Register for this Zoom webinar at http://myumi.ch/pZned

Many technologists in Japan hope that emerging technologies of automation and AI can address challenges to social and emotional wellbeing; however, some critics argue that many of the digital platforms on which those technologies rely aggravate precisely the forms of human suffering and isolation that they aim to alleviate. This talk discusses examples of social robots, digital avatars, and other machine models of emotional companionship in Japan to consider if people are most well when they are technically well.

Daniel White is a sociocultural anthropologist at the University of Cambridge who researches the relationship of emotion, politics, and emerging media technologies. His current project documents experiments in building and living with machines with artificial emotional intelligence in Japan. His recent book is titled Administering Affect: Pop-Culture Japan and the Politics of Anxiety. Other publications and project information can be found at www.modelemotion.org.

This lecture is made possible with the generous support of the U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant.

If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.