On June 5, Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) wrapped up its three-day Budapest Summit on Technology and Society, with more than 60 distinguished speakers from over 20 countries. The focus of the conference was on the latest technological currents, asking how free societies can harness innovation without surrendering the foundations of faith, family, and national identity.
Zoltán Szalai, Director General of MCC, reminded attendees that any authentic response to today’s digital challenges must reckon “with the perspective of our soul and psyche.” Echoing this call, Balázs Orbán, Chairman of MCC’s Board of Trustees, warned
Technology can easily overwhelm humans, which is why self-discipline is needed in its development.”
Among the distinguished speakers were technology expert Norman Lewis, Ján Figeľ, former EU Commissioner, psychologist and Nieuw Rechts editor Daniel De Liever, and Mark Bauerlein, editor at First Things.
Daniel De Liever and Mark Bauerlein condemned the corrosive effect of social media on children. De Liever cautioned that social media offers teens “a superficial sense of friendship,” but not genuine communion, while Mark Bauerlein urged a ban for users under 16.
The speakers agreed that, as Ján Figeľ l put it, “creativity and innovation must be anchored in these enduring principles,” as without them, “democracy risks devolving into anarchy.” It was also stressed that, in the words of Norman Lewis, tech is “brought to life and shaped by human intention,” as it is not an autonomous force.
The scholars also shared the opinion that the answer is not to reject AI, but to govern it, placing technology in service of distinctly human ends.
Spread across 14 venues in Budapest and MCC’s regional centers, the summit advanced MCC’s goal of democratizing knowledge and re-centering human judgment in the digital age, reaffirming that technology must remain a servant, never a master, of communities rooted in faith, tradition, and the common good.
