Public Events
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ASPI Symposium - Critical Perspectives on Generative AI
November, 7, 2025
How should AI and the companies behind it answer to the public? Experts from humanities, information science and computing will examine how AI shapes society and what accountability can look like.
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Governing in the Age of AI: Lessons from Recoding America
October, 29, 2025
Jennifer Pahlka, author of Recoding America, looks at what artificial intelligence means for democracy and the future of public institutions.
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Governing the Unforesseable
April, 24, 2025
In this talk, David Danks, professor of data science, philosophy and policy at UC San Diego, will present two different efforts to develop appropriate governance mechanisms for AI systems.
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Generative Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Social Science
April, 1, 2025
Join us for a thought-provoking discussion with pioneering international scholar Miklós Sebők, who developed a no-code LLM platform for studying international politics across twenty languages.
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The Digital Deception Landscape: Academic Insights on Misinformation and Deepfakes
October, 30, 2024
This webinar will engage expert discussion that critically analyzes the evolving landscape of misinformation, focusing on the role of deepfakes and AI-driven content.
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ASPI Faculty Fellow G. Douglas Barrett to Present at Generative AI Symposium
October, 29, 2024
ASPI Faculty Fellow G. Douglas Barrett will present at a two-day interdisciplinary symposium, “How AI is Changing Art and the Humanities, and To What Ends,” hosted by Art Science Connect.
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Distinguished Speaker Burkhardt Wolf: ‘Dial A for Anxiety: Media and Affect’
September, 20, 2024
Burkhardt Wolf is chair and professor of modern German literature at the University of Vienna, where he studies cultural history at the intersection of literary and media theory.
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Discussion and Book Signing with Author Debbie Urbanski in Her First Novel: 'After World'
April, 4, 2024
The novel uses speculative fiction to address real-world issues like climate change, poverty and technology’s impact on society.
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Professor Colin Doyle Will Present on "The Challenge of Legal Reasoning with Generative AI"
March, 28, 2024
Some of his research explores how overlooked features of new technology can challenge longstanding beliefs and practices within law.
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Rumman Chowdhury: Generative AI and the Future of Humanity
March, 7, 2024
The 2024 Spring Lecture will feature data scientist and artificial intelligence (AI) expert Rumman Chowdhury, CEO of the tech nonprofit Humane Intelligence.
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ASPI Graduate Seminar: James Patton Rogers
February, 28, 2024
Join us for a discussion regarding policy impact and public dissemination of emerging technologies.
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AI Policy Symposium Reception
October, 26, 2023
A lunch reception will be held on Capitol Hill with members of Congress and staff, followed in the afternoon with a plenary session on AI, Elections and Information Policy.
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ASPI Welcomes Author Medea Benjamin
April, 20, 2023
A discussion and book signing by Medea Benjamin for her latest book release, "War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict," co-written with Nocolas Davies.
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ASPI Grad Lab
April, 4, 2023
The grad lab is designed to create opportunities for graduate students to come together--share and get feedback on their work and engage across disciplines with interests in autonomous systems/artificial intelligence.
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ChatGPT: Charms and Challenges
April, 3, 2023
We invite students, faculty and staff to an open conversation on ChatGPT.
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ASPI Grad Lab
March, 20, 2023
The grad lab is designed to create opportunities for graduate students to come together—share and get feedback on their work and engage across disciplines with interests in autonomous systems/artificial intelligence.
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Autonomous Systems Policy Institute (ASPI) welcomes Lockheed Martin to the Schine Student Center
February, 15, 2023
This event is designed to learn more about the organization and employment opportunities. We have three spokesperson (s) in attendance for Lockheed Martin: Kevin Maring, LM Fellow; Jason Zion, Hardware Engineering Manager; and Joshua Mathews, Project Engineering Associate Manager.
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ASPI Grad Lab
February, 13, 2023
The grad lab is designed to create opportunities for graduate students to come together-share and get feedback on their work and engage across disciplines with interests in autonomous systems/artificial intelligence.
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Karen Levy Discussion: Digital Surveillance in the Workplace
January, 26, 2023
Karen Levy, faculty member in the Department of Information Science at Cornell University, will discuss her book, "Data Driven: Truckers, Technology, and the new Workplace Surveillance."
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ASPI Grad Lab
January, 23, 2023
The grad lab is designed to create opportunities for graduate students to come together--share and get feedback on their work and engage across disciplines with interests in autonomous systems/artificial intelligence.
ASPI News
New AI Policy Minor to Grapple with Analytical, Practical and Ethical Questions
Taught by a team of faculty experts, the minor is offered to undergraduates from across the University starting this academic year.
See related: Artificial Intelligence, Data Privacy, Ethics, Government, School History, Student Experience, United States
Zhang Quoted in Business Insider Article on Careers That Are Safest From Automation
One safe bet is advanced manufacturing, where specialized roles still require human oversight despite growing automation on factory floors, says Baobao Zhang, Maxwell Dean Associate Professor of the Politics of AI. “They're not traditionally considered prestigious industries,” she says. “But it's these back-to-basics jobs that are harder to automate.”
See related: Autonomous Systems, Labor, United States
Baobao Zhang Awarded NSF CAREER Grant to Study Generative AI in the Workplace
$567,491 from the National Science Foundation will support groundbreaking work on how generative AI is reshaping productivity, satisfaction and skill development.
See related: Autonomous Systems, Awards & Honors, Labor, United States
Maxwell School Announces Faculty Promotions for 2025-26
See related: Promotions & Appointments
New $1M Gift to Build Bridges and Create Global Map to Enhance Democracies
See related: Giving
Zhang Weighs In on the AI Moratorium Defeat in MIT Technology Review Article
Baobao Zhang, Maxwell Dean Associate Professor of the Politics of AI, says that the administration may have been willing to give up on the moratorium in order to push through the rest of the bill by its self-imposed Independence Day deadline.
See related: Autonomous Systems, State & Local, United States
AI Boost or Bust? Johannes Himmelreich
Maxwell School professor examines the philosophy and ethics of data science and artificial intelligence.
See related: Autonomous Systems, Data Privacy, Ethics, Government
Retiring University Professor, Decorated Public Servant Sean O’Keefe Reflects on Legacy of Service
O’Keefe says his time as a Maxwell graduate student taught him the importance of employing a multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving, examining the wide range of possible outcomes and identifying what success looks like.
See related: Alumni Experience, School History
Ekbia Presents at AI and Sport Analytics Event
University Professor Hamid Ekbia was joined by Rodney Paul, professor in the Department of Sport Management at Falk College.
See related: Autonomous Systems, United States
Himmelreich Piece on Global Justice of AI Infrastructure Published in Cairo Review of Global Affairs
“Washington uses ‘chokepoints’ to restrict global access to AI development, but this approach may threaten U.S. national security while creating significant moral dilemmas,” says Johannes Himmelreich, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.
See related: Autonomous Systems, China, Government, International Affairs, United States
The Intersectionality Problem for Algorithmic Fairness
The study, co-authored by Johannes Himmelreich, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in Proceedings of Machine Learning Research.
See related: Research Methods
Janet Wilmoth Named Distinguished Professor
The designation is granted by the Board of Trustees to faculty who have achieved exceptionally distinguished stature in their academic specialties.
See related: Awards & Honors
O’Keefe Weighs In on Trump Team’s Use of Signal to Discuss Yemen Attack in Washington Examiner Piece
“In my experience from the standpoint of having served as an appointee in the Pentagon and as secretary of the Navy, using such an unsecured channel to coordinate plans is unheard of and would never have occurred in previous administrations,” says University Professor Sean O'Keefe.
See related: Federal, U.S. National Security, United States
O’Keefe Talks to the Washington Post About Trump Ending the Presidential Management Fellows Program
“This is one of the most unsettling, tragic pieces of news yet,” says Sean O’Keefe, University Professor and member of the presidential management program’s inaugural class. “This is a firing of convenience. They are looking for a headcount reduction; there is nothing qualitative about this.”
See related: Federal, United States
Himmelreich Quoted in Defense One Article on Google’s Return to Defense AI
“Military and surveillance tech aren’t bad or unethical as such. Instead, supporting national security and doing so in the right way is incredibly important. And supporting national security is, in fact, arguably the ethical thing to do," says Johannes Himmelreich, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs.
See related: Autonomous Systems, U.S. National Security, United States
O’Keefe Talks to CBS News, Florida Today About the Launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket
“The New Glenn rocket is all about significantly reducing the cost of access to space,” says Sean O'Keefe, University Professor and former NASA administrator. “This will give SpaceX some serious competition. ...These are exciting times in the space business.”
See related: Space Exploration, United States
Ekbia Discusses the Transformative Future of AI on FINTECH.TV
“Some people compare AI to the atomic bomb. I don't think this is that kind of risk, but there are risks. There are concerns—ethical, economic, social and cultural—that have to be addressed before it's too late. And I think one of our best tools to do that is policy,” says University Professor Hamid Ekbia.
See related: Autonomous Systems, United States
Himmelreich Discusses City of Syracuse’s Surveillance Tech Review Process in Central Current Article
“All communities need to innovate responsibly. The review will give everyone a say,” says Johannes Himmelreich, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs. “I would not want such drones to fly under the radar of public input.”
See related: Autonomous Systems, New York State, State & Local
Ekbia Weighs In on Trump’s Plan to Name an ‘AI Czar’ in Observer Article
“There’s no way for Elon Musk to be unbiased,” says University Professor Hamid Ekbia. “He will use his new-fangled role to insert xAI into a dominant position at the expense of competitors who have a history of divergent agendas and philosophies.”
See related: Autonomous Systems, Federal, United States
Himmelreich Speaks to The Register About Biden’s 2023 Executive Order on AI
“If they had strictly stuck to doing technocratic policy and formulated this as a matter of bureaucratic procedure, avoiding terms to which the Republican administration is allergic, maybe that executive order could have stood a chance,” suggests Johannes Himmelreich, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs.
See related: Autonomous Systems, Federal, United States