Events

Aside from self-fulfilling prophecies which we know are often self-defeating, predicting the future course of events has both desirable and undesirable effects.  Join us for a brief Ted Talk about this, and then share your thoughts on the talk.   Do you like ruminating about the future of things, or does it annoy you, or […]

Have you ever wondered what a 911 operator experiences in a typical work day?  Is it a constant stream of horrible situations such as the depictions you see on TV?  Or it is 90% boredom coupled with 10% horror?  We will hear from a 911 operator today.  She will share experiences, and insights from her […]

Kara Stewart will speak with us about NC's current American Indian tribes, highlighting her own tribe, the  Sappony, whose traditional territory straddles the NC/VA state line. You can find North Carolina's state and federally recognized tribes on the NC Commission of Indian Affairs website. This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting.  We will meet at our […]

Automated license plate reader cameras are often presented as simple crime-fighting tools, but systems like Flock create a searchable record of where ordinary people drive, when they travel, and who they may be visiting. This talk will explain how these camera networks work, why they raise serious privacy and civil liberties concerns, and why communities […]

AI is rapidly becoming mandatory for modern militaries. Drone swarms, autonomous weapons, the use of AI for identifying military targets and directing weapons can be highly effective where human control fails. To what extent should AI be trusted with lethal force? What limitations should be placed on AI on the battlefield? What levels of human […]