Advancing technology for the benefit of humanity is the IEEE tagline. In order for technology to benefit humanity, it is essential to address ethical concerns and societal implications. Join a panel of IEEE members as they discuss the various ways in which IEEE helps address the ethical and societal impacts of technology, why that’s important, and how people (especially members) can get involved.

Panelists

• Raja Chatila | Chair, IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems
• Heather Love | Member at Large, IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology Board of Governors
• Stephen Welby | IEEE Executive Director and COO
• Mark A. Vasquez | IEEE TechEthics Program Manager (moderator)

Bios

– Raja Chatila, IEEE Fellow, is Professor of AI, Robotics and Ethics at Sorbonne University in Paris. He’s Director of the Laboratory of Excellence “SMART” on human-machine interaction. His research covers several aspects in robot navigation, motion planning and control, cognitive and control architectures, human-robot interaction, robot learning and ethics, and he has published over 160 papers on these topics. He is member of the CERNA, The Ethics Committee on Research in Information Science and Technology of the Allistene Alliance in France, and chair of The IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems.

– Heather Love is an elected Member-at-Large on the IEEE’s Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT) Board of Governors, a position she has held since 2018. She an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada), where she conducts interdisciplinary research on topics related to engineering, technology, literature, and culture. Her current book projects, Cybernetic Aesthetics, argues that early twentieth-century experimental literature is an important part of the “cultural pre-history” of mid- and later-century cybernetics work. She teaches first-year communication courses to students in the electrical and computer engineering and the life sciences programs. These courses invite students to consider the broader social and ethical implications of their professions and their future work. Her service work with the IEEE SSIT encompasses several roles: she is involved with the IEEE SSIT’s conference series on “Norbert Wiener in the 21^st Century,” for which she served as Chair of Interdisciplinary Engagement in 2015-2016, Guest Editor for special issues of the IEEE Technology & Society Magazine based on conference material in 2015 & 2017, and Publications Chair for the 2020 conference, which will take place in Chennai, India. In addition, she edits the IEEE SSIT’s monthly newsletter, and she represented the organization at the 2019 UN Civil Societies Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.

– Prior to joining IEEE, Stephen Welby served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering for the U.S. Department of Defense.  In this role, he served as the chief technology officer for the U.S. Department of Defense, leading one of the largest and most complex research, development, and engineering organizations in the world.  Prior to this position, Stephen served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Engineering, providing engineering oversight of the department’s programs, establishing technical policy, and managing its technical workforce. Stephen has more than 28 years of government and industrial experience in technology and product development, including senior leadership positions at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).  His technical experience includes development of leading edge aeronautical and space systems, robotics, machine learning, high-performance software, and sensor systems. Stephen holds a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a master’s degree in business administration from the Texas A&M University, and master’s degrees in computer science and applied mathematics from The Johns Hopkins University.

– Mark A. Vasquez is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) with over 25 years of experience in association management at IEEE. He currently serves as the program manager for IEEE TechEthics (techethics.ieee.org), a program that has been launched to drive conversations about the ethical and societal impacts of technology. In this capacity, he works to develop relationships with others in the technology ethics community, produces events, convenes thought leaders, and more. Mark is an engineering graduate of The Cooper Union.

Part of the IEEE TechEthics Conversations Series