Pauwels to Deliver 2018 Vivian Weil Lecture on Artificial Intelligence

Pauwels to Deliver 2018 Vivian Weil Lecture on Artificial Intelligence

The Vivian Weil Lecture is held to honor the memory of Dr. Vivian Weil, Professor of Philosophy and former director of the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Dr. Weil was a founding member of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE), served on the APPE Executive Board (Committee), and as APPE Executive Board Chair for twenty years (1990 – 2013). Dr. Weil had a broad spectrum of research interests and was a pioneer in the field of engineering ethics.

For this year’s Vivian Weil Lecture, please join us for a presentation by Eleonore Pauwels:

Eleonore Pauwels is the Director of the AI Lab with the Science and Technology Innovation Program at the Wilson Center. She is a writer and international science policy expert, who specializes in the governance and democratization of converging technologies. Leading the AI Lab, Pauwels analyzes and compares how transformative technologies, such as artificial intelligence and genome-editing, raise new opportunities and challenges for health, security, economics and governance in different geo-political contexts. She analyzes the promises and perils that will likely arise with the development of AI civil and military technologies, the Internet of Living Things and future networks of intelligent and connected bio-labs. Below is a snapshot of Pauwels’ Vivian Weil Lecture.

Artificial Intelligence and Converging Technologies: Promises and Perils in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the verge of invading every major industry. It will ensure our cities run efficiently and our every desire is met. In the lab, AI systems already help decipher the secrets inside our genomes. In its narrow intelligent form, AI is also enhancing our cars, smartphones, search engines, and personal assistants; on the sidewalks, assisting in city surveillance, traffic monitoring, and predictive policing – the list is extensive and growing.

Yet, AI technologies won’t just be geared towards individual consumers. Governments and military forces will reap significant benefits from the proliferation of AI to connect information superiority with economic and military power. Pauwels’ talk provides a deep dive into the privacy and security issues, the ethical and legal quandaries, raised by our virtual intelligent futures. AI could revolutionize how humanity copes with complex socio-technical problems, from decoding our genomes to optimizing our cities, transforming human experience for the better. But the technology could also radically alter our notions of privacy and offer corporations, hackers, or governments new ways to exploit, manipulate, and oppress people.

This Vivian Weil Lecture will take place on March 1st, 2018, at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and will open the annual meeting of the American Association for Practical and Professional Ethics(APPE).

Here is the 2018 APPE Conference website: http://appe-ethics.org/timetable/event/2018-vivian-weil-lecture/

APPE Conference Registration page: http://appe-ethics.org/annual-international-conference-registration/

Introduction by Elisabeth Hildt