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Hostačov across the lake in autumn
The PhiAI Retreat · Hostačov · Czech Republic

Unfolding Intelligences

Fri 13 – Sun 15 November 2026A château in the Czech Highlands25 places

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A few days away from screens and feeds to do what PhiAI does on the page, but in person: think carefully about AI and what it means for how we live.

Dates
13–15 Nov 2026
Place
Hostačov, Skryje
From Prague
~70 min
Places
25
01The theme

Unfolding
Intelligences

Just like a forest is more than a collection of trees, a gathering of people is more than the collection of individual presences. Unfolding Intelligences is about what lives in that in-between, and this weekend is an invitation to let it happen.

Our guiding principles for the three days
  1. 01Be present
  2. 02Be mindful
  3. 03Be generous
  4. 04Go deep

Structured enough to go somewhere, open enough to surprise you.

Over the weekend
Guided conversationsWriting & reflectionMorning yogaWalks in the groundsMusic in the forestLong tables, shared meals
02The shape of the days

Three days,
one long
conversation

Fri · 13 Nov

Arrive

  • Arrivals through the afternoon
  • Settle in, walk the grounds
  • Opening circle
  • First dinner at the long table
Sat · 14 Nov

Unfold

  • Morning yoga
  • Guided conversations
  • Time to write, read or walk
  • Music in the forest
Sun · 15 Nov

Gather

  • Morning yoga
  • Closing conversation
  • Lunch together
  • Departures

Detailed times go to confirmed guests.

03The programme

Seven
conversations

Neither a conference, nor a bootcamp, nor a hackathon. An offering to connect and mingle with fellow humans who share an interest in the compelling questions AI poses, seen through the humanities and the social sciences.

Structured sessions
  1. 01De-Googling your lifePractical stepsCamila Lombana Díaz
  2. 02Unlearning AI relianceA writing practiceKarin Garcia
  3. 03Atlas of AIA discussion of how AI is created, trained, marketed and deployed
  4. 04Holding your agents accountableTo be confirmed
  5. 05The path of waterCamila Lombana Díaz
  6. 06Consciousness and randomnessJáchym Fibír
  7. 07AgencyVeronica Zora Kirin
Unstructured
Morning yogaMusic in the forestWalks in the groundsLong tables, shared meals
04Who you’ll live with

Speakers
& host

For three days you co-live with the speakers and the host: same house, same table.

Camila Lombana Díaz

SAP's first AI ethicist and founder of Ayni AI Studio. Named among the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics 2025.

Jáchym Fibír

Psychedelics researcher and AI entrepreneur, prototyping quantum-inspired architectures.

Veronica Zora Kirin

Anthropologist, founder of Asterisk Women's Health and a Forbes NEXT 1,000 entrepreneur.

Karin Garcia

Founding editor of PhiAI, writer and strategist at the meeting point of AI and philosophy. Your host.

05The place

Hostačov

Hostačov began as a medieval castle and was rebuilt as a Renaissance château in the sixteenth century, when one house was expected to hold scholarship, craft, celebration and argument under a single roof. It still does. Twelve hectares of old trees, forest paths and a lake in the Czech Highlands, seventy minutes from Prague by train or car. The people who run it today have made it a home for research retreats and gatherings like ours.

About the house →
RoomsSeventeen en-suite bedrooms, shared between two or three. Private rooms are not guaranteed.
FoodVegetarian, with vegan options. Every meal, taken together.
The houseA library, frescoed rooms, a piano room, long tables. The Wi-Fi is badly behaved, which helps.
Getting thereAbout seventy minutes from Prague. Travel details go out once you are accepted.
The vaulted library at Hostačov
The library
A circle of people under a frescoed ceiling
The frescoed hall
A fire lit in the hearth
Fire
A forest path in the Hostačov grounds
The grounds

Photographs courtesy of Hostačov

06Contribution

Pay what
fits

Minimum
€250
Suggested
€450
IncludedTwo nights in a shared en-suite room
IncludedAll meals, Friday dinner to Sunday lunch
IncludedThe full programme, yoga and music
Not includedTravel to and from Hostačov
07How to apply

Apply,
then we talk

  1. iApply on Luma. A few short questions: who you are, what draws you, how you know PhiAI.
  2. iiWe reply within five days. The PhiAI community comes first; the rest of the places are open.
  3. iiiOnce accepted, you choose your contribution and pay on Luma within seven days.
Timeline
Applications openNow
RepliesWithin 5 days
ArrivalFri 13 Nov
DepartureSun 15 Nov
08Questions

Before
you apply

01Who is it for?

People who want to sit longer with questions about AI and how we live. Priority goes to the PhiAI community — anthology writers, readers and past guests — but you do not need to have written for us, and the remaining places are open to anyone.

02Do I share a room?

Most likely. The house has seventeen en-suite bedrooms shared between two or three people. Tell us on the application if you have a need we should know about.

03How do I get there?

Hostačov is about seventy minutes from Prague. Detailed travel information goes out once you are accepted.

04How does the contribution work?

Pay what fits, from €250. We suggest €450. You pay on Luma once your place is confirmed.

05What if I can no longer come?

Cancel up to seven days before the retreat for a full refund, or up to 48 hours before for half. After that we cannot refund, but you can pass your place to someone else; just let us know who. If we have to cancel, you get everything back.

Hostačov · 13–15 November

We would like
to think with you

Twenty-five places. We read applications as they arrive and reply within five days.

Apply on Luma →

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