{"id":445,"date":"2019-10-07T15:16:04","date_gmt":"2019-10-07T19:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/emsconf\/?page_id=445"},"modified":"2019-10-07T15:57:58","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T19:57:58","slug":"september-11-2019-fall-symposium","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/emsconf\/past-conferences\/september-11-2019-fall-symposium\/","title":{"rendered":"September 11, 2019: Fall Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a name=\"#Top\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img src=\"\/emsconf\/files\/2019\/08\/EMSConference_Header_Final_Fall_2019.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><!-- NOTE FOR STEVE\n\nIF YOU HAVE TO EMBED ANOTHER SCRIPT AND REPLACE WHAT'S BELOW... GIVE THE NEW DIV A CLASS OF kalturaVideoWrapper SO IT WILL EXTEND THE WIDTH OF THE BROWSER WINDOW\n\n--><\/p>\n<p><!-- hiding video script with DIV - Steve did this --><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\">\n<!-- video script goes here --><br \/>\n<script src=\"https:\/\/cdnapisec.kaltura.com\/p\/2184561\/sp\/218456100\/embedIframeJs\/uiconf_id\/36328101\/partner_id\/2184561\"><\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"kaltura_player_1554840839\" class=\"kalturaVideoWrapper\" ><\/div>\n<p><script>\r\nkWidget.embed({\r\n  \"targetId\": \"kaltura_player_1554840839\",\r\n  \"wid\": \"_2184561\",\r\n  \"uiconf_id\": 36328101,\r\n  \"flashvars\": {},\r\n  \"cache_st\": 1554840839,\r\n  \"entry_id\": \"1_7hlx44ta\"\r\n});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- end of hide script with Div --><\/p>\n<section class=\"grid-section\"><\/p>\n<h2>Individual freedom versus the hidden persuaders<br \/><\/h2>\n<p><div class=\"col-sm-two-third \"><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-right: 0.5em;\">Many policy experts support socially engineered nudging, that is, have governments use a set subtle behavior reward algorithms to control people\u2019s behavior for socially desirable outcomes. Yet the utilitarian attractiveness of such an undertaking obscures the implications for individual freedom and human choice. Cultivated among others by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, the idea of nudging is often seen as a way to produce positive social outcomes without the reliance on formal regulations and policing. Yet the fact that the process is often below the level of clear observability by the people being nudged raises important questions about the role of manipulation and, even more, potentially morally compromised governmental authority. Beyond the immediate philosophical and free will implications are the questions concerning what would happen when these techniques are taken to an extreme. There are many questions about the cost of dissent in today\u2019s society as measured in ruined lives of those who fell out with social media activists. We must ask what it means to allow oneself to be \u201cnudged\u201d \u201cfor one\u2019s own good\u201d, i.e., how one is allowing oneself to be shaped by \u201csoft\u201d governmental and other programs. The implications for democratic practices, not to mention individual choices, are obvious.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-right: 0.5em;\">We don\u2019t necessarily need to speculate about this question as the government of the People\u2019s Republic of China is already going about implementing such a program, with few limits. If practically all dimensions of one\u2019s life becomes a universal Skinner Box, which seems to be the ambition of elements within China\u2019s government and their \u201cvisionary\u201d counterparts the US and elsewhere, what can we say about free choice and individualism (and even personal character and a sense of community) under these circumstances?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-right: 0.5em;\">The intersection of these practices, increasingly on a global scale, is an algorithmically guided experiment in human behavior and social control without precedent in human history. It places us squarely at a crossroad. The direction that we as a civilization take has grave implications for intellectual inquiry across the humanities and beyond, reaching into the realms of computer science, political equality, privacy, ecology, and individual rights and autonomy.<\/p>\n<p>\nOrganized by: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Profs. James E. Katz, Juliet Floyd and Russell Powell, Boston University<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sponsored by: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Sawyer Seminar Series <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Co-sponsored by: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Division of Emerging Media Studies and the AI Research (AIR) Initiative, Boston University; The Consulate of France in Boston\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"col-sm-third \"><br \/>\n<div class=\"com-highlight col-sm-full bg-blue\"><span class=\"meta\">Event Details<\/span><strong>Date:<\/strong> September 11, 2019<br \/>\n<strong>Location:<\/strong> Boston University Hillel Center, 213 Bay State Rd., Boston, MA 02215<br \/>\n<strong>Time:<\/strong> 10AM &#8211; 6PM<br \/> <br \/>\n<strong>Papers Due:<\/strong> August 11, 2019; presented and critiqued at conference. Peer-reviewed publication to follow.<br \/>\n<strong>Direct questions to:<\/strong> Dr. James Katz, katz2020@bu.edu<br \/>\n<a href = \"\/emsconf\/files\/2019\/09\/Fall_Symp.pdf\" style=\"text-decoration:underline;\">Download the Fall Symposium Program<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The event is also being live-streamed on our <a href = \"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DEMSatBU\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href = \"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/emsatbu\/\">Instagram<\/a> pages.<br \/>\n<\/div><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"com-highlight col-sm-full outline blue\"><span class=\"meta\">About<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"\n    font-family: &quot;Brandon-Text&quot;;\n    font-weight: 400;\n    line-height: 1.4;\n    color: #00496f;\n    font-size: 16px;\n\">The Division of Emerging Media Studies within the College of Communication at Boston University brings together voices of scholars, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers through interdisciplinary symposia.  Through lectures, conferences, and workshops, EMS aims to stimulate thought-provoking discussion and debate on issues related to technology and society.  By drawing on empirically informed insights in the realm of communication and social media, problems confronting our society can be more effectively addressed. These technologies offer increased freedom and opportunities but also pose an unprecedented threat to human liberty and autonomy, so a well-informed public is more vital than ever. <\/p>\n<p><\/div><br \/>\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":16727,"featured_media":0,"parent":40,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/emsconf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/445"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/emsconf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/emsconf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/emsconf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16727"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/emsconf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/emsconf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":454,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/emsconf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/445\/revisions\/454"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/emsconf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/emsconf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}