, art, and technology together in a single framework. Comprised of research and project work with technology firms, a school and a publication arm, ToftH launched its official website and welcomed its first cohort of students on December 1, 2021.

“At present, a concern for philosophical stakes is absent from technology research and development.

The effect is that tech companies disrupt the concepts we live by without noticing the creative potential: the consequence is a missed opportunity to build products and processes that positively shape the new.

ToftH’s mission is to change that.”

The inaugural cohort will participate in a seven-month one-of-a-kind experimental curriculum and will receive $40,000 each to contemplate the intersection of philosophy, art, and technology. External faculty and guest lecturers include Benjamin Bratton, Eoin Brodie, Hans-Peter Brondmo, Brian Cantwell-Smith, Ian Cheng, Antonio Damasio, Kate Darling, Stephanie Dinkins, Drew Endy, Danny Ferrante, Reid Hoffman, Elaine Hsiao, Yuk Hui, Pierre Huyghe, Yann LeCun, Christian Madsbjerg, Margaret McFall-Ngai, Hartmut Neven, Michael Specter, BenVickers, Liping Zhao, Andrew Zuckerman.

ToftH is headquartered in Southwest Berkeley, CA and is powered by a small but mighty team of research and administrative staff and thankful to its growing list of advisors. In a press release in October, CEO Tobias Rees thanked the Institute for incubating the program since its inception in 2018. With the support of the Berggruen Institute and board member Reid Hoffman, the program is proud to stand on its own organizationally, practically, and financially.