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SUMMARY:Humane automation: the political economy of working with -- rather
  than against -- machines - Professor Frank Pasquale (University of Maryla
 nd)
DTSTART:20170525T160000Z
DTEND:20170525T173000Z
UID:TALK72764@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Professor John Naughton
DESCRIPTION:*ABSTRACT*\n\nWe are being told a simple story about the futur
 e of work: if a machine can record and imitate what you do\, you will be r
 eplaced by it. Christened a “fourth industrial revolution\,” a narrati
 ve of mass unemployment is now gripping policymakers. It envisions human w
 orkers rendered superfluous by ever-more-powerful software\, robots\, and 
 predictive analytics.\n\nSubstituting robots for workers may seem like an 
 impossibly grandiose ambition. But its main problem is not impracticality
 —rather\, it is not nearly grand enough. It is a vision of society built
  on a narrow consumerism. We don’t exist simply to be served. We want to
  serve others\, to make a contribution\, and to find some meaning in our d
 aily activities.\n\nAnother approach is possible—indeed\, plausible. It 
 is a future of robots and software complementing work\, to make it better.
  I call technology that improves workers’ skills and opportunities “hu
 mane automation\,” to be distinguished from other forms of technical adv
 ance that are indifferent to—or undermine—workers’ skills and wages.
  Fortunately\, forms of humane automation are already taking root in many 
 fields. As consumers and citizens\, we can encourage this more inclusive a
 nd sustainable path. Enlightened policymakers and professionals can also r
 e-channel the flow of commerce to respect\, rather than replace\, human in
 itiative.\n\n*About the Speaker*\n\nFrank Pasquale\, JD\, MPhil is an expe
 rt on the law and policy of big data\, predictive analytics\, artificial i
 ntelligence\, and algorithms. He has advised government and business leade
 rs on the health care\, internet\, and finance industries\, including the 
 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services\, the U.S. House Judiciary Co
 mmittee\, the Federal Trade Commission\, the Council of Institutional Inve
 stors\, the Capitol Forum\, and the European Commission. He has spoken on 
 his book\, "_The Black Box Society_":http://amzn.to/2pONx87 (Harvard Unive
 rsity Press\, 2015) at academic and policy venues around the world\, inclu
 ding law\, computer science\, humanities\, and social science departments.
  His work has recently been translated into Chinese\, French\, German\, Ko
 rean\, Hungarian\, and Serbian\, and he is routinely quoted in global medi
 a outlets. He has been recognised as one of the ten most-cited health law 
 scholars in the United States. His current book project is tentatively tit
 led “Laws of Robotics: Revitalizing the Professions in an Era of Automat
 ion" (under contract to Harvard University Press).\n\nHe is a currently a 
 Visiting Fellow on the Technology and Democracy Project in CRASSH\, an aff
 iliate fellow at the Yale Information Society Project\, and a fellow at th
 e New Economy Law Center. He has served as a visiting fellow at Princeton
 ’s Center for Information Technology Policy.\n\n*All welcome\, but pleas
 e register "here":https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/frank-pasquale-tickets-34
 425782442 to let us know numbers of attendees.*
LOCATION: Room SG2\, Alison Richard Building\, Sidgwick Site\, 7 West Road
 \, Cambridge\, CB3 9DT
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