The Ethics of Invention - LAST CHANCE TO RESERVE A SEAT

Dr. Sheila Jasanoff, Harvard Professor of Science and Technology Studies, will discuss her forthcoming book about how we might regain control of a world increasingly governed by technology.

A pioneer in her field, Dr. Sheila Jasanoff is travelling from Cambridge to Sacramento to address the Harvard Club of Sacramento on Saturday, April 2. She will speak on “The Ethics of Invention: Science, Technology and the Human Future.” The event will start at 5:00 pm at the Iron Grill, 2422 13th Street. Light food and beverages will be served. Please RSVP early as we expect this event to sell out. A contribution of $5 per person to defray expenses will be payable at the door.

In her new book, to be released August 2016, Dr. Jasanoff boldly charts society’s embrace of technological solutions and technology’s complex interplay with ethics and human rights. Specifically, she dissects the ways in which we delegate power to technological systems and asks how we might regain control.

From GMOs to gene therapy, biomedicine has challenged traditional definitions of life and death and raised difficult questions, such as who owns our genetic information. The Internet has redefined privacy, with social media and search giants operating as new, all-powerful “data oligarchs,” while cyber warfare has weakened the boundaries of the nation-state. Dr. Jasanoff shows that, far from being an amoral or apolitical force, technology has important consequences for government of, by, and for the people.

The Ethics of Invention challenges us to build a future in which we work together—in open, democratic dialogue—to manage the risks and promises of technology.

Dr. Jasanoff has authored more than 100 articles and chapters and is author or editor of a dozen books. Her work explores the role of science and technology in the law, politics, and policy of modern democracies, with particular attention to the nature of public reason. She holds AB, JD, and PhD degrees from Harvard, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Twente.