2023-2024 Presentations – Sustainable and Resilient Communities
The UW-Stevens Point Department of Geography and Geology in the College of Letters and Science hosted the Sustainable and Resilient Communities Series, sponsored by the Thompson Center on Public Leadership. UW-Stevens Point Department of Geography and Geology faculty, Dr. Samantha Kaplan, Mr. Douglas Miskowiak, and Dr. Ismaila Odogba, are the principal investigators of the series.
View descriptions and event archive below.
The 2023-2024 series presented by the College of Letters and Science invited attendees to consider sustainability and resilience issues facing Wisconsin communities and their essential natural and cultural systems. Events in order below.
Oct. 10, 2023 – “Protecting a Cold-Water Fishery from Climate Change and Over Nutrification” D. Miskowiak
Presenter Douglas Miskowiak is the GIS Instructional Administrator and Geography and Geology Department Chair at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He teaches in the areas of Geographic Information Systems and Geodesign and manages community outreach programming with the GIS and Map Centers. Douglas conducts applied GIS research and outreach in Geodesign, public health, natural resources, public participation, and decision-support. He will present on outreach work he conducted in Sawyer County, Wisconsin to protect a rare and vulnerable two-story fishery on Lake Lac Courte Orielles. The primary regional-scale concern affecting the fishery is sediment erosion and phosphorus transport from land to water from various land uses, including agriculture.
Video on DemandFeb. 6, 2024 – “Designing for Sustainability and Resiliency: A Tale of Two Towns”
Strategic design planning begins with understanding landscape patterns and dynamics as well as the livelihoods and sense of place for local communities. Geospatial Solutions Director Janet Silbernagel, with Steigerwaldt Land Services Inc., was invited to be part of a consulting team to plan for resilience after unprecedented southern Wisconsin flooding. Janet will share her work in geodesign to strategically locate green infrastructure features within the Black Earth Creek watershed. What strategies can help build resilience against such unexpected events?
Video on DemandMarch 12, 2024 – “Navigating Solar Energy Development in the Urban/Rural Divide”
Communities that are being asked to host the clean energy future are facing land use dilemmas, concerns agricultural economic base, and transformation of the rural landscape. Great Plains Institute’s Brian Ross, vice president of renewable energy, will address environmental justice considerations and ways communities are navigating fairness in clean energy policy and planning, consensus building, decarbonization, and local government implementation.
Video on DemandApril 9, 2024 – “Sustainable and Resilient Communities Leaders Panel”
The series will culminate with a panel of local mayors and administrators to consider the opportunities and challenges in implementing sustainability and resilience policies locally and regionally.
2022-2023 Presentations – When Robots Ruled the World
From the futuristic portrayal of robots in film to robots in the operating room, from the daily use of artificial intelligence (AI) in mundane tasks to the latest advances in the field of human-centered AI, we explore the implications of When Robots Rule the World.
The 2022-2023 series was sponsored by the University Personnel Development Committee (Research and Creative Activities Grant) and presented by the College of Letters and Science. Events in order below.
Sept. 13, 2022
Video on Demand
Creative Performance – “Dare to Be Human”
Dare to Be Human is our introductory program from Department of World Languages and Literatures Chair, Vera Klekovkina and features a creative performance by Croí Cróga Studio.
We are living in the “robotic moment” as Sherry Turkle defines it in Alone Together (2015) – the moment of emotional and philosophical readiness “to seriously consider robots not only as pets but as potential friends, confidants, and even romantic partners”. This robotic moment calls us to examine similarities and differences between performance of connection versus connectivity, performance of affection versus intimacy, and performance of care versus caring for others. Equipped with intelligent machines in various areas of our lives, will we compromise our humanity?
Sept. 16, 2022 – A.I. Artificial Intelligence (film screening)
Video on DemandSept. 20, 2022 – “Why Robots Rule the Cinema” C.Elza
“The Representation of Mechanical Life: Robots in Media from the 19th century to the Present” is presented by Associate Professor Cary Elza, media studies. Elza will trace the drive to represent artificial life through media technologies. Particular attention will be paid to cinematic depictions of mechanical life and the ways in which the development of the genre of science fiction has reflected changing concerns about the relationships between humanity and technology.
Oct. 7, 2022 – Blade Runner 1982 (film screening)
Video on DemandOct. 11, 2022 – “The Case for Robot Rights” J.Horn
As the gap between humans and machines becomes smaller, we will be forced to rethink our ethical and legal obligations to these entities and to each other. This community lecture by Associate Professor Joshua Horn, philosophy, will include a discussion of the nature of humans, machines, ethical obligations, and legal rights
Video on DemandNov. 15, 2022 – “It’s About Humans, Not Robots” T.Heimonen
Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence is an emerging discipline that seeks to empower humans and augment their abilities rather than diminishing their role. Professor Tomi Heimonen, computing and new media technologies, discusses the latest advances in the field of human-centered AI (HCAI). The lecture will focus on the themes of privacy, security, equity, and transparency in AI technologies.
Feb. 17, 2023 – Blade Runner 2049 (film screening)
Video on DemandFeb. 21, 2023 – “Perception of Humans & Robots” P.Conley
A vast amount of research has gone into the development of artificial intelligence, especially regarding how computers perceive and understand the “real” world. At the same time, great progress has been made in recent years in the understanding of the processes of human sensation and perception, as well as related aspects of human-computer interfaces such artificial sensory prostheses and virtual reality. This lecture will examine the two separate lines of research together to discuss multiple aspects of this dual relationship. First, what do computers have to learn from human perception and related intelligence? How can what we already know about how humans process information lead to better computer processing and even artificial intelligence? Second, can computers improve on humanity? In the short term, this would include technology such as cochlear and retinal implants, and even prosthetic limbs that can sense touch and respond to the wearer’s motor commands. What are the long-term implications? Finally, how can systems such as virtual and augmented reality fundamentally change the way we perceive and interact with the world around us?
Video on DemandMarch 7, 2023 – “The Promise and Challenges of AI in Medicine”
The presentation titled “The Promise and Challenges of AI in Medicine” is an informative and thought-provoking discussion that delves into the potential benefits and challenges related to the implementation of AI in healthcare. The presentation, by Dr. Abdul Shour from the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, will explore various topics, including the definition and different applications of AI in medicine, ethical and legal considerations, and potential future developments of AI in healthcare. Additionally, the presentation will provide specific examples of AI in medicine and address the benefits and challenges associated with its use. Overall, attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of the current state of AI in healthcare and its potential impact on the future of medicine.
Video on DemandApril 11, 2023 – “Bias and the Language of AI”
Professors James Berry and Vera Klekovkina will discuss how automatic speech recognition and automatic translation still have significant race and gender biases for humans, thus posing a question of how future service robots will understand all humans and how they will speak back to us – will they automatically use a higher register language because of their subordinate positions as human servers? By examining how robots speak in current media representations, the speakers will reflect on how AI linguistic coding and processing can impact the evolution of natural languages as well as language acquisition and translation by humans. Would robots’ ability to ‘flawlessly’ switch between languages and dialects be indeed flawless and/or harmless for humans?
April 21, 2023 – iHuman (film screening)
Video on DemandMay 2, 2023 – “Panel Discussion on Civic Discourse”
Panel discussion on civic discourse, “When Robots Rule the World” – featuring UWSP professors Vera Klekovkina, Tomi Heimonen, Cary Elza, Joshua Horn, Patrick Conley, and James Berry.