The Center for the Study of Ethics is pleased to host its thirty-second annual Ethics Awareness Week from September 29 - October 3, 2025. Our focus next year will be oriented around the theme of "AI and Its Human Impact."
Artificial intelligence has emerged as a substantial presence in business, education, media, science, and governance. The week's events will focus on questions surrounding applied AI and how these applications impact our lives as citizens, consumers, and members of the global human community. Faculty and students from across campus will present on a variety of related topics.
Sessions will include panel discussions, lectures, workshops, and film screenings. As always, the event is free and open to the public and hosted in the UVU Clarke Building, Room 511 and online via YouTube Live. For more information about our ethics programming, you can visit the Ethics Center website or contact Courtney Burns at [email protected].
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Gabriel Toscano
Technology Policy Program
Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University
What do we want from technology? Monumental investments in AI are breathing new life into discussions about how technology is built and to what ends. If history is any indication, building technology that promotes the public interest is neither trivial, nor the default trajectory. This paper develops a critical narrative of technological innovation, analyzing how policymakers, technologists and civic society can work together to guide AI development in the public interest.
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Moderator: Christ Weigel
Professor of Philosophy, Utah Valley University
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Luncheon for invited guests
Dr. Boyd is the Director of the Office of Artificial Intelligence for the State of
Utah, where he leads out on developing AI regulatory policy and clearing paths for
novel business applications of AI. He is on long-term leave from his role as a professor
at BYU where he teaches applied and computational mathematics. Dr. Boyd’s research
lab focuses on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and mathematical modeling
in social science applications, such as psychology, economics, and social networks.
Before working at BYU, Dr. Boyd was a postdoctoral research associate at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an NDSEG Fellow at UCLA, a research associate at
Los Alamos National Laboratory, and a Presidential Scholar at BYU.
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Moderator: Benjamin Johnson
Associate Professor of Student Leadership & Success Studies, UVU
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Moderator: Jeff Nielsen
Lecturer, Department of Philosophy & Humanities
UVU Ethics Bowl Coach,
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Keynote Address
Center for the Study of Ethics"Moral Imagination"
From Smart to Wise AI
Nathan Walker
Principle Investigator, AI Ethics Lab
Rutgers University
Is “smart” the best we can imagine for this century’s technological advancements?
Or are we striving for something more? Artificial intelligence promises efficiency
and innovation, but will it enrich the human experience and tap what makes people
wise? This keynote will introduce moral imagination as a conceptual framework to measure
whether human wisdom is embedded throughout the AI lifecycle. Dr. Walker will challenge
attendees to think not only about how to build smarter machines but also how preventing
harm, promoting good, and safeguarding human dignity sets us on a path toward a wiser
future.
*sponsored in partnership with the UVU Applied AI Institute
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Moderator: Bryan Waite, Associate Dean
UVU College of Health & Public Service
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Moderator: David Connelly
Research Director, Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy
*sponsored in partnership with the UVU Applied AI Institute
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For more information, contact Courtney Burns at [email protected]
