Posts Tagged 'laurence leveille'

Ariely: Small-scale cheating allows us to still feel good about ourselves

August 6, 2012·Comments closed

The consequences of our actions have little to no effect on dishonesty. Studies have shown even the death penalty does not influence crime levels.

Rather than thinking of the costs and benefits of their actions, people find ways to rationalize them.

“What happens is that on one hand, we want to look at the mirror and feel good about ourselves. We want to feel that we’re honest, wonderful people,” said Dan Ariely during Monday’s morning lecture. “On the other hand, we want to benefit from cheating. That’s our selfish impulses.”

Ariely, the James. B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, kicked off Week Seven, “The Ethics of Cheating,” with a lecture about people’s use of rationalism to justify dishonesty. Throughout his lecture, titled “Free Beer,” he shared several experiments conducted by his team at Duke University.

Morning Lecture Recaps

Zolli: Technology makes superheroes of ordinary people

August 3, 2012·Comments closed

Privacy issues and the fear of becoming obsolete increase as technology evolves, but people cannot lose sight of the possibilities it provides.

“The big story is that our capacities and our challenges are moving in lockstep. We’re living through both a global extinction event and the Renaissance at the same time,” said Andrew Zolli, executive director and curator of PopTech. “It’s hard to wrap our minds around.”

Zolli focused on technology’s capabilities amid the challenges and disruptions society faces during Friday’s morning lecture in the Amphitheater, ending the “Digital Identity” lecture platform on a positive note.

Morning Lecture Recaps

Lithwick: People have forsaken privacy for digital identity

August 2, 2012·Comments closed

In exchange for a digital identity, people have given up their privacy.

Google has kept archives of emails sent and friends’ replies for the last six years. Facebook tracks people’s activities all over the Internet, even when they are logged off. And Twitter taps into entire address books when people use the “find friends” option and archives it for 18 months.

For those who do not use Facebook or Twitter, that does not mean no one is watching them, said Dahlia Lithwick, who reports on the law and the U.S. Supreme Court as a senior editor of Slate magazine. People can be tracked by turning on their phones, using an E-ZPass or using a Starbucks card.

Morning Lecture Recaps

Allenby: Evolve with technology, or become obsolete

August 1, 2012·Comments closed

People have grown up to believe that self is built within them. But Braden Allenby argues that the Cartesian perspective is wrong.

To Allenby, Lincoln Professor of Engineering and Ethics at Arizona State University, self is the ability to adapt and integrate with the environment as it changes.

In his lecture, titled “Slow Sunset of the Self,” Allenby spoke about the meaning of self in a technological world and how multitasking has allowed younger generations to adapt to it. His Wednesday morning lecture in the Amphitheater was the third of Week Six, themed “Digital Identity.”

The world currently faces a digital divide between those who have access to computers and those who do not. One solution to close the gap has been to provide computers for the underprivileged. But there is another angle to consider.

Morning Lecture Recaps

Schiller, Folkenflik: Social media gives the people tools of communication

July 31, 2012·Comments closed

Social media has helped shape democracy by providing people with the means of communication to gain more access to information.

“I think it is good for democracy, because the tools of communication are in so many more people’s hands,” said Vivian Schiller, senior vice president and chief digital officer at NBC News, during Tuesday’s morning lecture.

Schiller and David Folkenflik, who served as moderator and is NPR’s media correspondent, discussed the challenges and opportunities facing digital and social media at the Amphitheater for Week Six, themed “Digital Identity.”

Morning Lecture Recaps

Turkle: People must embrace solitude for conversation

July 30, 2012·Comments closed

Feeling lonely has become a problem people need to solve, and connectivity through technology has become the solution. But it also leads to isolation.

As people feel the need to connect more, the ability to have conversations diminishes.

“We make our technologies, and then, in turn, our technologies make and shape us,” said Sherry Turkle, director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Initiative on Technology and Self. “They make and shape our digital identities.”

Turkle spoke about solitude and how the communications culture has shifted as a result of technology during Monday’s morning lecture as the first speaker of Week Six, themed “Digital Identity.”

Morning Lecture Recaps

Burns: U.S., Pakistan fated to be allies

July 27, 2012·Comments closed

Though the relationship between Pakistan and the United States has become increasingly complex, the two are destined to be allies.

Nicholas Burns, former U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs, discussed the importance of U.S.-Pakistan relations from the U.S. perspective at Friday’s morning lecture in the Amphitheater. His lecture, titled “Where U.S.-Pakistan Relations Should Go from Here,” concluded Week Five, themed “Pakistan: Straddling the Boundary Between Asia and the Middle East.”

Burns focused on three questions: Is Pakistan important to the United States?; Are the two countries loyal friends to each other?; and How can the next president work with Pakistan to confront challenges?

Morning Lecture Recaps

Nawaz: US needs to form relationship with Pakistani society, not military

July 26, 2012·Comments closed

The combination of Pakistan’s involvement in the most recent war in Afghanistan and its weak policy making and governance has diminished its ability to provide for its citizens.

It is a crisis much greater than the state of its relations with the United States, said Shuja Nawaz, director of the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council, during Thursday’s morning lecture in the Amphitheater.

Nawaz spoke about the situation Pakistan and its military face today, as well as what the country must do to become a strong, prosperous country, during Week Five, themed “Pakistan: Straddling the Boundary Between Asia and the Middle East.”

Morning Lecture Previews

Policy expert Burns closes Pakistan week from US view

July 26, 2012·Comments closed

Trust: the key component to any relationship, including one between two countries. A lack of trust can lead to difficult times.

The minimal amount of trust between the United States and Pakistan has developed into a troubled relationship, one that faces difficult times and several problems.

Burns will return to Chautauqua Institution for a second consecutive year — this time as the final speaker of Week Five, themed “Pakistan: Straddling the Boundary between South Asia and the Middle East” — during Friday’s 10:45 a.m. lecture in the Amphitheater. He will speak about U.S.-Pakistan relations, Indian-Pakistani history and Pakistan’s role in the Afghanistan War.

Morning Lecture Recaps

Haqqani: US, Pakistan should focus on friendship, not alliance

July 25, 2012·Comments closed

Pakistan and the United States have clashing narratives about their alliance.

From the Pakistanis’ perspective, the U.S. and Pakistan have been allies for 60 years, but the U.S. has walked away several times and cannot dictate Pakistan’s foreign policy.

From the Americans’ perspective, Pakistan is not a true ally. Pakistani public opinion remains anti-American despite the amount of aid the country receives, Husain Haqqani said. And Americans question Pakistan’s involvement with terrorists and its ability to fulfill promises.

Haqqani, former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S., spoke about U.S.-Pakistan relations, how that alliance was damaged and Pakistan’s national interest at Wednesday’s morning lecture in the Amphitheater for Week Five, themed “Pakistan: Straddling the Boundary between Asia and the Middle East.”