Events

A panel discussion by three UWaterloo professors is to be held at the Kitchener Public Library on Nov. 21 at 7pm:

Aimée Morrison (English) 

Loneliness and social media: What does it mean, and not mean, to have ‘Friends’ online? 

The co-founders of world-renowned humanitarian organization Engineers Without Borders, Parker Mitchell (BASc 1999) and George Roter (BASc 1999), will deliver a public lecture titled “Global Impact One Engineer at a Time: Why we Founded Engineers Without Borders" about their journey from their time as engineering students at the University of Waterloo, to the founding of EWB, and their careers since and beyond. Students, alumni, and the community are invited to hear their entrepreneurial journey and then to ask questions in a Q&A session.

Interested in the discussion on tech for good and responsible uses of artificial intelligence and robotics? Join us in Waterloo on November 14 and hear Ryan Gariepy, Chief Technology Officer of Clearpath Robotics and Otto Motors, speak about the issues of autonomous weapons and the need for an international treaty banning these weapons systems.

How can you spot altered news stories? How do you verify sources of information? What is the goal of disinformation campaigns?  Join us for an interactive discussion on the importance of digital literacy for ordinary citizens as well as practical ways to address the era of alternative facts. Project Ploughshares researchers and communications staff will share insights into ways that we evaluate information, determine validity of sources and navigate social media platforms.

"Join Darwin AI CEO Sheldon Fernandez (BASc 2001, Computer Engineering) for this timely talk on misinformation in the digital age. Pizza lunch will be provided at 12:15pm, with the talk following at 12:30pm. All students, alumni, staff and faculty are welcome to register for this free event using the registration link below."

More information is available at the event webpage. 

The Centre for Security Governance is hosting the fourth Waterloo Symposium on Technology & Society on December 10, 2019.

Critical Tech Talk 1: Nicole Aschoff – The digital frontier and its limits

Monday, November 8, 2021, 5 PM | Theatre of the Arts, University of Waterloo, in-person and livestreamed | REGISTER 

Artificial intelligence is the cutting edge in decision-making and computer science. However, there is also the sense that AI is nothing more than a buzzword used in almost every facet of our lives right now. Given the current buzz surrounding AI, it is relevant to ask: what are the limits of AI? In many instances, such as with military technology, the availability of artificial intelligence is what made the technology possible in the first place. Can we expect systems to achieve decision-making capabilities and performances that are better than human across domains?

Artificial intelligence will take your job! Genetic engineering will accelerate the loss of biodiversity! The modern smart-city is a privacy disaster! Killer robots and technological progress are out of control! Is the techno-apocalypse upon us? Should we run for the exit? Or are there more nuanced ways to understand the complex interaction between technology and society and values?

Join us via zoom on Friday, October 28, 12 pm - 1:30 pm. CARE-AI welcomes philosopher, cognitive scientist and author Paul Thagard as he discusses a new theory of information and misinformation based on mechanisms of acquisition, inference, memory and spread.