Steven Rosenbaum

Steven Rosenbaum is an Emmy Award–winning creator and civic innovator whose work confronts a defining problem of our era: truth is becoming unstable. His forthcoming book, "The Future of Truth," explores how synthetic media, artificial intelligence, and weakened institutions are reshaping what people believe and who they trust. Drawing on conversations with philosophers, technologists, policymakers, and Gen Z leaders, Rosenbaum asks whether societies can rebuild shared meaning before machines decide what is real for us. He leads the Sustainable Media Center, where he works with researchers, advocates, and youth movements to build healthier digital systems. His initiatives include Actv8.Media, a next-generation incubator for safer platforms, and a national effort to measure social intelligence as a way to hold technology companies accountable. Rosenbaum speaks frequently at TED, Davos, SXSW, CGI and many civic forums, helping audiences understand how AI intersects with identity, agency, and democratic life. He holds a master’s degree from NYU’s Gallatin School, where he studied narrative and the nature of truth.

Rosenbaum’s approach to truth is shaped by a career spent building platforms for public voice. He created "MTV News: Unfiltered," one of the earliest national formats for citizen storytelling, and pioneered large-scale archives of civic footage that are now held by the New York Public Library. His work in participatory media has earned multiple patents, and he was named a Science Journalism Laureate at Purdue University. These experiences reinforced a core belief that truth is not theoretical. It must be gathered, protected, and returned to the public domain.

His earlier books, "Curation Nation" and "Curate This!," examined how digital life redistributed authority. With "The Future of Truth," he extends that inquiry into the AI era, tracing what happens when participation alone cannot guarantee accuracy and when systems generate certainty without comprehension. Rather than accepting collapse as destiny, Rosenbaum elevates the people rebuilding civic trust—young leaders designing safer social platforms, researchers exposing harm, and policymakers testing new accountability frameworks.

Across his work, Rosenbaum frames truth as civic infrastructure, not just an information problem. It requires agency, design, and a cultural willingness to protect what is real. His writing, talks, and programs all return to one proposition: if we want a future where human judgment matters, we must build it.