STUV Archive

STUV: Science, Technology, and Utopian Visions

Topics 2004-2018

2004-2005 Activities

In our first year, we held the following monthly meetings:

• September 22 - Discussion of two books by Neal Stephenson, Diamond Age and Snow Crash.

• October 27 - Discussion of Thomas Frank’s What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America.

• November 17 - Discussion of David Noble’s The Religion of Technology.

• December 15 - Discussion of images of the future, e.g., books from various art and photo exhibits, pictures from the 1939 World’s Fair, etc.

• January 20 - An evening with Greg Pak, creator of the film “Robot Stories,” a film festival science fiction hit about human characters struggling to connect in a world of robot babies and android office workers. Joint with the Technology and Ethics Working Group of the Yale Interdisciplinary Bioethics Project and the Information Society Project of the Yale Law School.

• February 16 - We were invited by the Working Group on Religious and Spiritual Issues in Bioethics to participate in a late afternoon seminar followed by an evening lecture on “Crossing Moral Thresholds: To Be Human in an Age of Global Warming and Genetic Engineering” by Bill McKibben, Scholar-in-Residence at Middlebury College.

• March 23 - Peter van Ness, Epidemology and Public Health, lead a discussion of the research on music and health, in light of the popularity (and transhumanist rhetoric) of the Mozart Effect, and with overtones (so to speak) of the drumming in our first book, Diamond Age.

• April 20 - James Grimmelmann, Yale Law School, lead a discussion of Stephen Wolfram’s A New Kind of Science. Joint with the Technology and Ethics Working Group of the Yale Interdisciplinary Bioethics Project and the Information Society Project of the Yale Law School.

• May 18 - An discussion with James Hughes of Trinity College, and discussion of his book Democratic Transhumanism.

2005-2006 Activities

• September 14, 2005 - Robert Evenson, Professor of Economics & of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, “Acceptance of Genetically Modified Crops (Foods) vs Genetically Modified Pharmaceuticals”.

• November 9, 2005 - Michael Fischer, Professor of Computer Science, “The Rhetoric vs the Reality of Electronic Voting”.

• December 14, 2005 - Philip E. Rubin, Chief Executive Officer and Vice President, Haskins Laboratories; Adjunct Professor, Department of Surgery, Otolaryngology; and Research Affiliate, Department of Psychology, “Talking Heads: From the History of Early Talking Machines Through Embodied Conversational Agents”.

• January 11, 2006 - Planning Meeting.

• February 8, 2006 - Peter H. Van Ness, Yale University School of Medicine, Program on Aging, “The Revaluation of Randomness: New Forms of Ambivalence Regarding Chance Events”.

• March 8, 2006 - Wendall Wallach, Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, “Moral Intelligence in the Information Age”.

• April 26, 2006 - Christina Spiesel, Senior Research Scholar, Law School, “Reading Words/Reading Pictures”.

• May 10, 2006 - Sydney Spiesel, Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and of Nursing.

• May 31, 2006 - Aubrey de Grey, Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge.

• “Life extension, human rights, and the rational refinement of repugnance”.

• June 14, 2006 - Bonnie Kaplan, Yale Center for Medical Informatics, “The Subjective Computer”.

2006-2007 Activities

This year’s activities primarily involved working group members leading discussions of their research.

• September 20, 2006 - Bonnie Kaplan,Yale Center for Medical Informatics, “Computer as Rorschach & Magic Mirror”.

• October 18, 2006 - Bettyann H Kevles, History, “Patent Images from the Early 18th Century Through the early 21st Century”.

• November 8, 2006 - Sydney Spiesel, Pediatrics and Nursing, “Screen Issues”.

• December 20, 2006 - Planning Meeting.

• January 17, 2007 - Alice Fischer, Computer Science, University of New Haven, “The Elusive Utopia: A World Where Computer Programs Work Right”.

• February 28, 2007 - Jing Tsu, East Asian Languages and Literatures, “Fiction From the Petri Dish: Translating Life in Germany, East Asia, and America.”

• March 28, 2007 - Kevin Repp, Beinecke Library, “Tour of the World’s Fair Exhibit”.

• April 11, 2007 - Gary Kopf, Surgery, “Changing Paradigms in Scientific Methods”.

• May 16, 2007 - Carlos Torre.

• June 14, 2006 – TBA,

2008-2009 Activities

We spent the year considering different views of utopia and the future. We started by analyzing in depth aspects of one such idea, the idea of “the singularity.” The singularity is the point at which artificial intelligence equals human intelligence. Some consider this as ushering in a utopian world, others as a dystopia, and others as an impossibility. We began by reading a recent issue of IEEE Spectrum devoted to the singularity. Later readings included science fiction, historical writing, scientific articles, other depictions of utopia, and social analyses. We also explored Second Life, a current, living utopian social community on line. Our discussions explored (a) different views of what happens after the singularity, (b) what can/should we do about the possibility of a singularity, as humanists and scientists, (c) whether we are in a cycle of scientific rationalism followed by romantic backlash followed by rationalism followed by backlash...., with the backlash period now under way, (d) what our own visions of utopia would be, and (e) what it is like being in a (virtual) utopian community. Different group members took responsibility for selecting topics and readings and for leading discussion.

• Sept 10 - Philip Rubin led a discussion of readings on the singularity from IEEE Spectrum.

• Oct 15 - Philip Rubin continued the discussion of the singularity and Hugo Award winner Vernor Vinge's new book, Rainbow’s End.

• Nov 19 - Rafi Ryger led a discussion of readings from Scientific American, IEEE Spectrum, and the Portia Project on issues in computing, privacy, and what the “organisms” or “agents” are.

• Dec 10 - Rafi Ryger continued discussions related to the singularity, secure multiparty computation, economic matters, etc., with the following readings: “The Currency of Cooperation” and Chapter IV: “Money and Property” from The Ascent of Humanity by Charles Eisenstein (suggested by Carlos Torre), and the first chapter of Accelerando by Charles Stross (suggested by Philip Rubin).

• Jan 14 - Peter Van Ness led a discussion of the entire book Accelerando by Charles Stross.

• Feb 11 - Wendell Wallach led a discussion on the topic, “Let’s Create Our Own Utopia,” with reading by Gerald Holton, “Science and Progress Revisited”. In: Leo Marx and Bruce Mazlish (eds.) Progress: Fact or Illusion? Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996, pp. 9-26 (suggested by Bonnie Kaplan) and a chapter from The History of Shit by Dominique LaPorte (suggested by Christian Spiesel).

• Mar 11 - We hosted Deborah Johnson, Anne Shirley Carter Olsson Professor of Applied Ethics at the University of Virginia. Prof. Johnson had spoken earlier in the day on “Landmines, Lifeboats, and Computers: Are They Moral Agents?” for the Technology and Ethics Working Group of the Interdisciplinary Bioethics Center.

• Apr 1 - Bettyanne Kevles led a discussion of Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach.

• May 13 - Sydney Spiesel led a discussion of the virtual utopian community Second Life.

2009-2010 Activities

• Sept 9 Raphael Ryger - Paul Krugman’s NY Times Magazine recent article "How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?".

• Oct 14 Sydney Spiesel - Utopian Medicine and Technology: Discussion of “Medical Utopias and Technology” and “Promoters and Barriers to Utopian Goals”.

• Nov 11 Gary Kopf - Don't Sleep, There are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle, by Daniel L Everett.

• Dec 9 Christina Spiesel - Video Evidence and the Law, with showing of police dash cam video.

• Jan 13 Alice Fischer - Public Health and Salt in the Yale Dining Halls: Discussion of:

‍ ‍http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/business/11salt.html,

‍ ‍http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/07/01/news/new_haven/a1-yusnacks.txt,

‍ ‍http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/12/27/news/a1poy.txt

• Feb 10 Carlos Torre - Discussion of Jared Diamond’s article “The Worst Mistake In The History Of The Human Race" and a rough draft of a presentation proposal on “The Ecology Of Education: Reflections on a Sustainable Future”.

• Mar 10 Wendell Wallach - Navigating the Future: Near-term, Mid-term, and Long-term Public Policy Challenges Posed by Bio-Tech, Info-Tech, and Nano-Tech.

• Apr 7 Philip Rubin – Privacy: Discussion of Chapter 2 from the book Blown to Bits by Hal Abelson, Ken Ledeen, and Harry Lewis, titled “Naked in the Sunlight: Privacy Lost, Privacy Abandoned” and “How Privacy Vanishes Online” from The New York Times, March 16, 2010.

• May 5 BettyAnn Kevles –‘60s Visions of The Future of Space Travel and Computers: Discussion of a short DVD of Bettyann Kevles, Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C Clarke, and others about the film “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

• Jun 9 General Discussion - Utopian Visions in the Movies.

2010-2011 Activities

• Sept 1: James C. Scott, Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Anthropology – “The Failure of Modernist Utopian Ideologies”.

• Oct 13: Christina Spiesel, Sr. Research Scholar, Law School – “Genetic Prediction of Potential Dangerousness”.

• Nov 3: Bettyann Kevles, Sr. Lecturer, History, “Space Art and ‘2001’ “.

• Dec 8: Carlos Torre, Professor of Education at Southern Connecticut State, Fellow of Berkeley College - “Book Project: Utopian Vision for Education”.

• Jan 19: Sydney Spiesel, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics - “Immunizations and Utopia: The Bundaberg Disaster”.

• Feb 9: Wendell Wallach, Bioethics Center Scholar - “Managing the Combinatorial Impact of Emerging Technologies”.

• Mar 9: Philip Rubin, CEO and Senior Scientist, Haskins Laboratories – “Culturomics”.

• Apr 13: Michael Fischer, Professor of Computer Science - “Voting Machines: Hacking Utopia”.

• May 11: Alice Fischer, Professor of Computer Science, Univ of New Haven - “Privacy is Dead - Get Over It”.

• June 1: Gary Kopf, Professor of Cardiac Surgery – “UN Millennium Development Goals”.

2011-2012 Activities

• Sept - Christina Spiesel led discussion of the book Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson.

• Oct - Bettyann Kevles led discussion Capek's 1923 play R.U.R., Asimov’s 3 Laws of Robotics, and the movie “Robot and Frank”.

• Nov - Sidney Spiesel led discussion of David Levy's book, Love & Sex with Robots.

• Dec - Alice Fischer led discussion on privacy as a foundation for democracy.

• Jan - Joanna Radin led discussion of cryonic preservation.

• Feb – cancelled due to weather.

• Mar – Carlos Torre led a discussion of BIOS Theory.

• Apr - Raphael Ryger led a discussion of "Knowledge and Science: Idealizations, Realities, Pathologies," and consideration of where is science headed.

• May – Michael Fischer led a discussion of Bitcoin digital currency

• June – Shlomit Yanisky-Ravid led a discussion of privacy issues.

2012-2013 Activities

• Oct Utopian Visions and The Internet. Bonnie

• Nov Tax Policy. Rafi

• Dec Risk and Risk Assessment. Mike & Wendell

• Jan Cosmopolitanism:Ethics in a World of Strangers by KA Appia - Gary

• Feb I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy by Lori Andrews. BettyAnn

• Mar Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!, by Ralph Nader. Alice

• Apr Liberal Education in the Context of the 21st Century. Mike

• May Judea Pearl, Causality, Chance, and Utopia. Peter

• June Women in Science. Shlomit

2013-2014 Activities

• Oct: Michael Fischer, Prof of Computer Science – Surveillance and Security.

• Nov: Jonathan Manes, Clinical Lecturer in Law - “Transparency as a Utopian Vision: the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic (MFIA) at the Law School”.

• Dec: Christina Spiesel, Senior Research Scholar in Law & Yale Information Society Project Fellow - “MOOCs and On-Line Education”.

• Jan: Alice Fischer, Prof of Computer Science - “Is Education a Utopian Ideal?” .

• Feb: Eden Medina, Yale Law School, and Assoc Prof of Informatics and Computing & Director of the Rob Kling Center for Social Informatics at Indiana University - “Cybernetic Revolutionaries: Technology and Politics in Allende's Chile”.

• Mar: Jill Campbell, Prof of English – “Robot Relationships: The Movies Her and Robot and Frank.

• Apr: Gary Kopf, Prof of Surgery - Congenital Heart Surgery and Tissue Engineering.

• May: Sydney Spiesel, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics; Bonnie Kaplan, Lecturer at Yale Center for Medical Informatics, Yale Bioethics Center Scholar, and Yale Information Society Project Faculty Fellow; and Gary Kopf, Prof of Surgery – “Utopian Medical Ethics”.

• June: Carlos Torre, Professor of Education at Southern Connecticut State, Fellow of Berkeley College - how cultures can learn from each other… especially the ones affecting the dynamics, currently, in the US... And how public education is or could be addressing these issues.

2014-2015 Activities

• Sept: Planning meeting

• Oct: Shlomit Yaniksy-Ravid, Yale Law School Information Society Project (ISP) Fellow – “The Right to be Forgotten”.

• Nov: Luciana Garbayo, Yale-Hastings Visiting Scholar - “Big Data and Learning Health Systems: A Utopian Vision for Public Health and Healthcare?” .

• Dec: Andrey Tolstoy, PhD candidate in Film and Media Studies and Comparative Literature - “Going off the Grid” .

• Jan: Gary Kopf, Prof of Surgery – “Physician-Assisted Suicide”.

• Feb: Carlos Torre, Fellow of Berkeley College - “Eden Medina's Cybernetic Revolutionaries: Technology and Politics in Allende's Chile - An Insider View”.

• Mar: Jill Campbell, Prof of English – movie night showing of We Live in Public.

• Apr: Jill Campbell, Prof of English – discussion of We Live in Public.

• May: Special Event - Excursion to the New Britain Museum of American Art to see the Angry Robots exhibit.

• June: Alice Fischer, Prof of Computer Science - “Computer-Produced Research Papers”.

2015-2016 Activities

During the year, a group member lead discussions on:

• Sept: Wendell Wallach, chair of the Technology & Ethics Working Group of the Bioethics Center - His new book, A Dangerous Master: How to keep technology from slipping beyond our control.

• Oct: Shlomit Yaniksy-Ravid, Yale Law School Information Society Project (ISP) Fellow – “Privacy of Public Figures”.

• Nov: Raphael Ryger, Computer Science – “Utopian Perspectives on Big Problems and Possible Solutions”.

• Dec: Andrey Tolstoy, PhD candidate in Film and Media Studies and Comparative Literature – “Utopian Origins of Documentary Film”.

• Feb: Open discussion.

• Apr: Jill Campbell, Prof of English – discussion of David Graeber's The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy.

• May: Sydney Spiesel, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics - discussion of David Graeber’s The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy.

• June: Alice Fischer, Prof of Computer Science - “Computer-Produced Research Papers”.

2016-2017 Activities

During the year, a group member lead discussions on:

• Oct: Christina Spiesel, Research Scholar (Law), Information Society Faculty Affiliate—”Trans-Pacific Partnership”.

• Nov: Shlomit Yaniksy-Ravid, Yale Law School Information Society Project (ISP) Fellow—”What's so Intelligent about Artificial Intelligence? AI's Implications for the Legal Regime”.

• Dec: Bonnie Kaplan, Yale Center for Medical Informatics, Yale Bioethics Center Scholar, Yale Information Society Project Faculty Affiliate— “Open Data and Libraries of the Future”.

• Jan: Alice Fischer, Prof of Computer Science—”Is an Ethical AI an Oxymoron?” .

• Feb: Beth Simone Noveck, Florence Rogatz Visiting Clinical Professor of Law— “Open Data/Open Government”.

• Mar: Raphael Ryger, Computer Science-- “Challenges of Reporting in the New Administration” .

• Apr: Philip Rubin, Senior Advisor to the President of Haskins, adjunct professor in the Department of Surgery, Otolaryngology, Research Affiliate in the Department of Psychology-- “The Common Rule: From Obama to Trump - Protecting Human Subjects”.

• May: Michael Fischer, Prof of Computer Science -- “Voting Technologies for Democracy & Social Welfare”.

• June: recap and planning meeting.

2017-2018 Activities

During the year, a group member lead discussions on:

• Sept: Planning meeting.

• Oct; Alice Fischer, Prof of Computer Science, and Christina Spiesel, Research Scholar (Law), Information Society Faculty Affiliate Fellow— “Do you see what I see? An examination of the differing capabilities of human and robotic vision”.

• Nov: Mason Miller, Yale Law School Information Society Project Fellow— “Bioengineered Human Tissues and the Future of Medicine”.

• Dec: Alice Fischer, Prof of Computer Science, and Christina Spiesel, Research Scholar (Law), Information Society Faculty Affiliate Fellow— “Do you see what I see? An examination of the differing capabilities of human and robotic vision (cont.)”.

• Jan: Shlomit Yanisky-Ravid , Yale Law School Information Society Project (ISP) Fellow, Fordham Law School Visiting International Professor, and Professor of Law at ONO Academic Law School, Israel, and The Founder and Director of the Shalom Comparative Legal Research Center—”The Challenges of the Digital (AI) Rating Era”.

• Feb: Patricia Vargas-Leon, Yale Law School Information Society Project (ISP) Fellow and PhD Candidate at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University— “The ‘Internet kill switch’ and Government Control Over the Internet Infrastructure”.

• Mar: Spring Break.

• Apr: Carlos Torre, Fellow of Berkeley College and Professor of Education— “Human Relationships and Education in the 4th Industrial Revolution”.

• May: Kamel Ajii, Yale Law School Information Society Project Fellow, and doctoral candidate at Paris 2 Pantheon Assas University— “Reining in the Digital Sovereigns: A Proposal.”

2019-2026 Activities will be recreated and added at a later date.

 ‍STUV