The opportunity for meaningful interaction with their college president is a hallmark of the Concordia College student experience. One way that happens is in the seminar President Nunes teaches each year, which is open to all students upon faculty recommendation. Past seminars include Rhetoric: The Language of Leadership, and The Poetry of Derek Walcott.
This year in Civics and Civility: Ethics and Technology, students will be challenged to survey the implications of technology on what is human, what is reality, what is right, and what is wrong. Through reading, online media, and guest lectures in class and via Skype, students will consider their own leadership roles as they delve into topics such as the relationship between artificial intelligence and the human person; transhumanism and the Imago Dei; the challenges of machine learning and what constitutes the good, the true, and the beautiful; the impact of social media on what is fake, fair, and free speech; facial recognition and ethnic bias; elections and algorithmic interference; and robotics and human leisure. The questions raised are both theoretical and imminently practical, such as who is responsible for vehicular homicide when driverless cars kill people?
“One of the best parts of my job is teaching a class each year,” said Dr. Nunes. “Through their intellectual curiosity and diversity of perspective, Concordia’s students teach me something new every time.”