@inproceedings{d98833578ae44e5b9bb3155b285b6cd4,
title = "The digital basanos: AI and the virtue of and violence of truth-telling",
abstract = "In ancient Greece, the basanos or touchstone had multiple meanings: A literal stone that tests the authenticity of gold by revealing its characteristic mark upon striking it, or metaphorically, a moral test of the authenticity of a life or a ruler. It also referred to a method of extracting truthful testimony by means of torture; specifically, of non-Greek slaves. The basanos thus embodies the interweaving of truth-telling with virtue, violence, and power in Western moral, political, and technical thought. In this talk I explore how contemporary uses of AI and data science have retraced and reconstituted the basanos in myriad ways, while also revealing a critical opportunity for the invention of new, more just and more sustainable means of truth-telling. ",
keywords = "ancient Greece, Artificial intelligence violence, rhetoric, truth-telling, zombies",
author = "Shannon Vallor and Sheila Ager and Rency Luan",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 IEEE.; 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Society and Technology, ISTAS 2021 ; Conference date: 28-10-2021 Through 31-10-2021",
year = "2021",
doi = "10.1109/ISTAS52410.2021.9629137",
language = "English",
series = "International Symposium on Technology and Society, Proceedings",
publisher = "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers",
number = "21483289",
editor = "Brandiff Caron and Schmitt, \{Ketra A.\} and Zach Pearl and Rozita Dara and Love, \{Heather A.\}",
booktitle = "Proceedings - 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Society and Technology",
address = "United States",
}