Manhattan College Explores the Future of Artificial Intelligence with Three Events in October and November

These programs will help to explain and understand the vast impact of AI on all aspects of society.

Manhattan College will host three events on artificial intelligence (AI) in October and November that explore a range of topics, including the ethical implications of AI and quantum computing; the impact of AI on workplace design; and Korean cultural religious values for the development of moral AI. Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing the world around us; these programs will help make sense of its potential impact on society. AI Icon

The first event, Korean Cultural Religious Values for the Development of Moral AI, will be held on Wednesday, October 4 at 4 p.m. EST in the Raymond W. Kelly ’63 Student Commons, 5th Floor. The event will be hosted by Robert Geraci, Ph.D., professor of religious studies and faculty director for veteran success at Manhattan College, and will feature a lecture by Yong Sup Song, Ph.D., assistant professor of Christian ethics theology at Youngnam Theological University and Seminary in South Korea. Song’s academic interests include the ethical issues of artificial intelligence.

The event will promote the development of moral AI by introducing Korean cultural religious values and exploring their meaning and applicability. The development and use of moral AI requires the understanding of both global and local values. Korean cultural religious values have influenced the formation, maintenance and transformation of communities throughout the nation’s long history, but their meaning and function are not well known to most academic circles in the U.S. This lecture will enrich academic discussions on the development of moral AI and promote further research by providing a variety of resources from South Korea. 

To register for this event, go to https://manhattan.edu/academics/schools-and-departments/school-of-liberal-arts/korean-cultural-ai.php

The second event, AI and Quantum Computing: Unpacking the Ethical Implications, will be held on October 26 at 6:00 PM EST in the Raymond W. Kelly '63 Student Commons, 5th Floor. The event will feature a panel discussion with experts from industry and academia, who will explore the ethical implications of AI and quantum computing.

The panel will be moderated by Michael Grabowski, Ph.D., professor of communication at Manhattan College. His upcoming book, Ethics of Virtual Reality, will be published by Lexington Books in 2024. 

Panelists will explore the ethical implications of AI and Quantum computing from multiple perspectives, including: 

  • How will the interaction between AI and Quantum Computing change the capability of either — and our lives?
  • Should these technologies be regulated, and if so, how?
  • How do we manage the economic and environmental implications of these technologies?
  • How do we navigate the political biases of AI engines?
  • How do we manage the tradeoffs between acceptable use and censorship?

The conversation will be organic, based on contributions from the panel, board of advisors members and questions from the audience. The event will be livestreamed and recorded for future viewing via the Manhattan College YouTube channel.

Panelists for this event will be: 

  • Prashant Reddy, Ph.D., managing director, chief architect for AI and data, JPMorgan. Reddy is a product-minded AI leader with 25 years of experience and a proven track record in product development, AI/ML research, data science, tech and data architecture, software engineering and executive leadership. 
  • Robert Geraci, Ph.D., professor of religious studies and faculty director for veteran success, Manhattan College. Geraci’s most recent book is titled Futures of Artificial Intelligence: Perspectives from India and the U.S. (Oxford University Press, 2022)a. His interests include religious studies, the history of science, anthropology of science, literature and modern India.
  • Steven J. Randich, executive vice president and chief information officer, FINRA. Previously, Randich served as Co-CIO at Citigroup and CIO and global head of technology for Citigroup's Institutional Clients Group. Prior to joining Citigroup, he was executive vice president of operations and technology and CIO at NASDAQ. 

To register for this event, go to https://manhattan.edu/ai

The third event, AI and Workplace Design, will be held on November 8th at 6:00 PM EST in the Raymond W. Kelly '63 Student Commons, 5th Floor. The event will feature a panel discussion with industry leaders focused on the impact of recent innovations in generative AI on workplace design.

The panel will address how the productivity boost afforded by generative AI technologies (e.g., Chat GPT, Bard, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Midjourney, etc.) will affect the physical design of the workplace. Panelists will address how the interaction of flexible work schedules, remote work and AI-augmentation of knowledge workers may affect the design of work environments in office buildings and home offices. They will provide insights on whether and how the increase in worker productivity enabled by AI is likely to affect work patterns and a possible displacement of knowledge workers. Potential implications for office space demand in major cities and workplace design strategies to cope with such major societal transformations will also be discussed. Prominent experts from industry and academia will be in attendance to provide v insights and lead engaging discussions on this important topic.

The panel will be moderated by Enrico Forti, Ph.D., the Gabriel Hauge assistant professor of strategy, O’Malley School of Business, Manhattan College. Forti's research lies at the intersection of strategy and organization theory. He uses econometrics and computational methods to study strategy formulation and team design in industries that are migrating toward project-based production. 

The panelists for this event are: 

  • Christiaan Hiemstra, global head of design + workplace design strategy at Bloomberg LP. Hiemstra trained as an architect and has more than 20 years of experience in the field of architecture. He has specialized incorporate office design and leads the global workplace design and strategy group at Bloomberg. 
  • Ash Brown, global head of user experience at Bloomberg LP.  Brown has worked at Bloomberg for eight years, first as an interaction designer in trading systems, then a design leader. Prior to Bloomberg, she was part of a two-person design team at Murex in Paris. 

To register for this event, go to https://manhattan.edu/academics/schools-and-departments/school-of-business/ai-workplace-design.php#rsvp

All three events are open to the public and are free to attend. 

By David Koeppel