Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
By Jennifer Donovan, Director of News & Media Relations
University Marketing & Communications
Michigan Technological University
Do robots want your job? Martin Ford, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and author of the New York Times best-selling book, “Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future,” will answer that question when he presents a public lecture at the Rozsa Center at Michigan Technological University on Saturday, September 23.
He will also present a program for students on emerging trends in robotics and artificial intelligence and one for faculty on artificial intelligence and industry trends.
The student program, “Pasties and Robots,” is scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday on the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts stage. Ford will meet with interested students to answer questions about the field of robotics, entrepreneurship and what’s next in automation. Career Services will provide pasties. Space is limited, and students are asked to sign up in advance at the Career Services office, Administration Building 201.
From 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, faculty from across campus are invited to join Ford on the Rozsa Center stage for a discussion about emerging industry trends in robotics, artificial intelligence and the future of personalized learning. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided.
Ford will give a public lecture at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Rozsa Center. His topic is “Disruptive Technology: Do Robots Want Your Job?” Admission is free. Before the lecture, at 5:30 p.m., copies of “Rise of the Robots” will be on sale in the Rozsa Lobby. Keweenaw FIRST Robotics robots will be on display and information on Career Services and University research will be available.
The lecture is free, however due to limited seating, tickets are required. For tickets please call 7-2073, online, or in person at the central ticket office in the Student Development Complex (SDC). Tickets are also available the night of the show at the Rozsa box office, which opens two hours prior to events.
After the 1-hour lecture, there will be a half-hour question and answer period live-streamed on Facebook. A book-signing in the Rozsa Lobby will follow the Q&A at 9 p.m.
Ford is the founder of a Silicon Valley-based software development firm and the author of two books: “Rise of the Robots” and “The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future.”
Rise of the Robots received the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award and was named one of Business Insider’s Best Business Books of the Year.
Ford has more than 25 years of experience in computer design and software development. He holds a computer engineering degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a graduate business degree from UCLA. He has written for publications including Fortune, Forbes, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Project Syndicate, The Huffington Post and The Fiscal Times.
He has also appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including programs on NPR and CNBC, and is scheduled to appear at this year’s TED 2017 conference.
