Dartmouth center to look at computation, government, people

Dartmouth College has created an academic center to focus on the role of computation and its relationship to individuals and government.

The Susan and James Wright Center for the Study of Computation and Just Communities will use tools such as computer simulations, artificial intelligence and statistical analysis. Initiatives supported by the center will explore the "double-edged sword of computational advances in the public and government sphere," the college said in a news release.

Topics will include the dynamics of surveillance and safety, the protection of free speech in a time of widespread of misinformation, and the dangers and potential of image manipulation and creation.

The college said broader areas of study will include how technological advances are transforming the marketplace, the environment, and the breadth of economic and educational opportunity. Issues and questions of interest related to democratic values and human rights will span the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

The center is named in honor of President Emeritus James Wright and his wife, Susan DeBevoise Wright, and made possible by a $15.5 million gift from Sally and William Neukom.

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