Keynotes and Speakers for ITx 2018
Associate Professor, Canterbury University
Amy Fletcher is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Canterbury, who specializes in science, technology and environmental politics.
Prior to moving to New Zealand to take up a Lecturer's post in 2000, she worked as a Legislative Assistant in the United States House of Representatives on telecommunications and technology issues.
Born in Huntsville, Alabama, because her Dad worked on the Moon test rockets in the 1960s, she has a lifelong interest in the public dimensions of technology. She recently published Mendel's Ark: Biotechnology and the Future of Extinction (2014) and is currently working on a project that analyzes the implications of artificial intelligence and robotics for the future of employment in the United States. She is the Associate Editor of Politics and Life Sciences Journal (Cambridge University Press), an expert panel member for TechCast Global, based in Washington, D.C., and an Executive Council member of the AI Forum New Zealand.
Robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and 'Big Data' are just a few of the technological advances that are rapidly changing the kind of work we do, how we interact, and even how we vote.
From being 'nudged' to make a purchase or choose a candidate to the possibility of a "social credit" score that tracks our lives in real time, advanced technologies, while transformational, are affecting society so rapidly that it is essential that we pause to consider both the downsides and the upsides of digital citizenship.
This talk explores the impact of new technologies on jobs, politics, and democracy – delving into key social considerations for the adoption and integration of new and future technologies.
Canterbury University's Dr. Amy Fletcher will discuss some of the key developments in exponential technologies and how IT Professionals and businesses should respond.