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Protecting Human Dignity and Meaningful Work in the Age of AI: A Social Autonomy Framework for Ethical Decision Making in The Workplace
Get PDFArtificial Intelligence (AI), a rapidly advancing technology, is transforming various industries by enhancing efficiency, simplifying tasks, and creating innovative products. From search engines and digital assistants to healthcare and legal services, its applications are becoming integral to daily life. Despite these benefits, the accelerated growth of AI raises profound ethical concerns regarding its impact on human dignity and the nature of meaningful work—both of which are necessary for human flourishing. In my thesis, I set out to define the concepts of human dignity and meaningful work. I develop a framework for understanding human dignity, which I refer to as the Social Autonomy Theory. This theory emphasizes the protection of individual autonomy, but also recognizes the centrality of social connection and recognition to human dignity. In the process, I develop the necessary conditions for meaningful work and argue that meaningful work is vital for upholding human dignity. I apply The Social Autonomy Theory to several work-related case studies to demonstrate how the implementation of AI in the workplace can undermine these dignity concerns, highlighting the importance of securing meaningful work. After evaluating each case study, I argue that while AI holds significant potential for societal advancement, its unchecked implementation could undermine human dignity and meaningful work. To conclude, I explore policy suggestions that prioritize ethical standards and safeguard the rights of individuals in an increasingly AI-driven world
Contentious vulnerability: The case of Rwandan genocide memorials
Get PDFThe memorials commemorating Rwanda’s 1994 genocide are rare in their use of human remains and depictions of violence. These memorials have been widely criticized by European and North American scholars, who focus on the danger of depicting bodily vulnerability, arguing that it supports the regime’s politics of exclusion. However, by conflating what is exclusionary about the framing of the aesthetic of bodily vulnerability at Rwandan memorials with the aesthetic itself, these critics write off vulnerability altogether, risking a colonialist stance that reduces the Rwandan context to the non-political by fitting its commemorative politics into a false dichotomy of emotion and reason. In conversation with theories of vulnerability and the human by Judith Butler and Achille Mbembe, I argue that the aesthetic of vulnerability, when framed in an inclusive and critical way, can provide hope by supplying a way to see others’ bodies as non-disposable and oppose debasing forms of power
A World Class Lithium Deposit In Western Maine; Fascinating Minerals, Big Problems with Old Maps, Intriguing Links to Paleoclimate, and the Tectonic Evolution of Western Maine.
No full textRecording of the talk A World Class Lithium Deposit In Western Maine; Fascinating Minerals, Big Problems with Old Maps, Intriguing Links to Paleoclimate, and the Tectonic Evolution of Western Maine at the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center in Portland, OR which took place on January 11, 2024
Beavers: How a 100 Pound Rodent Fights Climate Change and Preserves Biodiversity
No full textThis capstone project includes an op-ed, story map, and final zine-style article that all explore the multitudes of ways in which beavers’ environmental engineering activities have profoundly positive impacts on ecosystem health. The story map and zine include photographs, which were all taken by myself with the aim to create a more engaging multimedia reading experience. To include new, unpublished information, I took to the field with two biologists working with Maine’s threatened turtles and explored the numerous impacts of beavers on the life histories of these species. All three pieces of work discuss similar content and themes, with the zine being the most detailed and thorough of them all. Reading my final project will hopefully leave you with a much stronger understanding of the history of beavers in the United States, how beavers fight climate change and improve biodiversity, and how conservationists are working with beavers to bring back threatened species
Energy Efficient Development: A Comparative Life Cycle Analysis of Retrofitted and New Housing in Lewiston, Maine
Get PDFIn response to aging residential buildings in Lewiston, Maine, a choice must be made between retrofitting existing residential buildings or building new homes. Renovating existing residential buildings decreases construction and material emissions, however, there are significant limitations to the energy efficiency of retrofitting residential buildings. Working through a community-engaged research approach with Raise-Op, a local housing cooperative in Lewiston, Maine, this study seeks to understand the environmental impact of retrofitting existing residential buildings in comparison to building new energy efficient homes. Employing a life cycle CO2 assessment, this study calculates the embodied carbon of a retrofitted residential building model and Raise-Op’s newly constructed building at 198 Blake Street to present a clear understanding of the total emissions of a building\u27s life cycle. In combination with embodied carbon emissions, this study also looks at the operational carbon emissions of each building. Our research findings suggest that building energy efficiency accounts for significantly more carbon than embodied carbon over a building’s lifespan. The study results will be presented to Raise-Op in an effort to recommend development strategies that minimize environmental impact
Intergenerational Conservation for Farm and Forest Owners in Auburn, Maine: An Analysis of Carbon Credit Program Tradeoffs
No full textHow can individual landowners ensure that their land is not transferred over to the power of developers in their lifetime and the lifetimes that follow? Carbon credit programs are presented as an up-and-coming solution to this dilemma. However, what some consider a solution, others may see as a downfall. Through a collaborative, community-based approach with Kathy Shaw and the Auburn Natural Products and Agriculture Working Group, this study explores the tradeoffs of carbon credit programs and whether these programs could benefit intergenerational conservation in Auburn, Maine. Data were collected using participant observation methods and semi-structured interviews. These methods offered insight into a range of perspectives including: carbon expert, carbon credit program representative, local government, forestry educator, and landowner. Interview transcripts were analyzed and visualized using qualitative coding in NVivo and an informational pamphlet was created as a public-facing deliverable for local landowners within rural areas of Auburn. The main goal of this deliverable was to provide accessible decision making information surrounding the options for land conservation strategies for local landowners. Interviewees identified a relatively even amount of drawbacks and benefits of carbon credit programs. The carbon credit program representative was the only interviewee to identify more benefits than drawbacks. The aim of this study is not to argue for or against carbon credit programs, but to provide landowners with an educational resource which can allow them to make a more informed decision based on their individual values and goals for their land
Synthesis and Biochemical Evaluation of Caffeoyl-Based Phenylpropanoid Glycosides
Get PDFCOVID-19, or SARS-CoV-2, is a highly contagious respiratory coronavirus that has caused many societal changes and social unrest over the past four years. An essential feature of the virus is how rapidly it mutates, subverting current treatments. As such, new antiviral compounds must be identified to try and keep up with the quick mutation rate. The initiation of the COVID-19 infection cycle was identified as a potential target. This is because the interaction is extracellular, meaning an inhibitor would not need to be transported into the cell to be effective. One class of compounds that have shown potential as antivirals are phenylpropanoid glycosides (PPGs), common secondary metabolites in various plant species that exhibit wide-ranging in vivo effects. We set out to examine the antiviral effects of caffeoyl-based PPGs, characterized by caffeic acid (CA) groups conjugated to glucose. Preliminary data shows that CA is capable of inhibiting the extracellular interaction of the COVID-19 spike protein and the human ACE-2 receptor at sufficiently high concentrations. Building off these data, we synthesized, characterized, and tested a library of compounds utilizing a synthetic PPG scaffold appended with varying numbers of caffeoyl groups. Using a spike-ACE2 binding assay, it was determined that each of the eight compounds synthesized effectively inhibited the spike-ACE2 interaction at 500 μM, each inhibiting the interaction near 100%. The best inhibitors were determined to be methyl-2-O-caffeoyl-α-D-glucopyranoside and methyl-2,3,4-O-caffeoyl-6-O-acetyl-α-D-glucopyranoside, which are believed to inhibit the interaction through different mechanisms due to their significant structural differences