The Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics
and American Institutions

Workshop overview

On this page:

• Speakers and schedule
• Workshop participants
• Working definitions
• Sponsors
• Planning Committee
• Hotel and travel
• Contact us

Speakers and schedule

• Fred H. Cate, Distinguished Professor and C. Ben Dutton Professor of Law, IU School of Law, and Director of the Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, Indiana University Bloomington (http://info.law.indiana.edu/sb/page/normal/421.html)


• Helen Nissenbaum, Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, and Senior Fellow of the Information Law Institute, New York University (http://www.nyu.edu/projects/nissenbaum/)


• Noel Sharkey, Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Professor of Public Engagement, and EPSRC Senior Media Fellow, University of Sheffield (http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/~noel/)

The workshop schedule is available in PDF format.

Workshop participants

In addition to the 36 workshop partcipants listed here, many others expressed interest in attending or contributed to a pre-workshop discussion via e-mail.

• Colin Allen, Indiana University Bloomington
• Michael Anderson, University of Hartford
• Susan Anderson, University of Connecticut
• Jason Borenstein, Georgia Tech
• William Brinkman, Miami University
• Fred Cate, Indiana University Bloomington
• Ben Cohen, University of California Berkeley
• Elaine Englehardt, Utah Valley University
• James Fetzer, University of Minnesota
• Francis Harvey, University of Minnesota
• Joseph Herkert, Arizona State University
• Chuck Huff, St. Olaf College
• Deborah Johnson, University of Virginia
• Cynthia Jones, University of Texas-Pan American
• Lisa Lee, Center for Disease Control & Prevention
• Ann Light, Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom
• Keith Miller, University of Illinois-Springfield
• Richard Miller, Indiana University Bloomington
• Deborah Mower, Youngtown State University
• Glenda Murray, Indiana University Bloomington
• Helen Nissenbaum, New York University
• Merel Noorman, Dutch Council for Social Development, Netherlands
• Nancy Obermeyer, Indiana State University
• Leonard Ortmann, Tuskeegee National Center on Bioethics
• Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez, Youngstown State University
• Kenneth Pimple, Indiana University Bloomington
• Michael Pritchard, Western Michigan University
• Marianne Ryan, University of Michigan
• Brian Schrag, Association for Practical and Professional Ethics
• Donald Searing, Syncere Systems
• Katherine Seelman, University of Pittsburgh
• Kalpana Shankar, Indiana University Bloomington
• Noel Sharkey, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
• Katie Shilton, University of California Los Angeles
• Wendell Wallach, Yale University
• Keiichiro Yamamoto, Kyoto University, Japan

Working definitions

.PDF version

The PAIT Planning Committee developed these working definitions to help guide our efforts. They are intended to be useful rather than conclusive.

For the purposes of this workshop, we consider terms such as "pervasive computing," "ubiquitous computing," "ubicomp," "everyware," "ambient intelligence," and "ambient computing" to be roughly synonymous. We use the term "information technology" to highlight the important role of hardware not usually associated with computers, such as advanced sensing and communication devices, involved in most pervasive IT. Our shorthand for these technologies and their application is PAIT.

Definition: Pervasive IT devices are small and/or unobtrusive (compared to a desktop computer, for example) and can be embedded in everyday objects (e.g., carpets, clothing, doorways, toys) to collect and/or act upon data generated by or important to human activity. Often the data collected can be wirelessly transmitted, stored, and shared on the Internet. In some instances, several devices will share data and work together toward a common goal. Some will be unobtrusive and generally unnoticed while others will interact perceptibly with people (asking questions, giving reminders).

Some pervasive technologies are also autonomous, or self-directing.

Definition: Autonomous systems are typically computer-based devices augmented with sensing devices beyond those found on a typical desktop computer, including analogues to vision and hearing. An autonomous system can operate for extended periods of time without direct human intervention and alter the way it performs by learning from its own experience. Some autonomous systems can also adapt to particular environments (e.g., by moving safely through a particular house) and some can perform based on non-linear calculations (e.g., Bayesian inference) such that performance cannot be completely predicted or characterized from the system's programming. Many autonomous systems act only on and through data (as do most desktop computers), but others also act on the physical world (e.g., by welding joints). The latter are considered robots without regard to their physical shape or mobility status (they need not be humanoid and they can be bolted to a factory floor).

Comments on and discussion of this working definition are welcome at the PAIT blog.

Sponsors

The PAIT workshop is made possible by funding and other support from

• National Science Foundation (grant number SES-0848097)
• Indiana University
• Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions
• Association for Practical and Professional Ethics

Planning committee

Project directors:

• Kenneth D. Pimple, Ph.D., Director of Teaching Research Ethics Programs, Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions, Indiana University Bloomington, Project Director
• Brian Schrag, Ph.D., Executive Secretary, Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, Co-director

Other planning committee members:

• Colin Allen, Ph.D., Professor, Cognitive Science and History and Philosophy of Science, Indiana University Bloomington
• Anthony F. Beavers, Ph.D., Professor, Philosophy, and Director, Cognitive Science, University of Evansville, and Executive Director, International Association for Computing and Philosophy
• Katherine Connelly, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Computer Science, and Senior Associate Director, Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, Indiana University Bloomington
• Joseph Herkert, Ph.D., Lincoln Associate Professor of Ethics and Technology, School of Letters and Sciences, Arizona State University
• Deborah Johnson, Ph.D., Olsson Professor and Chair, Science, Technology, and Society, University of Virginia
• Richard Miller, Ph.D., Professor, Religious Studies, and Director, Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions, Indiana University Bloomington
• Glenda Murray, Ph.D., Program Associate, Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions, Indiana University Bloomington
• Nancy J. Obermeyer, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Geography, Indiana State University
• Michael S. Pritchard, Ph.D., Professor, Philosophy, Western Michigan University
• Marianne Ryan, J.D., Ph.D. candidate, School of Information, University of Michigan
• Katherine D. Seelman, Ph.D., Professor, Rehabilitation Science and Technology, Associate Dean, Disability Programs, University of Pittsburgh
• Kalpana Shankar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University Bloomington
• Katie C. Shilton, Ph.D. candidate, Information Studies, and Researcher, Center for Networked Sensing, University of California Los Angeles

Hotel and travel

The workshop was held at the historic Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, 35 West Fifth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45202.

Contact us

For more information, get in touch with Kenneth D. Pimple, Ph.D., PAIT project director, via e-mail or the address below.