Affect Manipulation and Arms-Length Autonomy

Regina Rini (York University)

The African Centre for Epistemology and Philosophy of Science (ACEPS) at the University of Johannesburg invites you to:

WORKSHOP SERIES: DATA, DISCOURSE & DEMOCRACY: UNPACKING THE EPISTEMIC AND POLITICAL IMPACT OF AI

WORKSHOP:

Affect Manipulation and Arms-Length Autonomy

Professor Regina Rini

When: 30 September 9:00-11:00 ET/ 15:00-17:00 SAST

Where: ZOOM LINK: https://zoom.us/j/92091377689

Abstract:

Early social media algorithms were driven largely by social data: you were served content based on your location and friends. But now these algorithms are much more like the recommender systems deployed in Netflix or YouTube, selecting content on the basis of predicted attention-trapping features. This shift creates risks of a new sort of online propaganda: sentiment manipulation through targeted affect reinforcement. In this talk, I will outline what such propagandistic techniques may look like, why they present a novel problem for democratic public space, and how the tools of philosophy may play a role in preparing a defence.

Bio:

Regina Rini teaches in the Philosophy Department at York University, where she holds the Canada Research Chair in Philosophy of Moral and Social Cognition. Her writing covers a wide range of topics, including moral agency, moral disagreement, the psychology of moral judgment, political epistemology, and the moral status of artificial intelligence. Some of her publications include: “Deep Fakes and Deep Harms’, ‘Deepfakes and the Epistemic Backstop’, and

‘Fake News and Partisan Epistemology’.

INFO

Inquiries:[email protected]

ACEPS:https://www.uj.ac.za/aceps

Organiser:Paige Benton

Funding:GES Grant

All are welcome!

Paige Benton