AI Event Took Place to Raise Awareness About Social Media Concerns
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (CITRUS TV NEWS) — Monday night, the event “Sex, Tech, and Power: AI’s Impact on Relationships and Safety,” took place on the SU campus. It was hosted by Moderator for Health Promotion, Leslie Skeffington.
Concerns of dating safety and emotional connections are being raised by social media.
As artificial intelligence continues to shape people communicate with each other, there are possible implications as to what dating and relationships look like in the digital age.
The discussion featured experts in ethics, counseling, tech policy and violence prevention. It fostered conversations surrounding the impact of AI companions and digital surveillance on human relationships, which Skeffington says is an important conversation to have this month.
“October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, so we always try and have programming that brings awareness to intimate partner violence on college campuses… There’s a ton of research and opinion pieces on AI and academic integrity, environmental impacts, and job security. I find few people are talking about how this will affect our human interactions and connections, so I wanted to bring that to light,” Skeffington said in a statement to Citrus TV News.
The panelists at the event were Director of Counseling at the Barnes Center at the Arch, Carrie Brown, Ph.D., Detective of Public Safety, Jessica Zaccari, Information Studies, Professor Jaime Banks and Newhouse School Professor, Rebecca Ortiz. Each panelist presented on how the topic intersects with their work, followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
Skeffington hoped this event allowed students to connect academic research to on-campus resources if they are ever in a situation where they need help.
“Ultimately, I hope this event sparks curiosity and encourages students to keep exploring this topic. I also hope this is just the beginning of conversations about AI and relationships. I have so much more information to share, and as long as students are interested, I’ll keep the dialogue going,” Skeffington said.
For more information on future events students can contact Skeffington at her email address, laskeffi@syr.edu.
Reporter: Colleen Nakhooda
