On September 21st 2023, I facilitated a GrinTECH discussion panel between Sociology Professor Karla Erickson and Assistant Professor Elizabeth (Libby) Cave on the topic of “Social Hierarchies, Networks, and Change.”

GrinTECH hosts events that focus on technology for social good, such as workshops, talks, and community hours. This event was the first discussion panel of the Prof Talks series, which I started with my wonderful colleague, Yuina. Prof Talks brings together academics from different departments to talk about the same topic. Through this series, we want to foster a sense of appreciation for the scholarship of various disciplines and a more nuanced understanding of the impacts of technology.

I started by asking the panelists to give a working definition of “network” that is particularly useful for their area of study. We then talked about many things, including: the importance of machine learning interpretability for AI fairness; how the usefulness of new technologies depend on the context in which they are implemented; invisible networks and hierarchies, what that means for tech; and more. The audience members also contributed with their questions, which led to even more great discussions. Attendees appreciated how engaging and well-facilitated the panel was. The panelists also enjoyed how well-structured the event was and said it was a great opportunity for them.

My amazing colleagues at GrinTECH helped with the ideas for the event (such as what to name the speaker series), logistics (such as scheduling a room and getting snacks), and advertising (making posters and posting them on Instagram).  I’m thrilled with what our team effort resulted in 🙂

The event’s attendees were mainly students majoring in the humanities and social sciences, something unprecedented for tech events on campus. That was incredibly fulfilling, as their questions and contributions to the panel were truly insightful. The combination of a more technical, Computer Science view of the topic from me + a sociological perspective of networks from Dr. Erickson + a digital humanities outlook on the ethical and practical aspects of computing from Libby made for a delightful conversation. I feel like I learned so much in just one hour.

What really helped me guide the discussion well was the preparation work I did. I planned for the event by:

1. Deciding on a date and place
2. Brainstorming ideas for topics and speakers to invite
3. Contacting potential panelists
4. Researching the work of the panelists once they said yes so I could ask good questions
5. Asking for guidance from my English professor on how to conduct a discussion
6. Taking notes on what she said: communicating expectations beforehand, having a plan for the questions, and keeping track of time
7. Making a plan and emailing it to the professors
8. Taking notes during the event to ask further questions/transition to the next topic