Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is not ‘progress’ for everyone in Medora; North Dakota Monitor, April 30, 2026

JACK ZALESKI, North Dakota Monitor; Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is not ‘progress’ for everyone in Medora

[Kip Currier: This is a thought-provoking article about the Theodore Rosevelt Presidential Library that will open its doors in Medora, North Dakota on America's July 4th 250th anniversary. In the 1990's, on a driving trip from Pennsylvania to California by way of the Interstate 94 northerly route I had never traveled, I visited this area set amid the ruggedly beautiful Theodore Roosevelt National Park. After a day of sightseeing in the park, I also attended the charming outdoors-staged Medora Musical show, mentioned in the piece. I vividly recall seeing a pronghorn antelope calmly walking among the sagebrush not far from the open amphitheater at sunset's twilight as the actors sang and danced on the stage. Medora was a sleepy high plains town then that now appears both excited and nervous about the changes a presidential library are likely to bring for the community and surrounding area.

The author of this article makes an important point about the inherent tensions between "progress" and historical preservation, the ways of life that are changed when communities grow and adapt in ways that benefit some and harm or upset others. I recall visiting Moab, Utah, the doorway to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in 1988 when it was a faded mining town, whose uranium employing-mine had closed in 1984, displacing 25% of the population. Locals in 1988 told me the town had been talking with some firms about how to raise the profile of the town and make it a premiere tourism destination. Some years later, I again visited Moab and was stunned to see how it had changed into a "mountain bike red rock-riding" community with a vibe and look like Aspen or Vail. Yes, progress had occurred. But what had also been lost when the off-the-beaten-path Moab of the 1980's that I had experienced became the well-trodded now-chic Moab of the 1990's? Who had been displaced? What history and voices had been paved over or silenced?

I can't help but think, too, that the debate about "progress" and "ways of life that are being lost or changed" in Medora, North Dakota has resonance for the debates and changes going on right now about AI's "promise and peril" impacts on our communities and world. Yes, there's a sense of excitement about AI by some. But there's also a palpable atmosphere of concern, uncertainty, and even anger among others about these new technologies. And the data captures this polarized AI mood in the U.S., as borne out by Pew Research Center findings.

• Who will benefit from AI?
• Who won't?
• What will be gained from AI and what will be lost?
• Whose voices are we not listening to -- or perhaps even acknowledging -- and need to hear? 
• In what ways will AI "progress" impact both the economic and geographic environments, as in the Medora, North Dakota region?
• What AI structures and safeguards do we need to put into place to provide more balance of stakeholder interests?
• How will AI impact our minds, souls, and physical well-being, in positive and negative ways?

In the vein of this opinion piece about the T.R. Presidential Library, AI is not going to bring "progress" for everyone. So what are we going to do -- or not do -- about that as individuals and societies?

The largest chapter in my Ethics, Information, and Technology book (2025), published by Bloomsbury, is the AI chapter. The book examines a number of thorny AI case studies (e.g. AI used for mental health treatment purposes as well as AI-leveraged data employed by gambling companies), tackles "hot AI ethics topics" like AI and copyright law and the roles of AI and robotics for military purposes, and presents many questions for further consideration and discussion. It also identifies a range of stakeholder perspectives and approaches to these new "disruptive technologies".]

[Excerpt]

"The cheerleading for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library at Medora, N.D., has overwhelmed the muted, but passionate concerns and objections among long-time Badlands residents. Few want to be seen as being against the library and the progress it promises for North Dakota’s premier tourist destination, but their definition of “progress” is not the same as the project’s well-funded advocates. A recent column in a local weekly newspaper reveals the depth of their sense of loss...

That being said, an April 9 column in the Golden Valley News of Beach, N.D., revealed a sense of sadness and loss that has not been sufficiently acknowledged in the hoopla since the library was proposed. Carol Tescher Obrigewitch is no stranger to Medora. She is a member of a ranching and rodeo clan with deep roots in the Badlands. 

The name Tescher is synonymous with the ranching heritage of Little Missouri River country. Her weekly “Merrily Along” is a delightful mix of family, history, and astute and informed observations. So when her column headlined “Progress?” was published, she was writing from the heart about the changes wrought by the library. She’s not happy, and her unhappiness is shared by a lot of long-time Medora citizens who choose not to speak out.

Also, it has not gone unnoticed that of the 18 listed members of the Library Foundation Board of Trustees, only four have roots or residences in North Dakota and only one of the four lives in western North Dakota. 

Here are representative excerpts from Tescher Obrigewitch’s column:

“Medora is definitely not historic anymore. The powers that be have totally removed or rebuilt anything that was historic…

…“In this little town, they have installed roundabouts and made major changes to streets and walkways. They have built hotels, torn down historic places that were there before TR ever thought about coming west…

“…I had to go by the old Custer Trail Ranch, which they tore down. I just closed my eyes. It hurt my heart.

“I believe in preserving history so future generations understand how people once lived.

“…but this ‘progress’ thing has gotten out of hand.”

The columnist’s candor and hurt won’t stop or alter the character of the mega-change under way in Medora. That horse is out of the barn, and (as she says) the “powers that be,” local and otherwise, are too deeply invested to rein it in."

A Dishonesty Expert Stands Accused of Fraud. Scholars Who Worked With Her Are Scrambling.; The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 22, 2023

Stephanie M. Lee and 

Nell Gluckman

, The Chronicle of Higher Education; A Dishonesty Expert Stands Accused of Fraud. Scholars Who Worked With Her Are Scrambling.

"To Maurice Schweitzer, a University of Pennsylvania professor, it seemed logical to team up with Francesca Gino, a rising star at Harvard Business School. They were both fascinated by the unseemly side of human behavior — misleading, cheating, lying in order to profit — and together, they published eight studies over nearly a decade.

Now, Schweitzer wonders if he was the one being deceived."

AI.Humanity Ethics Lecture Series will explore the ethics of artificial intelligence; Emory University, Emory News Center, April 5, 2022

Emory University, Emory News Center; AI.Humanity Ethics Lecture Series will explore the ethics of artificial intelligence

"As society increasingly relies on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, how can ethically committed individuals and institutions articulate values to guide their development and respond to emerging problems? Join the Office of the Provost to explore the ethical implications of AI in a new AI.Humanity Ethics Lecture Series.

Over four weeks in April and May, world-renowned AI scholars will visit Emory to discuss the moral and social complexities of AI and how it may be shaped for the benefit of humanity. A reception will follow each lecture.

Matthias Scheutz: “Moral Robots? How to Make AI Agents Fit for Human Societies” 

Monday, April 11

Lecture at 4 p.m., reception at 5:30 p.m.

Convocation Hall — Community Room (210)

Register here.

AI is different from other technologies in that it enables and creates machines that can perceive the world and act on it autonomously. We are on the verge of creating sentient machines that could significantly improve our lives and better human societies. Yet AI also poses dangers that are ours to mitigate. In this presentation, Scheutz will argue that AI-enabled systems — in particular, autonomous robots — must have moral competence: they need to be aware of human social and moral norms, be able to follow these norms and justify their decisions in ways that humans understand. Throughout the presentation, Scheutz will give examples from his work on AI robots and human-robot interaction to demonstrate a vision for ethical autonomous robots...

Seth Lazar: “The Nature and Justification of Algorithmic Power” 

Monday, April 18

Lecture at 4 p.m., reception at 5:30 p.m.

Convocation Hall — Community Room (210)

Register here.

Algorithms increasingly mediate and govern our social relations. In doing so, they exercise a distinct kind of intermediary power: they exercise power over us; they shape power relations between us; and they shape our overarching social structures. Sometimes, when new forms of power emerge, our task is simply to eliminate them. However, algorithmic intermediaries can enable new kinds of human flourishing and could advance social structures that are otherwise resistant to progress. Our task, then, is to understand and diagnose algorithmic power and determine whether and how it can be justified. In this lecture, Lazar will propose a framework to guide our efforts, with particular attention to the conditions under which private algorithmic power either can, or must not, be tolerated.

Ifeoma Ajunwa: “The Unrealized Promise of Artificial Intelligence” 

Thursday, April 28

Lecture at 4 p.m., reception at 5:30 p.m.

Oxford Road Building — Presentation Room and Living Room/Patio

Register here.

AI was forecast to revolutionize the world for the better. Yet this promise is still unrealized. Instead, there is a growing mountain of evidence that automated decision making is not revolutionary; rather, it has tended to replicate the status quo, including the biases embedded in our societal systems. The question, then, is what can be done? The answer is twofold: One part looks to what can be done to prevent the reality of automated decision making both enabling and obscuring human bias. The second looks toward proactive measures that could allow AI to work for the greater good...

Carissa Véliz: “On Privacy and Self-Presentation Online” 

Thursday, May 5

Lecture at 4 p.m. 

Online via Zoom 

A long tradition in philosophy and sociology considers self-presentation as the main reason why privacy is valuable, often equating control over self-presentation and privacy. Véliz argues that, even though control over self-presentation and privacy are tightly connected, they are not the same — and overvaluing self-presentation leads us to misunderstand the threat to privacy online. Véliz argues that to combat some of the negative trends we witness online, we need, on the one hand, to cultivate a culture of privacy, in contrast to a culture of exposure (for example, the pressure on social media to be on display at all times). On the other hand, we need to readjust how we understand self-presentation  online."

Feds Target 'Predatory' Publishers; Inside Higher Ed, 8/29/16

Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed; Feds Target 'Predatory' Publishers:

"The Federal Trade Commission on Friday filed a complaint against the academic journal publisher OMICS Group and two of its subsidiaries, saying the publisher deceives scholars and misrepresents the editorial rigor of its journals.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, marks the first time the FTC has gone after what are often known as “predatory” publishers. Such publishers exploit open-access publishing as a way to charge steep fees to researchers who believe their work will be printed in legitimate journals, when in fact the journals may publish anyone who pays and lack even a basic peer-review process."

Think Tanks and the Influence of Corporate Dollars; New York Times, 8/10/16

Room for Debate, New York Times; Think Tanks and the Influence of Corporate Dollars:

"Think tanks inform both government policy and media analysis with their research, because as nonprofit institutions, they are seen as independent. But some institutions vigorously push their donors’ agendas, acting like lobbyists. Some scholars even use their positions at think tanks to promote work they are separately paid to do for corporations.

What can be done to protect against corporate influence over research institutions?"

Scholars Unveil New Edition of Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’; New York Times, 12/1/15

Alison Smale, New York Times; Scholars Unveil New Edition of Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ :

"Not since 1945, when the Allies banned the dubious work and awarded the rights to the state of Bavaria, has Hitler’s manifesto, “Mein Kampf,” been officially published in German. Bavaria had refused to release it. But under German law, its copyright expires Dec. 31, the 70th year after the author’s death.

That allows a team of historians from a noted center for the study of Nazism, the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich, to publish its two-volume, 2,000-page edition, a three-year labor complete with about 3,500 academic annotations.

The intention is to set the work in historical context, to show how Hitler wove truth with half-truth and outright lie, and thus to defang any propagandistic effect while revealing Nazism."