Technology-focused student group launching new programming

The Nebraska Governance and Technology Center is now supporting the student organization, Broader Considerations of Technology, through their relationship with the Robert J. Kutak Center for the Teaching and Study of Applied Ethics at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

BCT was co-founded and is currently led by Colton Harper, a doctoral student at Nebraska from Hutchinson, Kansas. The organization has strong ties to Computer Science and Engineering. BCT’s main focus is drawing attention to the various social, political and moral concerns that arise from technological advances, especially the design and implementation of computer-based technologies.

This year, BCT is once again teaming up with faculty and staff in the Nebraska Governance and Technology Center to host speakers and new programs — but in a newly robust and impressive way. BCT is developing programming that uses data visualization to tell compelling, data-driven stories. These workshops will become available to students across campus as the project continues this academic year. Additionally, the group, under guidance from the Ethics Center and NGTC, is leading a science fiction and ethics short story discussion club and will be hosting a campus-wide Game Jam competition.

The science fiction and ethics short story book club is open to all University of Nebraska students, faculty and staff. Meetings are generally the first Tuesday of every month in the B1G Ten Room in the City Campus Union. More information can be found here.

The Game Jam will challenge interdisciplinary teams of students to “gamify” topics and issues raised in the NGTC podcast Tech Refactored. The teams will create digital games that encourage players to think critically as well as more holistically when considering technology. The jam is scheduled to be held in March 2022 at the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts. More information on the jam will be available later this fall on the NGTC website.

Launched in 2020, the Nebraska Governance and Technology Center is focused on the changing relationship between law and technology and its effects on society. The center is housed in the College of Law and includes an interdisciplinary team of students, faculty and researchers engaging in study with the Colleges of Business, Engineering, and Journalism and Mass Communications. Questions about the Nebraska Governance and Technology Center or its upcoming programs with BCT should be directed to the center’s executive director, Elsbeth Magilton, via email at elsbeth@unl.edu. Learn more about BCT here.