Panel of Distinguished AI Experts Discuss Challenges of AI Regulation with the Honorable Ro Khanna; Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, March 27, 2024

Ann Skeet, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University ; Panel of Distinguished AI Experts Discuss Challenges of AI Regulation with the Honorable Ro Khanna

"Leadership takes many forms, and often the most important thing leaders can do is listen. The Institute for Technology Ethics and Culture at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and the Santa Clara School of Law hosted a roundtable discussion on March 18, 2024, with Congressman Ro Khanna and leaders from industry, civil society, and academia. Congressman Khanna wanted to hear from experts in his district to inform his thinking about AI regulation. I was honored to moderate the discussion.

Opinions were as diverse as the group bringing them forward. It was observed that many of us are used to speaking so frequently with those in our own field that the chance to connect with those in other areas reveals sharp differences in perspective. Several participants felt, for example, that deepfakes are not something to be too concerned about since they are easily identifiable, whereas others felt there are still many people who struggle to identify them.  People are often confused by false images or voices and as technology advances, this confusion will only deepen."

An Upcoming Webinar on AR/VR, Ethics, and Law; Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, Thursday, March 10, 2022 12 Noon PST/3 PM EST

Irina Raicu, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University; An Upcoming Webinar on AR/VR, Ethics, and Law

Thursday, March 10, 2022 12 Noon PST/3 PM EST

"Irina Raicu is the director of the Internet Ethics program (@IEthics) at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Views are her own.

On Thursday, March 10, we will be hosting an online webinar titled “Virtual Reality, Real Virtues, and Augmented Norms and Laws.” It’s not too late to register and add your questions to this conversation about ethical and legal issues associated with the widening adoption of VR and AR technology!

The panelists presenting will be attorney Brittan Heller—who advises companies on issues such as privacy, content moderation, online harassment, and civic engagement; was the founding director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Technology and Society; and previously worked for the International Criminal Court and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division—and Erick Ramirez, who is an associate professor in Santa Clara University’s Philosophy department, a co-creator of VR analogs of well-known philosophical thought experiments, and the author of a recently published textbook titled The Ethics of Virtual and Augmented Reality: Building Worlds.

The event is part of Santa Clara University’s “IT, Ethics, and Law” lecture series, which is co-sponsored by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and the High Tech Law Institute. (Please join our Internet/Technology ethics mailing list if you’d like to be notified of future events in the series.)

For a preview of some of the issues likely to be mentioned in our conversation, see Heller’s 2020 report titled “Reimagining Reality: Human Rights and Immersive Technology,” and Ramirez’s “It’s Dangerous to Think Virtual Reality Is an Empathy Machine.”

Whether or not VR and AR can serve as “empathy machines,” constitute “the future of corporate training,” create new “kids' issues,” require new standards of privacy protection, or do all of the above and more, they are bound to require careful analysis and ongoing conversations."