Schedule at a Glance

Day No. 1: Monday, Dec. 5, 2022

Rice University, BioScience Research Collaborative (BRC)

Time Session/Description Venue

8 a.m.

Breakfast and registration

BRC Event Hall

9 a.m.

Welcome remarks
Reginald DesRoches, president, Rice University

BRC Auditorium

9:05 a.m.

Opening Remarks
Anthony K. Brandt, director, Scientia Institute; chair of composition and theory, the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University

BRC Auditorium

Morning Session - BRC Auditorium

Information Technology: Most teenagers in many parts of the world carry computers and smartphones that are more powerful than the computers used by NASA to support a human mission to the moon 50 years ago. Artificial Intelligence (AI), a long-term dream of technologists, has progressed dramatically over the past few years, reaching milestones that seemed inconceivable just a decade ago. Rice University has recently launched a Data-Science Initiative. But while a decade ago the popular view of information technology and its impact on society was quite rosy, this perception has changed dramatically over the past few years as the adverse societal impacts of information technology are becoming evident. The session on information technology will review recent progress in AI and its prospects for the next decade. It will also address how AI reproduces and even increases societal biases by training AI on historical data that is often discriminatory. The session will also explore how AI erodes privacy in an insidious way by using face recognition and ubiquitous cameras to eliminate anonymity.

Time Session/Description

9:10 a.m.

Introduction
Moshe Y. Vardi, chair, De Lange Conference XII, University Professor and Karen Ostrum George Distinguished Service Professor in Computational Engineering

9:15 a.m.

Presentation
“THE ALGORITHMS ARE NOW HIRING!: THE SCIENCE, LEGALITY AND ETHICS OF AI- BASED EMPLOYMENT TESTING”
Fred Oswald, Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Psychological Sciences, Department of Psychological Sciences, Rice University

10 a.m.

Coffee break (30 minutes) – BRC Event Hall

10:30 a.m.

Presentation
“HOW DO WE TALK ABOUT TECHNOLOGY? DISABILITY, PROSTHESES AND EMBODIMENT”
Elizabeth Petrick, associate professor, Department of History, Rice University

11:15 a.m.

Presentation
“HOW TECHNOLOGY WILL CHANGE THE CITIES OF THE FUTURE”

William Fulton, senior advisor, PFM Management and Budget Consulting Group; fellow, Terner Center for Housing Innovation, University of California at Berkeley

Noon

Lunch and Poster Session — BRC Event Hall (90 minutes)

Afternoon Session - BRC Auditorium

Health and Medicine: The genomic revolution is changing how we approach health care discovery, delivery and policy. An individual’s health and genomic information is and will increasingly be used to treat disease, to plan for our health care future and to engineer health care solutions at the genetic level. The granular and individualized nature of genomic medicine offers the promise of personalized treatments and powerful new cures; but it also creates societal challenges of privacy, fairness, and even the very meaning of life and our ability to control it. In the absence of protections, unregulated access to and use of personal data risks discrimination that harms patients and exacerbates health disparities in American society. Data privacy concerns are perhaps most acute in the medical area, where the stakes are literally life and death, and where the intrusion of “datafication” opportunities may pose the greatest threats and opportunities. The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data breach of spring 2018 launched a national conversation about data privacy and consumer trust in technology companies. Health data, however, have barely been mentioned in the ensuing debates about the public accountability of private technology corporations. The history of medicine has shown that cell lines, DNA, and other private, personally identifiable information have long been commercially traded for research and profit. This session will draw on this history to shed light on the challenges of how to incorporate genome-based medicine and the concomitant explosion in big data companies’ involvement in health care.

Time Session/Description

1:30 p.m.

Introduction
Kirstin R.W. Matthews, senior fellow, science and technology policy, Baker Institute, Rice University

1:45 p.m.

Presentation
“ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE: LEARNING, INFERENCE AND CONTROL”

Behnaam Aazhang, J.S. Abercrombie Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering; director, Rice Center for Neuroengineering, Rice University

2:30 p.m.

Presentation
“DO TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES MAKE COST ESCALATION INEVITABLE?”

Vivian Ho, James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics, professor of economics, Rice University

3:15 p.m.

Coffee break (30 minutes) — BRC Event Hall

3:45 p.m.

Presentation
“GENOMIC DATA SHARING: IMPROVING HEALTH, REVEALING SECRETS AND CATCHING CRIMINALS”
Amy McGuire, Leon Jaworski Professor of Biomedical Ethics; director, Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine

4:30 p.m.

Q&A Panel
Panelists: Behnaam Aazhang, Bill Fulton, Vivian Ho, Amy McGuire, Fred Oswald, Elizabeth Petrick
Moderator: Moshe Y. Vardi

Evening — The Ion and District

Time Session/Description

5:45–6 p.m.

Rice Shuttle Service to the Ion

6:15 p.m.

Presentation
"ION DISTRICT AND ION — ACTIVATING HOUSTON’S INNOVATION CORRIDOR”

Jan E. Odegard, executive director, Ion, and Sam Dike, manager of strategic initiatives, Rice Management Company

7 p.m.

Reception

8 p.m.

Rice Shuttle Service to Rice Campus

Day No. 2: Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022

Rice University, BioScience Research Collaborative (BRC)

Morning Session - BRC Auditorium

Climate Change: Technology is central to both the causes and solutions of climate change. Most carbon dioxide emissions arise from the fossil fuels that power 80% of the global economy and every imaginable technology. Technological advances have enabled energy companies to tap into carbon-rich oil and gas reserves once thought to be inaccessible. Technology, however, will also be crucial to enabling a transition to a low-carbon economy and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. The Paris Agreement committed the world to achieving net-zero emissions by the second half of this century; only by combining technological breakthroughs with smart policies can this unprecedented transition be achieved while helping billions of people access the energy that enables higher standards of living. Yet, the climate is changing with profound implications. Climate change is expected to contribute to mass migrations of people across the globe. At the same time, there is significant concern that climate change may influence the form, type and location of violent conflict. There is also a growing realization in academic and policy circles that societies tied to nature are at risk of losing multigenerational cultural knowledge due to climate change. This session will explore the technological innovations that have begun to enable a cleaner and more sustainable economy and the societal and cultural impact of climate change.

Time Session/Description

9 a.m.

Introduction
Sylvia Dee, assistant professor, of earth, environmental and planetary science, Rice University

9:15 a.m.

Presentation
“CONFRONTING CLIMATE GRIDLOCK”

Daniel Cohan, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, Rice University

10 a.m.

Coffee break (30 minutes) – BRC Event Hall

10:30 a.m.

Presentation
“THE CLIMATE COMMONS: INDIVIDUAL ACTION AND POLITICS”

Rick K. Wilson, Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Political Science, Rice University

11:15 a.m.

Presentation
“WHY TECHNOLOGY ALONE WON’T SOLVE THE CLIMATE CRISIS”

Dominic Boyer, professor of anthropology, Rice University

Noon

Lunch and Poster Session — BRC Event Hall (90 minutes)

Afternoon Session - BRC Auditorium

Looking Forward - Creating a More Just Society: In considering the broader consequences of technology on human lives around the world, what visions of the future and what policies could facilitate a transition to a more just world? How do we ensure a positive impact of technology on culture and society? With technology influencing a wide set of phenomena, ranging from economic opportunities and democratic institutions to health, climate, work and other concerns, this session will consider how to ensure a just and equitable future, accountable to all. Many of the people most adversely affected by technology around the world are the poor and uneducated. The growing digital divide disadvantages those who have limited access to the latest technologies and has opened the door for digital manipulation of democratic institutions. With the truism that knowledge is power, impediments to technological access are enhancing global inequities. Additionally, climate change caused by human technological interventions is disproportionately harming the most vulnerable populations, risking the future of all species and leading to social unrest. How can policies incorporate constituencies that remain underrepresented in international debates and support the needs of those most adversely impacted by technology, such as the displaced and those with lower incomes? Most urgently, what changes are needed to mitigate ongoing catastrophes? What remains unresolved and what next steps need to be taken and by whom?

Time Session/Description

1:30 p.m.

Introduction
Diana Strassmann, Carolyn and Fred McManis Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Humanities; director, Program on Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities, Rice University

1:45 p.m.

Presentation
“FACING A HISTORY OF RACISM”

Alexander Byrd, professor of history;, vice provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Rice University

2:30 p.m.

Coffee break (30 minutes) – BRC Event Hall

3 p.m.

Presentation
“What Do We Mean by Tech Ethics?”

Rodrigo Ferreira, assistant teaching professor of computer science, Rice University

3:45 p.m.

Presentation
“CREATING A MORE JUST SOCIETY THROUGH RESEARCH”

Ruth López Turley, professor of sociology; director, Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Rice University

4:30 p.m.

Q&A Panel
Panelists: Dominic Boyer, Alexander Byrd, Daniel Cohan, Sylvia Dee, Rodrigo Ferreira, Diana Strassmann, Ruth López Turley, Rick K. Wilson
Moderator: Moshe Y. Vardi

5:30 p.m.

Concluding remarks
Moshe Y. Vardi

De Lange Conference

delange@rice.edu

P.O. BOX

Scientia MS–8 | P.O. Box 1892 | Houston, TX 77251-1892