[act-ma] 2/26 Kissinger at MIT's Schwarzman College counter-events

[Charlie Welch]

 From MIT Students Against War <mit.coc.protest at gmail.com>

*There are two events we are hosting in response to the Schwarzman CoC 
and Kissinger’s invitation: first is AI Can’t Fix This; MIT, 
Imperialism, and the Future of AI 
<https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ai-cant-fix-this-mit-imperialism-and-the-future-of-ai-tickets-56731752198> TODAY, 
Feb 26, room 3-270, 5:30pm. Second is a **protest 
<https://www.facebook.com/events/1243584455808686/> at 2:30pmon the 
28th. Below you can find details on the 26th event. Updates on protest 
forthcoming. Also**we have a petition* 
<https://www.change.org/p/mit-no-more-tech-for-militarism-and-endless-profits?fbclid=IwAR3IK6-p4x0cP8azGsc0EbiVsbE2Qv2VqHrhKHw_7mIxgue0CIOGeWtS1H4>!!!*Pls 
sign and share!*
**
Hi all,
As many of you already know, MIT is celebrating the inauguration of its 
Schwarzman College of Computing from today, Feb 26, until the 28th. 
There are serious concerns regarding this college 
<https://thetech.com/2019/02/14/celebrating-war-criminals>, however, and 
so some of us MIT folk are putting on a pair of events to voice these 
concerns.
Our first event, a teach-in titled AI Can’t Fix This; MIT, Imperialism, 
and the Future of AI 
<https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ai-cant-fix-this-mit-imperialism-and-the-future-of-ai-tickets-56731752198>, is 
TODAY, Feb 26, in room 3-270. Doors will open at 5:30 with snacks, and 
the teach-in itself will begin at 6:00.
*Some remarks about the teach-in and its purpose:*
This teach-in was prompted specifically by MIT’s decision to invite the 
war criminal Henry Kissinger as a speaker for the College of Computing 
celebrations. However, it important to note that MIT’s decision to honor 
Kissinger as a speaker is not an anomaly given the Institute’s 
consistently questionable approach to advancing scientific research and 
social change. Thus, our teach-in hopes to cover topics that are far 
broader than simply Henry Kissinger and the College of Computing events 
occurring this week. We have four main goals in mind –

 1. To provide context about the ethical issues surrounding technology –
    regarding both its inability to completely address large-scale
    social issues, such as climate change and poverty, and its potential
    for perpetuating violence, such as through increased surveillance
    and military interventions.
 2. To provide context about the history of MIT, and the way it has been
    implicated in this violence, such as through the financial
    partnerships it builds and through the military research it conducts
 3. To describe steps that MIT has taken thus far regarding the College
    of Computing, and why these decisions, within the context of MIT’s
    problematic history, make us skeptical that the College of Computing
    will be used to promote positive change in the world
 4. To provide a vision for what the College of Computing /should/ look
    like and offer some steps forward that we as community members can take.

The structure of the event will be as follows: we will begin with brief 
introductions and statements from each of our panelists. Then, we will 
move into a panel discussion in which our moderator, Gabby, will pose 
pre-prepared questions to the panelists. Finally, we will end with 
questions from the audience.

We hope to see you all there! Remember to *share facebook 
<https://www.facebook.com/events/352766885319625/> and/or eventbrite 
<https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ai-cant-fix-this-mit-imperialism-and-the-future-of-ai-tickets-56731752198>, 
and to sign/share the petition! 
<https://www.change.org/p/mit-no-more-tech-for-militarism-and-endless-profits?fbclid=IwAR3IK6-p4x0cP8azGsc0EbiVsbE2Qv2VqHrhKHw_7mIxgue0CIOGeWtS1H4>*

MIT Students Against War