New technology is one of the major drivers of change in human society today. But what does all this new digital, biological and renewable technology mean for human rights?
Over the summer, four students in Florida State University’s Honors Program traveled to the University of Oxford in England for a workshop exploring the urgent, exciting and concerning issues around changing technological landscapes and their influence on day-to-day activities.
Hosted by the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights, the Human Rights and New Technology workshop took place July 1-7 and allowed students to explore the relationship between emerging technologies across human society and people’s continuous demands for human rights. FSU students participated alongside nine other cohorts of students from the U.S. and South Korea.
The group was led by Ross Moret, a faculty member in FSU’s Honors Program, and included Honors students Catalina Casillas, Jaynie Curzi, Justin Robert and Remi Siegel-Ventura. This was the third cohort of FSU Honors students to attend a summer workshop hosted by the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights. The trip, sponsored by the University Honors Program, highlights the program’s commitment to creating vibrant communities that nurture intellectual curiosity and a lifelong commitment to learning.
Throughout the week, students attended lectures and spoke with leading scholars from the fields of artificial intelligence, media, law and philosophy. On the last day of the workshop, cohorts from each school delivered a presentation on the research project they worked on. FSU’s presentation explored how new forms of technology are influencing human rights in Florida and focused on the notion of “The Right to the City,” a principle that advocates for the inclusive and participatory design of urban spaces.
“I was so proud of the performance of our students at the Consortium workshop,” Moret said. “They worked very hard to identify and refine their topic, perform research and develop a strong presentation. They didn’t always agree about the direction of the project, but they stuck together and worked through their differences. In the end, their efforts bore fruit in their excellent project, which stood out among their peers. They represented Florida State and the University Honors Program very well.”
Bringing together research from human rights scholarship and the urban planning and technology fields, their project initiated a dialogue around technology as a tool for empowerment rather than exclusion in the context of urban rights and citizenships.
“I learned about the practical implications of the theory being discussed in our presentation,” said Robert, a senior majoring in political science and environmental science and policy. “I was quite familiar with some of the concepts of human rights and the “Right to the City” prior, but it was very interesting to place it in the context of Tallahassee and planning tools. I thought the presentation did an effective job of being more optimistic about the future of AI, in which there are actionable approaches to using it in a balanced way.”
Students began work on their project in April, using an interdisciplinary research approach to investigate the implications of technology potentially diminishing the human aspect of urban development, particularly where algorithmic decisions might override community preferences and need.
“For my topic on AI and urban planning, I conducted a traditional review of journals and articles by various researchers and used interviews from real-life experts who are currently experiencing the integration of AI in their fields,” said Curzi, a senior majoring in English. “By researching a topic I likely wouldn’t have researched under regular circumstances, I expanded my intellectual curiosity and ability to engage in interdisciplinary discussions with others, which ultimately enriched my academic experience.”
Students participating in the workshop were able to engage with leading scholars, experts and other students in diverse conversations.
“Attending the workshop was an incredibly enriching experience, not just because of the world-class lectures, but also due to the unique forum it created for the engagement with students from diverse backgrounds,” said Siegel-Ventura, a senior majoring in environmental science and classical civilizations. “I had the opportunity to discuss difficult, worldly topics with other college students across the country and the globe. This exposure to a broad range of perspectives helped me develop a more open-minded approach, encouraging me to ask questions that sparked a deeper dialogue.”
The FSU Honors Program is invested in providing enriching experiences that empower student-scholars who want to develop as campus influencers, thought-leaders and informed global citizens.
To learn more about the FSU Honors Program, visit honors.fsu.edu.
