center on Computing & Society turns 20

Wed., Apr 02

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Research Center on Computing and Society, Southern will host a public address entitled "Avoiding Ethical Disasters in the Information Age" by Simon Rogerson (right), who is Director of the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility at De Montfort University, U.K. His address will occur on Wednesday, April 2, at 1 p.m. in the theater of the Adanti Student Center. Rogerson is Europe's first professor in computer ethics and was named one of the world's top five experts in the field at the World Technology Awards 2003. A brief bio of Professor Rogerson can be found here (opens as a PDF file). A description of his topic may be found here (opens as a PDF file).

In addition to Rogerson's public address, Southern will host an invitation-only roundtable conference, "Ethics for Robots, Softbots, Cyborgs and Other New 'Agents'" on March 28. "Some famous computer ethics scholars will attend, along with the staff and doctoral students of the research center," says Philosophy Professor Terry Bynum, Director of Southern's Research Center.

The Center spreads the word about the need for ethical policies in the rapidly changing world of computers and seeks to address potential social and ethical impacts before they happen. Its Web site gets 2 million hits per year from visitors in more than 120 countries. The Center has secured more than $300,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation, and scholars from many countries come for instruction or to participate in cooperative efforts. More information about the center can be found on its Web site: http://www.southernct.edu/organizations/rccs/