The Commons to host debate on 'Our Technology, Our Future'

LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas professor of electrical engineering and computer science and a Dartmouth College philosophy professor will present a debate this month on the growth of technology and its implications for privacy and the outsourcing of decision-making to artificial intelligence.

The Commons will sponsor the debate, titled Data & Democracy: Our Technology, Our Future, which will be 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20 in The Commons. The event is free and open to the public, and a reception will follow.

Perry Alexander, KU professor and director of the Information and Telecommunication Technology Center, will debate James Moor, Dartmouth College professor of intellectual and moral philosophy. Moor will begin the debate by presenting a Conditional Dystopian outlook for the future; Alexander will present the counter-argument from a Utopian perspective.

Moderated by Leonard Krishtalka, director of the Biodiversity Institute, the debate will include one rebuttal from each side. The second portion of the event is reserved for questions and will rely heavily on audience participation.

Data & Democracy is the 2012-2013 programming theme at The Commons. For more information about this event or other Data & Democracy programming, visit The Commons online.