Dr. Mary J.C. Hendrix, president of Shepherd University, has created this distinguished lecture series—for the campus and community, and it has become part of the Lifelong Learning Program.
Fall 2024
All lectures, which are free and open to the public, take place in the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education auditorium. These lectures will also be livestreamed on the Shepherd University Youtube channel.
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Science Fiction or Fact? Artificial Intelligence Risk and What To Do About It
September 24 | 6:30 p.m.
Harriet Pearson, Founder & CEO, Axia Advisory LLC
AI-powered systems can boost human productivity, but they also may present biased or inaccurate results. In the hands of malicious actors, AI-enabled content and capabilities can also be used to disrupt elections and democracy itself. AI may even pose an existential threat to humanity, according to some experts.
What’s fact and what’s speculative? What can be done to protect our institutions and individuals? Drawing on more than three decades of technology, business, and regulatory experience, Harriet Pearson will present a birds-eye view of AI risk and reward, including:
- AI in action: Examples
- Implications of widespread use of AI
- What is being done now to promote responsible AI and protect against harm
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What Does Political Rhetoric Owe Democracy?
October 28 | 6:30 p.m.
Peter Loge, Director of the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at George Washington University
American democracy is the process by which we decide how to divvy up the stuff and what to do next. People make the best argument for their ideas, we hold a vote, do what we voted to do, and then argue some more. Democracy isn’t the outcome, it’s the process. Democracy is both a means and an end. In this light, when we engage in politics – when we “do” political communication – we have an ethical obligation to politics itself. The broader and better the conversation, and the better those arguments are, the stronger our democracy is. The narrower and worse the conversation and arguments, the weaker our democracy gets. Join this presentation to learn about what our ethical obligations look like to ensure and improve our democratic conversation.
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Where Do We Go From Here?
November 18 | 6:30 p.m.
Scott Widmeyer, Founding Managing Partner / Chief Strategy Officer at FINN Partners
Fresh off the critical November 5 elections, political and public affairs strategist Scott Widmeyer who also co-chairs The Stubblefield Institute for Civil Political Communications, will share his thoughts on how civility scored in the 2024 election cycle as part of the President’s Lecture Series for Fall 2024. And, he will tackle a series of key questions, including:
- Why are Americans tuned out and disillusioned with politics?
- What hopeful signs became more evident vis-à-vis civility coming out of the November elections?
- How can colleges like Shepherd and programs like Stubblefield change the equation?
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For more information, contact Lucinda Powers, Director of Continuing Education & Lifelong Learning, at Lpowers@shepherd.edu or 304-876-5135.