Northern Plains Ethics Institute is scheduled to host an AI and The Humanities seminar featuring North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark R. Hagerott at noon to 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 27, at the Memorial Union Prairie Rose room.

Hagerott’s presentation titled “Promise and Pitfalls of Living with Intelligent Machines in the Age of AI” will explore the relationship with artificial intelligence and humanity.

The explosion of AI capability, demonstrated by CHAT-GPT released late last year, provides shocking evidence that we are entering an age of epic socio-technological transformation. The question of the Age will be: how do we best share the planet and our societies with a new form of intelligence? 

Hagerott will offer a framework to help inform the development of adaptive strategies both with intelligent robots and in the metaverse/cyberspace. History and experience can help be our guide, but it will be admitted that with AI, we are witnessing a profound break with the past. The world as we know it is passing away. Come and join the discussion of what might be, both the promise and the pitfalls, living with our new intelligent digital neighbors. 

Hagerott asks that this be a very interactive discussion with the audience. The audience feedback will be included in an expanded article.

Prior to his move back home to North Dakota, Dr. Hagerott served on the faculty and held numerous academic leadership roles at the United States Naval Academy. He also served as a planning and strategy director in one of the largest U.S. Army educational organizations, NATO Training Mission, which included army, air force and medical school programs. Hagerott served as distinguished professor and deputy director of the Center for Cyber Security Studies at the Naval Academy and served on the Defense Science Board summer study of unmanned systems 2014-2015. He is a commissioner on the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

Hagerott’s research and writing are focused on the evolution of technology, education and changes in technical career paths, and he is the author of multiple articles and book chapters, with a recent emphasis on unmanned systems. He served as a non-resident cyber Fellow of the New America Foundation, 2015-2017. He was among the first military professors from the United States to brief the Geneva Convention on the challenge of lethal robotic machines and argue the merits of early arms control measures in 2014. In addition, his proposals for national education reform of the Land Grant universities have been published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, and have been presented on Capitol Hill and the White House. 

This event is sponsored by the NPEI, NDSU School of Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences and the Dakota Digital Academy.

Please contact Dennis Cooley at dennis.cooley@ndsu.edu or ndsu.npei@ndsu.edu with questions or comments.