Artificial intelligence is changing the way we work, communicate and navigate daily life. But who is responsible when the technology gets things wrong? What happens to personal privacy? And how much control do individuals really have over the algorithms increasingly shaping their decisions?
Those questions will be at the center of a Gloucester Lyceum discussion next month, with one of the featured experts coming from right here in Manchester.
Hilary Robinson, a Manchester resident and associate professor of law and sociology at Northeastern University, will join two fellow scholars for “AI’s Promise and Peril: A Conversation,” a free public program on Saturday, November 14, at 1 p.m. in Gloucester City Hall’s Kyrouz Auditorium.
Longtime WBZ political analyst Jon Keller will moderate.
The event, sponsored by the Gloucester Lyceum in partnership with Sawyer Free Library, will examine the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence, particularly its effects on employment, personal privacy, the law and human relationships.
Robinson brings a distinctive perspective to the discussion. At Northeastern, she studies the intersection of technology, law and society, examining how digital systems influence the workplace, individual rights and the decisions made by legal institutions.
Her work has included a major National Science Foundation-funded research project investigating the so-called “algorithmic workplace,” including the experiences of workers whose jobs are organized and managed through digital platforms such as Uber.
More recently, Robinson has examined the legal questions raised by increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence systems, including accountability when AI-generated decisions or information cause harm. She is also conducting research into how digital platforms collect and control personal data, and whether users can be given greater authority over how their information is used.
A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Robinson earned her doctorate from MIT, where her research focused on Uber drivers and the emerging digital labor market. She joined Northeastern’s faculty in 2018 and has also taught at Wesleyan University and Vermont Law School.
Joining Robinson on the panel will be Roopika Risam, a Dartmouth professor and author of the recently published Data Empire, which examines questions of power and information in the digital age, and Nir Eisikovits, a professor at UMass Boston, director of its Applied Ethics Center and co-host of the podcast Prosthetic Gods, which explores the ethics and politics of emerging technology.
Keller, familiar to Boston-area audiences through his “Keller @ Large” political reporting and commentary, will guide the conversation among the three scholars.
“The Lyceum was founded to bring big ideas to Gloucester and let neighbors wrestle with them together,” said Ann Ziergiebel, a member of the Gloucester Lyceum Committee. “There’s no topic more timely than this one, and no topic that touches more people.”
The program is the second in the Lyceum’s 2026 speaker series. Its first event, held in May, featured Harvard professor and author Steven Levitsky discussing the ways democracies can slide toward authoritarianism, with WGBH’s Callie Crossley moderating.
Copies of Risam’s Data Empire will be available for purchase through The Bookstore, and Sawyer Free Library will have copies available to borrow.
The November 14 discussion begins at 1 p.m. at Kyrouz Auditorium, Gloucester City Hall, 2 Dale Avenue. Admission is free, although donations are welcome. Advance registration is required, and seating is limited.
For information and registration, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.
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