S-AI-REN Soundings

This is an interdisciplinary hybrid seminar series aiming to cover relevant areas of societal, legal, political implications of AI technology, mainly with a focus on applications in the field of biomedical studies / health.

All in-person seminars will meet in the Fairlie Room in the Main Campus Library from 12noon-1pm.

July 2nd - Professor Tamar Sharon

Join us for this seminar with Tamar Sharon, Professor at the Interdisciplinary Hub for Digitalization and Society at Radboud University. This will be an online seminar and you can join us through the link below.

July 2nd – Professor Tamar Sharon

Public sector digitalisation: Safeguarding the autonomy and integrity of spheres

Societies worldwide are undergoing digital transitions. Digitalization is expected to contribute to economic growth, sustainable infrastructures and societal wellbeing. In many public sectors this is leading to a “digital first” mindset. But public sector digitalization brings with it important risks. First, the growing dependency of society on services and infrastructure provided by Big Tech can lead to aloss of autonomy and democratic oversight of sectors responsible for the delivery of basic public goods, like healthcare, education and public services. Second, the values that digitalization brings with it, such as increased efficiency, convenience and personalization, often conflict with the core values that have traditionally organized public sectors and that underpin notions of, e.g. good healthcare, good education and good public service. This can lead to a marginalization of these values and a loss of integrity of public sectors. In this talk I propose a sphere-centric theory of justice that seeks to safeguard the autonomy and integrity of public sectors in the digital transition. 

Tamar Sharon is Professor of Philosophy, Digitalization and Society at Radboud University in the Netherlands, where she co-directs the Interdisciplinary Hub for Digitalization and Society (iHub).Tamar is a member of the European Commission’s European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) and the Royal Netherlands Academy for Arts and Sciences. 

July 9th - Dr Michael Hicks

Join us for this seminar with Michael Hicks, philosopher of science and technology at the University of Glasgow. This will be an in-person seminar, but you can join us online through the link below.

September 3 - Joe Slater

Join us for this seminar with Joe Slater, Fellow at the Centre for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs (CEPPA) at Glasgow University. This will be an in-person seminar but you can join us online through the link below.

September 17 - Matt Jope

Join us for this seminar with Matt Jope, Lecturer in Philosophy at Glasgow University. This will be an in-person seminar, but you can join us online through the link below.