Human Rights in the Algorithmic Age

Dr. Paolo Carozza, professor of law and concurrent professor of political science at Notre Dame University, addressed Houghton students and faculty, as well as the Board of Trustees, at the inaugural Shirley A. Mullen Lectureship, last night. Carozza’s talk, titled “Human Rights and Human Dignity in the Algorithmic Age,” raised questions about how the age of artificial intelligence has changed what human rights look like on a national and international scale.

“The complex new realities of the algorithmic age,” said Carozza, “should force us to ask deeper questions about human rights and freedom of expression. What does it mean to be human, to live a human life in an age where language, society, the human person, and how we communicate are rapidly changing because of technology?”

Carozza offered a lens through which Houghton students can judge these questions for themselves. “Professor Carozza spoke compellingly to the timeless—and timely—relevance of a Houghton education,” said Dr. Shirley A. Mullen, president emerita of Houghton, who attended the lecture. “It is the graduates of Christian liberal arts institutions like Houghton who are in the very best position to engage deeply with these questions with creativity, imagination and persistence.”

The Shirley A. Mullen Lectureship Series

The Shirley A. Mullen Lectureship was established in 2021 to honor the legacies of President Emerita Shirley A. Mullen and her mentor, Kay Lindley. The lectureship will invite speakers from a range of Christian traditions to challenge students to emulate the qualities exemplified by Lindley and Mullen as they join the fellowship of Houghton scholar-servants.