Who is responsible when you chat with an AI?

The Friends of the University of Alberta present Raise The Bar
with Dr. Geoffrey Rockwell

Who is responsible when you chat with an AI?

Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT can hallucinate; so what happens when they are integrated into services? In this presentation, Dr. Geoffrey Rockwell will look at cases like the one where an Air Canada chatbot on their web site gave Jake Moffatt incorrect information about bereavement discounts. Dr.  Rockwell will use these cases to reflect on how ethical responsibility is changing as we develop sophisticated systems that are hard to predict.

Tue, 22 Oct 2024
5:00 PM Doors Open
6:00-7:30 PM Speaker + Q&A

Blue Chair
9624 – 76 Avenue NW Edmonton
View on map

BIO
Dr. Geoffrey Rockwell is a Professor of Philosophy and Digital Humanities at the University of Alberta, Canada. He is also a Fellow of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute. He received a B.A. in philosophy from Haverford College, an M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto. He has published and presented papers in the areas of artificial intelligence and ethics, philosophical dialogue, textual visualization and analysis, humanities computing, instructional technology, computer games and multimedia. He was the project leader for the CFI (Canada Foundation for Innovation) funded project TAPoR, a Text Analysis Portal for Research, which has developed a text tool discovery portal at tapor.ca. He has published a book Defining Dialogue: From Socrates to the Internet.


Raise The Bar is a program designed by The Friends of the University of Alberta to provide engaging learning opportunities delivered by U of A researchers in a causal setting – like a bar. We’re raising the bar on the way people consume content!

It’s Wild, It’s Real, It’s Western!

Dr. Laura Beard

 “It’s Real! It’s Wild! It’s Western!”: Talking about Deadwood Facts and Fictions

Tue, 28 Nov 2023
5:30 PM Doors Open
6:00-7:30 PM Speaker + Q&A

Arcadia Brewing Co.
10712 120 St NW Edmonton (View on map)

Have you heard of the Dead Man’s Hand in poker? Ever been fascinated by Wild Bill Hickok or Calamity Jane? Or been to Deadwood, South Dakota? Or watched the “Deadwood” tv series on HBO?

The Friends of the University of Alberta are proud to bring you Raise The Bar on November 28, 2023 at Arcadia Brewing Co. (10712 120 ST NW) with Dr. Laura Beard, University of Alberta.

Come hear some of the real stories of Deadwood, South Dakota, the Black Hills, the Treaty of Fort Laramie, Saloon No. 10, and more, as Dr. Beard, talks about her research on an early Deadwood resident and his memoir, Pioneer Days in the Black Hills, taken as the authoritative source on all topics related to Deadwood and the Black Hills.

Join us for what is sure to be an insightful evening as we raise the bar on the way people learn and engage with their community. And as the promotions for the Days of ’76 rodeo proclaimed in the 1930s in Deadwood: “It’s Wild, It’s Real, It’s Western!”

BIO
Dr. Laura Beard is a Professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies in the Faculty of Arts. Laura works in the areas of life narrative in the Americas. Research interests include life narratives, Inter-American literature, Indigenous literatures and cultures and related topics.

A current research project, entitled “Wanted: A Life Narrative in Deadwood,” takes up the 1939 memoir “Pioneer Days in the Black Hills: Accurate History and Facts Related by One of the Early Day Pioneers ” by John S. McClintock in order to explore how how life narrative and current heritage tourism are media through which we continually play with the past, reconfigure it, and try to make meanings out of the traces we chose to pick up from that past.


Raise The Bar is a program designed by The Friends of the University of Alberta to provide engaging learning opportunities delivered by U of A researchers in a causal setting – like a bar. We’re raising the bar on the way people consume content!

When protective clothing becomes smart and sustainable.

Patricia Dolez

When protective clothing becomes smart and sustainable.

Tue, 28 Mar 2023
5:30 PM Doors Open
6:00-7:30 PM Speaker + Q&A

Arcadia Brewing Co.
10712 120 St NW Edmonton (View on map)

Originally, protective garments were designed and assessed solely based on their protective function. Then, a new paradigm emerged over the last 20 years: a good protective garment should provide the right balance between protection and comfort. However, these two aspects most often conflict each other. New technologies, including nanotechnologies and smart textiles, could provide a second wind to protective clothing and allow them to further improve both their protective function and their comfort. Patricia Dolez will take us through the strange and wonderful world of shear thickening fluids, phase change materials, wearable electronics and textile electrodes, chemichromic compounds, solvent-specific resistive sensors, and high performance fibers.

BIO
Patricia Dolez, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Science (ALES) at the University of Alberta, is a researcher in materials science with expertise in textiles, polymers, and composites. Patricia’s research interests are in nanotechnologies, smart textiles and textile sustainability with industrial applications in protective clothing, personal protective equipment and other textile and flexible material products.


Raise The Bar is a program designed by The Friends of the University of Alberta to provide engaging learning opportunities delivered by U of A researchers in a causal setting – like a bar. We’re raising the bar on the way people consume content!

An Evening of Martian Delights & Insights

We have reached capacity. Sold Out!

But you can watch the video here:

Join the Friends on May 13th at 7:30 pm for a virtual “Raise the Bar” featuring professor Chris Herd @SpaceRockDoc (UAlberta’s local Returned Sample Science Participating Scientist) as he presents the latest update on the current Mars mission with the rover Perseverance.

In order to allow discussion with the speaker, the capacity has been limited and we have reached capacity.

If you would like to read some background articles of regarding this mission here are some links:
https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2019/03/bringing-martian-rocks-back-to-earth-crucial-for-science-say-researchers.html
https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2020/02/u-of-a-scientist-lending-expertise-to-nasa-mars-2020-rover-mission.html

And from the Canadian Space Agency
https://asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronomy/mars/missions/mars-2020.asp

And from NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/perseverance/overview

Even though we are unable to meet in-person in a bar and enjoy a beverage together that doesn’t stop you from enjoying your beverage of choice during the talk. If you are looking for ideas, here is a link to a few “Mars” cocktails (we have not tested these recipes, please drink responsibly):
https://bevvy.co/articles/life-on-mars-cocktail/11034

Raise The Bar is a program designed by The Friends of the University of Alberta Society to provide interesting, engaging learning opportunities that break down real or perceived barriers to education and connect the University and its faculty to the broader community. We’re raising the bar on the way people consume content.