A discussion of near-term ethical, legal, & societal issues in robotics (11/19); When to Blow the Whistle? (11/20)

Science fiction or reality? A discussion of near-term ethical, legal, and societal issues in robotics

Tuesday, November 19, 12:30pm ET, Harvard Law School, Milstein West A Room, 2nd Floor. This event will be webcast live.

Prominent robot ethics questions focus on liability and privacy concerns in the face of increasingly autonomous technology. A lesser-discussed issue is the emergence and effect of robots that are designed to interact with humans on a social level. Studies have begun to establish a tendency to perceive social robots differently than we do other objects. As more and more robotic companions enter into our lives and homes, our inclination to project life-like qualities onto robots could have some societal implications.

Kate Darling is a Berkman Center fellow, an IP Research Specialist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, and a Ph.D. candidate in Intellectual Property and Law & Economics at the ETH Zurich. RSVP Required. more information on our website>

When to Blow the Whistle? A discussion on the role of whistleblowers in society

Wednesday, November 20, 7:00pm ET, Harvard Allston Education Portal, 175 North Harvard Street, Boston, MA 02134.

The Ed Portal and the Berkman Center for Internet and Society will host an evening of small-group discussions led by Professor Charles Nesson of Harvard Law School, founder and director of the Berkman Center. With a focus on building community and thoughtful discussion, we will explore the unfolding debate around transparency, secrecy, leaks, and morality. Come to the event to engage in small-group discussions about the pertinent questions raised by the disclosures of Edward Snowden. Refreshments and a light dinner will be served. RSVP Required. more information>

Cyberscholars Working Group (at the Yale Information Society Project)

Wednesday, November 20, 6:00pm ET, Yale Law School.

The Cyberscholar Working Group is a forum for fellows and affiliates of MIT, Yale Law School Information Society Project, Columbia University, and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University to discuss their ongoing research. Each session is focused on the peer review and discussion of current projects submitted by a presenter. Meeting alternatively at Harvard, MIT, Yale, the working group aims to expand the shared knowledge of young scholars by bringing together these preeminent centers of thought on issues confronting the information age. Discussion sessions are designed to facilitate advancements in the individual research of presenters and in turn encourage exposure among the participants to the multi-disciplinary features of the issues addressed by their own work. This month's presentations include: "Balancing Remedies with Notice in the Enforcement of Copyright Licenses". BJ Ard is a Postdoctoral Associate in Law and Thomson Reuters Fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. RSVP Required. more information on our website>

Cheryl Contee on The Innovation Intermission

Though the stereotype of "nerd" might involve a white male with a laptop, white males lag behind minorities and women in many categories of social media and technology use. But current investments in new technology don’t not match the consumers of these technologies. According to the Kaufmann Foundation, only 4% of venture capital of any kind goes to female tech entrepreneurs. In this talk, Cheryl Contee -- Partner at Fission Strategy, co-founder of Jack and Jill Politics, and Affiliate of the Berkman Center -- explores the gap between creators and consumers, and suggests we are in an "innovation intermission," poised on the threshold of another great wave of technological creativity brought about by the democratization of tools and education. audio on our website>