{"id":23056,"date":"2024-12-09T13:00:42","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T18:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/?page_id=23056"},"modified":"2025-04-11T14:17:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T18:17:16","slug":"spring-25-forum","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/community\/public-programs\/spring-25-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring ’25 Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beyond the Binge:
\nEthical Implications of AI for Entertainment and Education \u2013 Communication and Philosophical Perspectives<\/span><\/h3>\n

Thursday, April 10 & Friday, April 11 | Boston University
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Conference Co-Organizers:
\nJames Katz<\/a><\/strong>, Feld Professor of Emerging Media Studies<\/span>
\nJuliet Floyd<\/strong><\/a>, Borden Parker Bowne Professor of Philosophy; Director, Boston University Center for the Humanities<\/p>\n

Register Here<\/strong><\/a>
\nThere is no cost associated with attendance<\/p>\n

View the Beyond the Binge booklet<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sponsors<\/strong>
\nBU Center for the Humanities
\nCenter for Data Sciences
\nCollege of Communication
\nDivision of Emerging Media Studies
\nFeld Professorship of Emerging Media Studies<\/p>\n

Description:<\/strong>
\nThe pervasive influence of algorithms on our entertainment and educational consumption is undeniable, serving at times to increasingly blur and draw novel lines between them. \u201cBeyond the Binge\u201d will grapple with complex questions regarding\u00a0 futures of education and entertainment that will inevitably be shaped by AI. Fostering a critical dialogue among computer scientists, media theorists, philosophers, humanists and historians, the aim of this two-day conference is to generate actionable recommendations for a more ethical and equitable future. The first day of the conference will focus on entertainment and algorithms, the second will focus on the future of humanistic education and research.<\/p>\n

Full Abstract<\/h3>
<\/span><\/p>\n

The pervasive influence of algorithms and machine learning on our entertainment and educational practices is undeniable, serving at times to increasingly blur and draw novel lines between them. AI methods press us toward what we watch, listen to, and engage with, sculpting our cultural landscape, our communities, our conception of knowledge and our sense of self — not only our individual preferences but also the emotional arcs and narratives shaping our responses to injustices, enthusiasm, and AI itself. In their way, entertainment and educational uses of AI help us to reflect, confront, and express our values, as well as our aesthetic and spiritual aspirations; they are crucial elements of our communicative and expressive practices. Moreover, with the advent of generative AI and other ways of classifying and ordering human experience and knowledge there are important opportunities for creatively taming both the flood of, and the need for, content.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nHowever, central humanistic dimensions of algorithmic curation are obscured when researchers fail to confront the significance of problems involving the evolution of our collective societal sense of justice, the complexity and texture of our ethical forms of life. The facts of history, feeling, symbolism, interpretation, and intergenerational communication and solidarity are strong forces at issue. These questions raise profound philosophical issues about the nature of reality, the good life, the role of technology in society, the ethics of persuasion, productive cultural criticism and engagement, and the responsibility of corporations in helping us shape our cultural landscape and our emotional ties to culture and to one another. \u201cBeyond the Binge\u201d aims to grapple with these complex questions, fostering a critical dialogue among computer scientists, media theorists, philosophers, humanists and historians, with the aim of generating actionable recommendations for a more ethical and equitable future.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nA two-day event is planned. One day will be devoted to communication aspects of entertainment, education, and AI, and one day to education and the future of Humanities research. Contributing experts will present their own work but also constructively discuss another presenter\u2019s talk to stimulate broader investigation into the pertinent issues.
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International Steering Committee<\/h3>

\nJuliet Floyd<\/a>, Philosophy, Boston University
\nJames E. Katz<\/a>, Emerging Media Studies, Boston University
\nLaban P. Ayiro<\/a>, Vice Chancellor, Day Star University, Kenya
\nEmilio Jos\u00e9 Montero Arruda Filho<\/a>, Marketing, University of the Amazon, Brazil
\nPiergiorgio Donatelli<\/a>, Philosophy, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
\nMaria Elizabeth Grabe<\/a>, Emerging Media Studies, Boston University
\nLei Guo<\/a>, Journalism, Fudan University, China<\/a>
\nSandra Laugier<\/a>, Philosophy, Panth\u00e9on-Sorbonne, France
\nSun Kyong Lee<\/a>, Media & Communication, Korea University
\nElvis Mazzoni<\/a>, Psychology, University of Bologna, Italy
\nWesley Wildman<\/span><\/a>, Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics, and Computing and Data Sciences, Boston University<\/span>
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Speakers<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

Laban P. Ayiro<\/a>, Vice Chancellor, Day Star University, Nairobi
\nEmilio Jos\u00e9 Montero Arruda Filho<\/a>, Marketing, University of the Amazon, Brazil
\nMariagrazia Benassi<\/a>, Psychology, University of Bologna, Italy
\nJocelyn Benoist<\/a>, Philosophy, Panth\u00e9on-Sorbonne, France
\nMary L. Churchill,<\/a> Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, Boston University
\nPiergiorgio Donatelli<\/a>, Philosophy, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
\nTheo Hug<\/a>, Media, Society & Communication, University of Innsbruck, Austria
\nBlake Hallinan<\/a>, Communication & Journalism, Hebrew University, Israel
\nXiaoya Jiang<\/a>, Journalism, University of Wisconsin
\nSandra Laugier<\/a>, Philosophy, Panth\u00e9on-Sorbonne, France
\nVanessa Nurock<\/a>, UNESCO EVA Chair & Philosophy, C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur University, France<\/span>
\nYvonne Rogers<\/a>, Computer Science, University College London, England
\nSteve Shapiro<\/a>, Finetune Learning, Boston
\nHaeRin Shin<\/a>, Media & Communication, Korea University
\nKun Xu<\/a>, Media Production, Management, & Technology, University of Florida<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beyond the Binge: Ethical Implications of AI for Entertainment and Education \u2013 Communication and Philosophical Perspectives Thursday, April 10 & Friday, April 11 | Boston University   Conference Co-Organizers: James Katz, Feld Professor of Emerging Media Studies Juliet Floyd, Borden Parker Bowne Professor of Philosophy; Director, Boston University Center for the Humanities Register Here There […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16661,"featured_media":0,"parent":14583,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23056"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16661"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23056"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23322,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23056\/revisions\/23322"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}