Socrates Bay Area 2023 Salon
The Socrates Salon took place October 27th-28th, 2023.
Socrates Salons include an evening reception and public panel followed by a day-long seminar the next day (8:30 am – 4:00 pm). Participants can register to attend both the reception and day-long seminar ($250) or to attend just the Friday reception ($25).
Oversight of Artificial Intelligence
Congress is currently debating potential oversight of artificial intelligence (AI). During the US Senate Oversight Committee in a Subcommittee of Privacy, Technology, and the Law in May, senators and witnesses acknowledged that AI presents a profound opportunity for American innovation but warned that it must be adopted with caution and regulated by the federal government given the potential risks. Although generally a consensus exists that AI should be regulated, the approaches to, and extent of, that regulation is still very much under debate. How can we foster innovation in this new field while protecting privacy and rights? How do we balance people’s right to free expression and ensure those rights are being respected? What lessons can we learn from past experience with the effects of disruptive technologies on society?
Julie Owono is the Executive Director of the Content Policy & Society Lab (CPSL) and a fellow of the Program on Democracy and the Internet (PDI) at Stanford University. She is also the Executive Director of digital rights organization Internet Sans Frontières, one of the inaugural members of the Facebook Oversight Board, and an affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University. She holds a master’s degree in international law from la Sorbonne University in Paris, and practiced as a lawyer at the Paris Bar.
The Great Leveler – Inequality and the Violent Demise of Wealth Gaps
Tracing the global history of inequality from the Stone Age to today, inequality declines when carnage and disaster strike and increases when peace and stability return. As the world emerges from the first global pandemic in a century, are we on a course to continue or break this pattern? Did the federal and state stimulus during the pandemic diminish the disparate impact of the economic retraction or distort the economic fallout of this global crisis? How does this latest crisis interact with processes that shape inequality in the long run, from globalization and political polarization to automation, aging and climate change? Are we headed to a great reckoning and realignment or is there a nonviolent, peaceful way to break the cycle of growing inequality in California, the US and around the world?
Moderated by Walter Scheidel, Dickason Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Classics at Stanford University.
Friday Evening Panel & Reception
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Light appetizers and drinks will be served at the reception beginning at 6:00 pm. The panel will start at 7:00 pm and feature a conversation with Walter Scheidel, Dickason Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Classics at Stanford University. Reception tickets are $25 and attire is business casual.
