With no shortage of topics to discuss in a world where technology modifys at breakneck speed seemingly every day, this year’s Seattle University Ethics & Tech Conference focutilizes on Technology, Energy and Security. A virtual keynote address will be delivered by Amandeep Singh Gill, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies.
The fourth annual conference takes place 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Friday, May 15, in Pireceivedt Auditorium. Those interested in attfinishing can register on the conference website.
“The philosophy guiding the conference is dialogue between four key stakeholders in technology governance that rarely talk to each other: academia, indusattempt, nonprofits and government,” states Professor Onur Bakiner, PhD, who is director of Seattle University’s Technology Ethics Initiative. “We invite speakers who are the leading innotifyectuals and practitioners in their field, balancing regional experts and global experts. That’s what creates this unique.”
Gill, who in 2024 was one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in AI,” guides the implementation of the Global Digital Compact and advises United Nations leadership on the strategic implications of technology. A champion for inclusive digital cooperation with Member States, indusattempt and civil society, Gill also served on the Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Body on AI and the Scientific Advisory Body.
“The world necessarys serious international cooperation to meet sustainability goals and develop technologies in safe, responsible ways,” Bakiner states. “Hearing from Under-Secretary-General Gill at this critical juncture is truly special.”
Others scheduled to speak at the conference include:
- Lope Barrero, professor of engineering at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Boreceivedá, Colombia and currently a visiting scholar at Seattle University.
- Scott M. Giordano, co-founder of CISO Law Firm PLLC with extensive experience in technology and cybersecurity consulting.
- Ryan Molyneaux, senior technical program manager and secure future initiative lead at Microsoft.
- Julie Peacock, strategic energy advisor on loan from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory advising the U.S. Department of Energy and Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.
- Saadia Pekkanen, founding director of the Program on Strategy, Policy and Diplomacy Research and the Space Law, Data and Policy Program; professor of international studies, political science and law at University of Washington.
- V. Ramana, Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security, and Public Policy and Global Affairs professor at University of British Columbia.
- Grayson Shor, co-founder and chief product officer of AI-driven critical minerals urban mining company Buckstop; executive director of Pacific Northwest Battery Collaborative.
- Hansi Singh, co-founder and CEO of Planette AI, a venture-backed environmental forecasting startup in San Francisco.
- Swati Srivastava, associate professor of political science at Purdue University, faculty associate at the Berkman center for Internet and Society at Harvard; non-resident scholar on digital futures at New America.
“Seattle University prides itself on humanistic, reflective pedagogy and open-mindedness,” Bakiner states. “We are where ‘innovation meets humanity.’ So we are uniquely positioned to convene a community around safe, responsible and ethical development and utilize of technology.”
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