Institute for Policy, Ethics, and Culture (IPEC) News Blog

Month: November 2023

This Week’s IPEC Programming

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We have two great events scheduled this week!

  1. Guidance for (Land) Acknowledgement Statements in Ojibwa Homelands
    • CANCELED Thursday, November 30 from 5:00-6:30pm in Walker 120A
    • See event page for more information.
  2. Algorithmic Culture Brown Bag with Stefka Hristova and Soonkwan Hong
    • Friday, December 1 from 12:00-1:00pm in Peterson Library (Walker 3rd Floor)
    • Description: The sheer presence of algorithms poses existential questions about how deeply computational mechanisms have come to permeate everyday life. Join IPEC’s Director and Associate Director in discussing biases and unintended consequences of algorithms and AI.
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IPEC Seed Research Grant Application Now Open

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We are excited to announce the opening of our Seed Research Grant Application for IPEC members!

Seed Grants are awarded to individuals and groups to conduct preliminary research that will lead to a larger external grant proposal. Proposals should be in the following research areas without any priority: (1) Social Media and Society; (2) Human Machine Culture; (3) Justice and Security in Energy Transitions; (4) Ethics in STEM; and (5) Algorithmic Culture. 

Evaluation criteria include (a) Potential for future/continuous external funding;  (b) Previous research experience and productivity; (c) Scholarly merit of the proposed research project; (d) Potential for extended/continuous research program; (e) Potential for future collaborative work.

Interested applicants shall submit their applications by Feb. 16, 2024. The maximum funding amount is $5,000 with an expected average of $2,500.

Awardees are expected to submit a report upon completion of the project.

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This Week’s IPEC Programming

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Cayuse Training, 11/14 9-10:00 AM, Library Room 242

Join us tomorrow from 9-10:00 AM in Library Room 242 for Cayuse Training! Register for the session to attend.

Research Proposal Writing Workshop, 11/16 6:30-7:30 PM, Walker 107

On Thursday, we’re collaborating with the Graduate Student Government and Ecosystem Science Center for a Research Proposal Writing Workshop, geared toward Graduate Students. Visit GSG’s website for more information about the event.

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Now Streaming: Dr. Jason Archer on IPEC Presents Podcast 

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The third episode of IPEC’s monthly podcast is now streaming on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

Our guest, Dr. Jason Archer, discusses his research in human machine communication and haptics. Jason is an Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Technologies here at Michigan Tech. Jason serves on the executive committee of IPEC and leads our Human Machine Culture research area. This research area focuses on the developing dynamics between humans and machines — the ways humans and communicative machines sense and make sense of the world together, and the cultural impacts of those formations.

Together, we talk about our next sense-revolution: touch. Listen now!

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This Week’s IPEC Programming

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Dr. Jason Archer’s Guest Appearance on IPEC’s podcast streams tomorrow, November 7! In our third episode, host Kendall Belopavlovich and Jason discuss his research in human machine communication, haptics, and sensory studies. Check out our podcast page for more.

On Thursday, the Graduate Student Government will be facilitating a 3 Minute Thesis competition. The finals will be held from 6-8:00pm, November 9, at the Great Lakes Research Center.

Finally, Friday is set to see IPEC members Charles Wallace and Susanna Peters facilitate a Computer Science Colloquium from 3-4:00pm in Rekhi 214. This event is also available as a webinar. See the event page for more details!

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Featured Member: Jason Archer

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Jason Archer

Featured Member

This month, we’re featuring the work of one of the institute’s executive committee members, Dr. Jason Archer.

Jason is an Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Technologies, Director of Communication, Culture, and Media, and Human Machine Culture Research Area Lead for IPEC.

According to Jason, “I situate my research at the nexus of communication, media studies, science and technology studies (STS), and sensory studies, with emphasis on human-machine communication and haptics. I am currently working on projects related to human machine culture: robotic touch and sociality, surgical robotics and sociotechnical constructions of disability, and haptic holograms.”

Events

During this year’s 41 North Film Festival, Jason will be hosting a panel with Steven Walton and Charles Wallace after the screening of the film Time Bomb Y2K on November 2, 7:00 pm.

We’re excited to delve into Jason’s research in this month’s episode of the IPEC Presents Podcast, streaming on Spotify and Apple Podcasts November 7, at 6:00 am.

Human Machine Culture Research Area

The Human Machine Culture research area seeks diverse researchers interested in examining cultural debates about communicative machines (social robots, virtual agents, chatbots, and other AI entities), critiquing the culture of communicative machine development, investigating social practices arising from the integration of these machines into everyday life, and exploring the potential for novel artistic and expressive forms emerging through human machine configurations.  

The research area aims to establish connections between researchers of diverse disciplines, in areas of humanities, arts, sciences, and engineering to address the complexity and consequences of Human Machine Culture. 

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