As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more commonplace, many activists and academics have raised concerns about the ethics of this rapidly evolving technology, including issues with maintaining privacy and preventing bias and discrimination. Amid the debate, businesses and companies are often unclear on how best to navigate the murky water of AI and ethics.

On Monday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. Fairfield University’s Charles F. Dolan School of Business will address some of these growing concerns with a timely virtual panel discussion on the ethics of AI applications in commerce, society, and technology. 

Hosted via Zoom, the webinar is free and open to the public and will feature expert panelists Jacob Alber, principal software engineer at Microsoft Research; Iosif M. Gershteyn, CEO at ImmuVia and chairman of the Ajax Biomedical Foundation; and Philip Maymin, PhD, associate professor of analytics and director of the online Master’s in Business Analytics program at Fairfield University. At the conclusion of the hour-long discussion, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive Q&A with the panelists. 

“Whenever discussions about AI come up, ethics very quickly follows,” Dr. Maymin said. “It’s unsurprising that all the same age-old prejudices we’ve ever had as a society against another group — they’re smarter, faster, stronger, more numerous — apply even more so to AI. So imagine if we can solve this ethical conundrum. If we can figure out ethics in AI, and AI in ethics, it may mean we can solve other social injustices too."

Fairfield Dolan’s “Ethics in Artificial Intelligence” webinar is sponsored by Fairfield University’s online master’s degree program in business analytics. Registration for the event is required in advance and available online.

For more information on Fairfield Dolan’s online master’s degree program in business analytics, visit www.fairfield.edu/msba.