While AI and other computational technologies are starting to make a mark on the general public, the general public might not be as well equipped to understand how these technologies work and impact their lives. This gap of knowledge might hinder them from actively advocating the use of technologies that will benefit them most, and most importantly, being unknowingly harmed by technologies that they view as benign without any way to rectify the situation.
To address this situation, we ask students studying the ethical impact of computational technologies to engage communities around Pittsburgh and help them build technological fluency on tech-related issues that are relevant to them. The exercise is part of student final projects for a class co-taught by the K&L Gates Professor of Ethics and Computational Technologies, Illah R. Nourbakhsh and Adya Danaditya, entitled Ethics and Robotics.
Collaboration with Casa San Jose
Contributing students: Homanga Bharadhwaj, Ben Gafford, Behnam Mohammadi, Lincoln Smythe
The increasing number and variety of scams taking advantage of immigrant groups through the internet is a worrying trend. Due to the minimum moderation of the internet, the unique situation they face as they enter a new country, as well as inequitable access to reliable information sources, immigrant groups face a great challenge in detecting and acting on fraudulent information they receive through web pages, emails, messenger chats, texts, and calls. Our students collaborated with Casa San Jose in creating infographics and educational videos that aim to inform Latinx and other immigrant communities in Pittsburgh of such scams and how to act upon them.
Learn more about Casa San Jose on this link
Collaboration with CCAC
Contributing students: Mohammed Alsakabi, Cristin Connerney, Josh Kim, and Joe Yu
The rapid development of artificial intelligence and its adoption in major industries has led to a growing concern for the potential impacts on the white-collar workforce.The Community College of Allegheny County and our students have collaborated to host an event that seeks to inform students and the educational community about the capabilities of AI. The goal of the panel is to dispel common misconceptions about AI, provide a picture of what may be expected, and share how to work symbiotically with AI. You can see more information about the event here
Learn more about CCAC on this link
Collaboration with City of Asylum
Contributing students: Fred Bertsch, Ernie Ho, and James Zhu
As computers get better and better at generating text, images, and music, how will the human artistic endeavor be changed? City of Asylum and our students are collaborating to host a conversation that questions the rising influence of AI and autonomy on the art world. Faculties will explore the intersection of technology and creative practices like CGI & autotune, and debate their impacts on music, art, and literature. You can see more information about the event here
Learn more about City of Asylum on this link