SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

February 15, 2017, 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm

NJIT Campus Center Ballroom A

MODERATOR:

NANCY STEFFEN, Ph.D.
Director, NJIT Murray Center for Women in Technology​

In 1948, the United Nations officially adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While not legally binding on the community of nations, it asserts that people everywhere have an intrinsic dignity and basic rights that governments and social institutions are obligated to respect.

The challenges of defining and protecting the rights common to all of humanity are many and complex. Today, such challenges are increasingly compounded by issues that arise at their intersection with science and technology. They range from philosophical questions about privacy in the age of the Internet to the lethal use of drone technology in counterterrorism operations.

These questions, and how the range of rights to which we are all entitled can be protected, will be the focus of the Technology and Society Forum presentation by Theresa Harris, senior program associate in the Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), part of the association’s Center of Science, Policy and Society Programs.

Harris’ interests are the implementation of internationally recognized human-rights principles in domestic practice and the intersection of information technology, human rights and law. Prior to joining AAAS, she led Human Rights USA as its executive director, where she represented survivors of human-rights violations before United States courts. She holds a B.A. in anthropology, an M.S. in urban and regional planning, and a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law.

NJIT welcomed attendees from all area colleges, universities, and professions. This public forum qualified attendees for Professional Development Hours.

Sponsors:

Albert Dorman Honors College
Murray Center for Women in Technology
NJIT Department of Humanities
NJIT Student Chapters of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Engineers Without Borders