As artificial intelligence continues to advance, we are being asked to reconsider what we mean by intelligence—and, more importantly, what we mean by being human. If thinking is no longer ours alone, then perhaps loving was never meant to be optional. Perhaps it has always been the highest expression of who we are. In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, our humanity will not be measured by how closely we resemble machines, but by how fully we live out what machines cannot: compassion, kindness, mercy, gratitude, and a genuine responsibility for one another.

On a spring evening at SMU, Utah Governor Spencer Cox and First Lady Abby Palmer Cox joined a Dallas audience for something increasingly rare in public life—not a debate to be won, but a conversation to be held. As part of The Good City™ Distinguished Voices Speaker Series, the evening explored what it means to disagree without dividing, to listen with intention, and to rebuild the habits of community in a fractured age. Grounded in Cox’s “Disagree Better” initiative and Abby Cox’s call to “show up,” the conversation offered a hopeful reminder: the work of healing civic life begins not in Washington, but in our neighborhoods, our relationships, and the choices we make every day.

In a week dominated by AI and media innovation, the clearest insight was this: the most powerful stories are still told face to face. Technology can amplify content, but it cannot replace the moment when truth is shared and recognized. In a world flooded with information, what people seek is not more content—but real connection.

There are moments when a city is called not to accelerate, but to reflect—on who it is and who it is becoming. Thanks-Giving Square has long embodied that pause, reminding Dallas that gratitude is not just personal, but civic. On May 7, the National Day of Prayer Luncheon brings that idea to life—offering a shared moment to gather, reflect, and reconnect with the values that hold a community together.

Join Thanks-Giving Square for a special evening with Utah Governor Spencer Cox on Monday, March 30, at 7:00 PM at SMU’s Crum Auditorium.

In recent years, we have heard much about emotional intelligence and social intelligence. We have learned the value of self-awareness, empathy, collaboration, and communication. These capacities matter. They make us better colleagues, neighbors, and leaders. But I have come to believe that Dallas—and our country—needs something deeper as well.

Dallas is a good city. I say that not as a slogan, but as a lived experience. I have seen it in airport waiting lines, DART trains, school auditoriums, in small businesses and big-hearted neighbors, in quiet acts of decency that never make the news. Dallas is vibrant, complicated, imperfect—and deeply, stubbornly good.