2025 Annual Ethics Conference

Speaker: Dr. Evan Selinger

Business leaders often find AI ethics frustrating, especially when it seems vague or burdensome. In many companies, ethics are reduced to a mere compliance exercise. Others take a more cynical approach, using virtue-signaling as part of their branding. And even when businesses want to do the right thing, they don’t always have the in-house knowledge to turn good intentions into meaningful action.

This talk takes those frustrations seriously. Drawing on years of experience teaching tech ethics to students preparing for real-world careers, consulting for companies, and advising the government, I’ll explain why these challenges persist and why they’re worth addressing. When approached thoughtfully, ethics is a strategic asset that can help companies reduce risk and build trust.

Dr. Selinger is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the Rochester Institute of Technology. His research covers a range of issues in the philosophies of technology, especially privacy and ethics (including AI ethics). An advocate for widely sharing philosophical insights, Selinger is currently a contributing writer at The Boston Globe and has previously published in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Wired, Slate, The Nation, Salon, Bloomberg Opinion, and CNN. To enhance public policy, Selinger has partnered with legal and advocacy organizations like the ACLU, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, the Justice Collaborative, and Fight for the Future. For the past few years, Selinger has been a member of the Institute for Defense Analysis’s Ethical, Legal, and Social/Societal (ELSI) Working Group.

Moderator: Dr. Nick Seabrook

Dr. Seabrook is a Professor of Political Science, Chair of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, and Director of the Office of Public Policy Events at the University of North Florida. His research examines the intersection of law and politics in the United States, with a particular focus on redistricting reform and election administration. He is the author of the books “Drawing the Lines: Constraints on Gerrymandering in U.S. Politics,” published by Cornell University Press in 2017, and “One Person, One Vote: A Surprising History of Gerrymandering in America,” published by Penguin Random House in 2022.

Panelist: Amy Boyer

Amy Boyer is the Chair of Risk at the Mayo Clinic. She has been employed by Mayo since 2002 and is responsible for the Integrity and Compliance Office, Third Party Risk Management, Business Resilience, Risk Investigative Services and Risk Coordination functions. She has a master’s degree in health care jurisprudence from Loyola School of Law and a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Amy is an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, instructing on governance and ethics.

Panelist: Alyson Freeman

Alyson Freeman leads the creation and communication of the Sustainability & ESG product innovation roadmap for Dell Technologies, with a focus on AI and data center energy use. She has 20 years’ experience in engineering and management roles at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Samsung, Intel, and Dell Technologies. Her Ph.D. is in materials engineering with a focus on semiconductors. Freeman is also global lead for the Women in Action employee resource group at Dell Technologies, a co-founder and former chair of Women in Technology at Samsung Austin Semiconductor, a board member of Westwood STEM Academy, and co-founder of a global Coding for Kids program at Dell Technologies.

Panelist: Vaughn Alliton

Vaughn Alliton currently serves as the head of Technology/Digital Risk & Compliance at the TIAA. Beyond technology, this role also encompasses data, AI, and privacy. He is also responsible for consolidating risk & compliance governance and reporting for the Technology, Digital, Operations, and Shared Services division. He has 30 years of experience in IT, including project management, program management, application delivery, process redesign, and risk and compliance management. He holds an M.B.A. in International Finance from Nova Southeastern University and is ABD for his doctorate in Technology Management at Pace University.

AI Ethics for Business: Principles, Cases, and Recommendations

Speaker: Dr. Joshua C. Gellers, LEED Green Associate

Dr. Gellers is a Professor of Political Science, Director of the Digital Humanities Institute, and Inaugural Faculty Fellow for Artificial Intelligence at the University of North Florida. He is also an Expert with the Global AI Ethics Institute and Co-editor of two forthcoming volumes on artificial intelligence. Dr. Gellers has advised international organizations, universities, non-profit organizations, and elected officials on AI policy and strategy.

AI Ethics and Compliance Issues in Business

Speaker: Dr. Mitch Haney

Dr. Haney is an Associate Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. He has been at UNF since 2005. Dr. Haney was the Chair of the Department from 2015 until 2022. In addition to teaching a variety of courses in Ethics and Applied Ethics, his scholarship focuses on Organizational Ethics, Ethics and Social Media, the Value of Work and Leisure to the quality of life, as well as topics in Ethics and Popular Culture.

Title Coming Soon

Speaker: Dr. Suzanne Ehrlich

Dr. Ehrlich is an Associate Professor and holds the position of Program Director for the Instructional Technology, Training and Development master’s and undergraduate program at the University of North Florida (UNF). Her research focuses on the promotion of digital accessibility via universal design and the application of AI in workforce learning development.

Title Coming Soon

Speaker: Dr. Drew Thoeni

Dr. Thoeni is an instructor of marketing and a member of the graduate faculty at the University of North Florida who teaches principles of marketing, business analytics, and marketing research. Dr. Thoeni leads Coggin’s Honors in Marketing program and is co-chair of the college’s Marketing Advisory Council. Dr. Thoeni advises start-up and start-over companies in areas related to business and marketing analytics, business intelligence, intellectual capital management, and building and using effective data systems.