COMPAS: Conversations on Morality, Politics, and Society

In news stories and online discourse about AI, there seems to be a recurring anxiety about being left behind. Humans being left behind in the workforce as more tasks can be done by AI. The ambient cultural pressure to adopt AI, and the looming threat of being left behind if you don't. The risk to humanity as a whole that's been articulated by employees and leaders at AI labs. This idea of being left behind prompted new questions for us, like: How can we think more clearly about what’s at stake, as AI progresses? And how can we push ourselves to visualize what a future with AI really looks like? We explored these questions with an expert from the tech industry who works on AI risk, the director of the Center on Responsible AI and Governance, and a philosopher who works on ethics. We also led an inquiry dialogue on this topic with current and former OSU students.COMPAS is a project of the Center for Ethics and Human Values at The Ohio State University.This year’s COMPAS series is focused on Humanity in the Age of AI. It aims to bring a wide range of voices into conversation, and to think with clarity, curiosity, and rigor about the puzzles of flourishing alongside AI. Work from Voices in this Episode: Clinton CastroNate Nichols and AISAPDennis Hirsch and CRAIGData and Resources Referenced in this Episode: News ClipsWhat AI could mean for the next generation of workers (CBS News and 60 Minutes) Business Owners Feeling the Pressure to Keep Up With Latest AI Tools (ABC and WRTV)AI killing humanity by 2030? An AI ethics expert calls that a warning, not a forecast (CBS Minnesota) AI and the Workforce: Impacts on Jobs, Workers, and EmployersThe Fox & the GrapesMIT Sloan survey on AI risk  This episode was produced by Jennifer McCord, Carrie Welsh, Aaron Yarmel, and Winston C. Thompson. It was written by Jennifer McCord. Music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. AI Transparency: In the process of making this episode, we used AI-search results to find resources on jobs data, and the episode transcript was generated using an AI transcription tool. 

Language shapes how we interact with and think about AI. Aaron Yarmel, Nanna Inie, and Webb Keane discuss how we talk to and about AI, and how that impacts the way we live our lives and treat those around us.This year’s COMPAS series is focused on Humanity in the Age of AI. It aims to bring a wide range of voices into conversation, and to think with clarity, curiosity, and rigor about the puzzles of flourishing alongside AI. Panelists: Nanna InieWebb Keane Aaron YarmelArticles and Resources: De-anthropomorphizing “AI”: From wishful mnemonics to accurate nomenclature by Nanna Inie, Peter Zukerman, & Emily M. BenderAnimals, Robots, Gods: Adventures in the Moral Imagination by Webb KeaneUse of a Robotic Seal as a Therapeutic Tool to Improve Dementia Symptoms: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled TrialThe Contemporary Theory of Metaphor by George LakoffArtificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines by Sherry Turkle Catharsis theory This episode was produced by Jennifer McCord and Carrie Welsh. Music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. COMPAS is a project of the Center for Ethics and Human Values at The Ohio State University.AI Transparency: In the process of making this episode, we used an AI chatbot to add to a list of potential panelists, and the episode transcript was generated using an AI transcription tool.