This fall we looked closely at world-building, starting with long-existing and just-emerging research into AI technology. Ethics has been the domain of philosophers, but for Benjamin Kuipers ’70, the rise of AI has forced computer scientists to confront such questions, too. Kuipers, emeritus professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan, has been involved in AI research for more than 50 years.
Nicholas Rhinehart ’12 is assistant professor at the University of Toronto where he leads the Learning, Embodied Autonomy, and Forecasting (LEAF) lab. “We want robots to combine learning to forecast the future with reward learning, so they can plan ahead, do what people actually want, and get better with experience,” says Rhinehart.
In a Lasting Legacy, we celebrate the generosity and investment in the future of the College as we learn what inspired Roy ’70 and Linda Shanker to make their $42 million commitment to the College and how they hope to inspire others to expand Swarthmore’s vision for the future.
Continuing the theme of world-building, we talk with Rosemarie Ewing-James ’80 (p.32) whose career helping children in the foster care system ensured abused and neglected children found foster homes full of love and support. All the things they need to become solid citizens, she says.
Learning why feeling trapped is often what leads leaders into war is the research subject of Dominic Tierney the Claude C. Smith ’14 Professor of Political Science. As war edges closer, he says, world leaders often think they have no control.
Sometimes we can understand peril more deeply when storytellers help us not only escape the weight of the world, but explore the conflict within it. “Those stories have always been in our blood,” says Charley Parlapanides ’99, who has a new Netflix hit. “But the challenge is making them feel fresh.”
World-building also demands vigilance. “Investigative reporting is deeply patriotic,” says Ted Gup, veteran journalist and author. Gup serves as Lang Visiting Professor for Issues of Social Change at Swarthmore. He’s teaching a timely new course on investigative reporting.
We hope these stories — and all the others in the issue — bring you closer to your Swarthmore world.
Kate Campbell
Editor/ Editorial Director
