March 17–21, 2025 marks our fourth annual Tech & Society Week—a week-long, cross-campus event series exploring the evolving impact of digital technology on our world. From expert-driven panels to unique showcases of student work, there is something here for you.
Take a look below for a snapshot of the week. You can also sign up for our newsletter, subscribe to our calendar, and follow us on Instagram for more updates.
* Asterisked locations are wheelchair accessible. Please refer to this campus map for list of accessible entrances.
Monday (March 17)
10:30 AM – 3:00 PM | Gnovicon 25
- Event Details: 2025 marks 25 years since the launch of gnovis, Georgetown University’s only peer-reviewed, student-run academic journal dedicated to graduate research on technology and society, housed within the Communication, Culture & Technology program. The editorial board is excited to celebrate this milestone at our Spring 2025 conference, which will bring together students, faculty, and professionals to reflect and discuss the role of interdisciplinary research in the midst of today’s tech revolution. The conference will feature student panel sessions, an interdisciplinary faculty panel, and a special poster session. Attendance is free and lunch will be provided.
- Host: gnovis at the Communication, Culture & Technology Program
- Location: Social Room, Healey Family Student Center* (Hilltop Campus)
- Registration: RSVP —This event is open to the general public.
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM | AI Hazards: Understanding AI Incidents
- Event Details: A tension exists — AI tools can be used to improve lives, but AI tools can also be used to cause harm. How might we improve AI safety to reduce the number of harms taking place? Join a conversation with a panel of experts in technology, policy, and law to discuss different harms that have occurred and offer directions for improving AI safety for all. Panelists will dive into a discussion on AI incidents including definitions, work being done to capture and analyze harms, discuss what gaps exist, and impacts on our daily life. Following the panel there will be reception with the panelists.
- Host: Massive Data Institute, Center for Security and Emerging Technology, Center for Digital Ethics
- Location: Fisher Colloquium* (Hilltop Campus)
- Registration: RSVP — This event is open to the general public.
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM | Welcome Reception
- Event Details: Join us for a celebration kicking off our fourth annual Tech & Society Week—a week-long series of events across the Georgetown campus, exploring issues at the nexus of technology + society.
- Host: Tech & Society
- Registration: This event is invite-only.
Tuesday (March 18)
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM | The Rise of Consumer Protection Claims Against Digital Platforms
- Event Details: Recent years have seen a growing wave of consumer protection litigation focused on harms alleged to arise from the design of social media platforms. While platforms have historically enjoyed broad Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and First Amendment protections, legal decisions have become increasingly nuanced. This discussion will take stock of how courts across the US are grappling with pressing and novel questions related to platform liability and design. Bringing together leading experts – including litigators, advocates, and academics – the panel will highlight current cases and discuss how the social media litigation landscape may evolve in the years ahead.
- Host: Knight-Georgetown Institute, Institute for Technology Law & Policy
- Location: Classroom 750, 500 1st St NW* (Capitol Campus)
- Registration: RSVP — This event is open to the general public.
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Generative AI & Safety-Critical Systems: Connecting Research to Policy
- Event Details: Join us for a conversation with professor and international expert and leader in the field of autonomous systems Missy Cummings, PhD.
- Host: Center for Digital Ethics, Department of Computer Science
- Location: Multipurpose Room, Arrupe Hall* (Hilltop Campus)
- Registration: No RSVP required — This event is open to the general public.
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM | Copyright v. AI in the European Union
- Event Details: Join the Tech Institute for a lecture on artificial intelligence and copyright in the European Union by Matthias Leistner, Professor Civil Law and Intellectual Property Law with Information and IT-Law at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. The first EU-wide judgment on the copyright issues involved in training AI, the Regional Court of Hamburg’s judgment in the Laion case, provides some valuable initial guideposts on the interpretation of the EU’s copyright exception for text and data mining, but many questions – including the issue of territoriality – remain. In response, the EU has passed the AI Act, effectively requiring AI companies to comply with certain regulatory duties around transparency and the establishment of a policy to respect EU copyright law. The private enforceability of this new framework and its international effects raise further intricate questions in the global regulatory landscape. This presentation will try to disentangle these different instruments and their interaction, propose some tentative answers and, finally, draw a larger policy perspective on the future of copyright regulation of AI training in the EU. This event is part of the Global TechNet Working Group’s AI Governance Series.
- Host: Institute for Technology Law & Policy
- Location: 125 E St NW* (Capitol Campus)
- Registration: RSVP — This event is open to the general public.
Wednesday (March 19)
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Reckoning with the Evolving Social Media Landscape
- Event Details: The last five years have witnessed profound changes to the social media ecosystem, including the rise of upstart platforms like TikTok and Bluesky and the transformation of established ones like Twitter (now X). Leading experts Renée DiResta (Georgetown University), Sean Martin McDonald (Digital Public), Samantha Lai (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), and Prithvi Iyer (Tech Policy Press) will reckon with this evolving social media landscape, its consequences for our everyday lives, and what the future may hold.
- Host: Knight-Georgetown Institute
- Location: Leavey Program Room* (Hilltop Campus)
- Registration: RSVP — This event is open to the general public.
3:30 PM – 5:30 PM | Global Perspectives on AI and the Law
- Event Details: The Tech Institute is hosting a series of rapid talks on the future of AI policy in different countries and regions, presented by lawyers and technologists pursuing graduate studies. This event will feature the research of our experts who have experience working in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Canada, and the United States. Drawing from their expertise, these presentations will cover new AI issues arising in data privacy, labor rights, healthcare, and international legal frameworks.
- Host: Institute for Technology Law & Policy
- Location: 125 E St NW* (Capitol Campus)
- Registration: RSVP — This event is open to the general public.
Thursday (March 20)
2:30 PM – 4:45 PM | Artificial Intelligence and Environmental Compliance and Enforcement
- Event Details: AI offers opportunities to enhance environmental regulations enforcement, but also risks infringing upon individuals’ privacy in the process. The Tech Institute will host two panel discussions with environmental law attorneys, policy experts, and professors about the possibilities of AI in environmental law. The first panel will discuss the benefits of AI, such as the ability to ensure regulatory compliance by tracking illegal deforestation and pollution. The second panel will look at the possible risks, such as the ability to use this AI technology to intrusively monitor individuals and businesses.
- Host: Institute for Technology Law & Policy
- Location: Gewirz 12* (Capitol Campus)
- Registration: RSVP — This event is open to the general public.
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM | AI Arms Race? Semiconductors, Strategy, and Security
- Event Details: Join us for a panel discussion exploring the intersection of semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and industrial policy in the context of global competition. As the U.S. navigates an increasingly complex geopolitical and economic landscape, semiconductor strategy and AI development have become pivotal to national security, economic resilience, and technological leadership. This discussion will examine critical policy challenges, including the feasibility of U.S. semiconductor manufacturing autonomy, the strategic risks of dependence on Taiwanese chip production and the implications of China’s rapid advancements in AI, particularly with the emergence of DeepSeek.
- Host: Georgetown National Defense Policy Initiative (NDPI), Georgetown Tech Policy Initiative (GTPI), McCourt Economic Policy Hub (MEPH)
- Location: Room 440, 125 E St NW* (Capitol Campus)
- Registration: RSVP — This event is open to members of the Georgetown community.
Friday (March 21)
9:30 AM – 4:00 PM | Fritz Family Fellows Conference
- Event Details: The Fritz Family Fellows Program is a cross-campus collaboration that aims to cultivate the next generation of leaders with expertise in the social impacts of technology, and build a network of public interest technologists who learn from and support each other’s work. The annual Fritz Family Fellowship Conference is a celebratory event during which fellows will have the opportunity to present their research to their communities, as well as reflect on their research experiences.
- Host: Tech & Society
- Location: Capitol View Convening Space, 9th Floor, 125 E St NW* (Capitol Campus)
- Registration: RSVP — This event is open to the general public.
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Georgetown Wikipedia Edit-a-thon
- Event Details: Join the Georgetown community to help close this gender gap on Wikipedia by increasing the representation of underrepresented groups — in both Wikipedia content and contributors — on topics such as women in politics, women in STEM, and women in the arts.
- Host: Massive Data Institute, Institute for Technology Law & Policy, Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation
- Location: Office of Student Equity and Inclusion, Garden Level of Healey Family Student Center* (Hilltop Campus)
- Registration: RSVP — This event is open to the general public.