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Calendar of Events

Sanjeev Kulkarni on Machine Learning and Democracy: Some Problems in Collective Decision-Making

Sanjeev Kulkarni on Machine Learning and Democracy: Some Problems in Collective Decision-Making

April 4, 20134:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Visual Arts Center, Beam Classroom

The Classics Department presents:


Sanjeev Kulkarni
Professor of Electrical Engineering 
Director of the Keller Center for Technology and Society
Princeton University

"Machine Learning and Democracy: Some Problems in Collective Decision-Making"

A recent area of interest in machine learning involves drawing inferences from a large number of agents, each with some partial information.  These problems in collective decision-making are closely related to a fundamental problem of democracy--that of inferring the collective will of the people.  This talk will give a brief overview of machine learning and voting theory, followed by a discussion of some of our recent work in these areas.

Underwritten by: the Charles F. Adams Lectureship Fund, the Jasper Jacob Stahl lectureship fund.  Co-sponsored by the Classics Department and Computer Science with additional support from the Government Department and Computational Studies.

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Moral Responsibility, the Reactive Attitudes, and the Significance of (Libertarian) Free Will

Moral Responsibility, the Reactive Attitudes, and the Significance of (Libertarian) Free Will

May 1, 20134:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Kanbar Hall, Room 107

Why should we want to be libertarian free agents, i.e., agents whose choices are not determined by the laws of nature and events in the distant past?  Professor Nelkin argues that there are indeed certain human goods that require us to have a form of responsible agency, but that the sort of freedom that is required is not libertarian freedom.

Professor Dana Nelkin is a Philosophy Professor at the University of California, San Diego.  Her work is mainly focused in moral psychology, ethics, and philosophy of action.  She is also the author of Making Sense of Freedom and Responsibility.

This lecture is sponsored by the Department of Philosophy.

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Philosophy Table

Philosophy Table

May 3, 201312:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Moulton Union, North Private Dining Room

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