Bismarck Think & Drink: The Ethics of AI Death Bots

Think & Drink: The Ethics of AI Death Bots

Featuring Dr. Dennis Cooley

Emcee, Todd Van Orman

Sunday, Feb 2

3:30-4:30 pm

5th Underground (below Peacock Alley), Bismarck

Unbeknownst to her father, a woman murdered by her boyfriend 18 years ago suddenly appeared as an AI ghostbot. Ghostbots are AI representations using the deceased’s image, voice, and other data to simulate the deceased’s ante-mortem appearance. No one disagrees that the best AI ghostbots could eventually be sufficiently like the source person to deceive even those individuals who had deep relationships with the deceased. The disagreement is whether we should be creating ghostbots.

This event is a great alternative to your usual coffee catch-up with friends or even an interesting date idea! We’ll start with a presentation from our speaker and then you’ll have the chance to join in on discussions at your table, sharing thoughts and ideas with others. Each ticket includes one complimentary drink.

SPEAKER BIO:

Dennis Cooley received his PhD in philosophy from the University of Rochester in 1995. His teaching and research interests include theoretical and applied ethics with a focus on pragmatism, bioethics, business ethics, personhood, and death and dying. He is the author of Technology, Transgenics, and a Practical Moral Code, Death’s Values and Obligations: A Pragmatic Framework, and co-edited Passing/Out: Identity Veiled and Revealed. He is Secretary General of the International Academy of Medical Ethics and Public Health; Editor of Springer’s International Library of Bioethics; Associate Editor of Elsevier’s Ethics, Medicine and Public Health; and Director of the Northern Plains Ethics Institute.

EMCEE BIO:

Todd Van Orman, MBA, BFA is a Professor of Finance and Economics at the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND. He earned his undergraduate degree in Banking and Financial Economics from the University of North Dakota, and his MBA from the University of Mary. Prior to joining the faculty at UMary, Todd worked for 15+ years in the financial industry. He has served on a number of boards throughout his career, including as a current member of the North Dakota State Investment Board Audit Committee, and previously as the Vice Chairman of the Bismarck Renaissance Zone Authority. Todd loves reading and traveling, and is an avid (fellow) lifelong learner.

HND VALUE STATEMENT:

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or Humanities North Dakota. However, in an increasingly polarized world, we at Humanities North Dakota believe that being open-minded is necessary to thinking critically and rationally. Therefore, our programs and classes reflect our own open-mindedness in the inquiry, seeking, and acquiring of scholars to speak at our events and teach classes for our Public University. To that end, we encourage our participants to join us in stepping outside our comfort zones and considering other perspectives and ideas by being open-minded while attending HND events featuring scholars who hold a variety of opinions, some being opposite of our own held beliefs.

Humanities North Dakota classes and events are funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities