2024 Henry Marshall Tory Lecture

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Join us for the 2024 Henry Marshall Tory lecture “Finding Common Ground in Polarized Times: Rediscovering Alberta’s Political Culture” presented by Dr. Jared Wesley PhD.

In this public lecture, Jared Wesley explores the gap between who Albertans actually are and who they see themselves to be as a community. Based on engaging thousands of Albertans, his insights provide a toolkit for citizens eager to tamp down the factionalism that has gripped our communities over the
past decade.

Following the lecture participate in a spirited panel discussion facilitated by Jennifer Crosby, Director of Media Strategy, University of Alberta. Joining Dr. Wesley in the conversation will be Hon. Sandra Jansen, former Alberta Cabinet Minister, MLA and journalist and Puneeta McBryan, CEO Edmonton Downtown Business Association.

Doors Open 6:30pm, Lecture 7pm. Attend In Person or online.

Register for FREE Tickets & Attend in Person

Telus Centre, 150 Lecture Theatre and Atrium
111 Street 87 Avenue NW Edmonton

TELUS Centre, University of Alberta
(view map)

Big Cheques 2024 edition

Once again we are proud to support programs that engage a community with the University of Alberta and student scholarships.

The Friends’ president Luca Vanzella (c) presents the cheque for Humanities 101 to Dr. David Peacock (l) and Lisa Prins (r)

“the HUM Program brings together a diverse group of adult learners who all share a passion for lifelong learning.“

The Friends have chosen to contribute to a existing scholarship Ailsa Heathcote Walker Memorial Prize. A small effort to keep up with the rising tuition costs. Luca Vanzella presents the cheque to Heather Coleman (Chair, Faculty of Arts – History, Classics, & Religion Dept). or ualberta link

The Friends have chosen to contribute to a existing scholarship Isabel Munroe Smith Memorial Scholarship Fund or ualberta link

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!

2024 U School Thank You cards

It it great to read the positive impact USchool has on the students – in their own words! Here is a small sample:

We are happy to help USchool and we hope one day these students will attend the University of Alberta. Thank you for your kind words and artwork. Have a great summer.

And Thank you to the volunteers for the Friends of the University of Alberta that make this donation possible! (this could be you!)

On our Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/friendsofuofa/) there are few photos from this morning’s USchool Convocation. https://www.instagram.com/p/C7zeVtNPvY3/