PennWest University and Duquesne University will host the Second Duquesne–PennWest Conference on Global Bioethics Nov. 12–14 at Baron-Forness Library at PennWest Edinboro.
This year’s conference will examine how health misinformation spreads and how health professionals can respond when patients encounter misleading advice.
PennWest’s James F. Drane Bioethics Institute and Duquesne’s Center for Global Health Ethics organized the conference. Sessions will cover topics ranging from the reliability of AI-generated medical advice to the questions patients bring to a doctor’s appointment after watching health videos on social media.
“Health misinformation crosses borders, but a response that earns people’s trust in one community may fall short in another,” said Dr. Kiarash Aramesh, director of PennWest’s James F. Drane Bioethics Institute. “This conference gives us a chance to hear from colleagues around the world about what they’re seeing firsthand and how they’ve responded.”
Dr. James Fisher, PennWest’s interim president and honorary chair of the conference, will take part in the opening ceremony at 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12.
The opening day also includes this year’s Dr. James Drane Speaker Series lecture. Dr. Lisa Miller, a clinical psychology professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and author of “The Awakened Brain,” will present “Knowing Truth in the Age of AI” at 7 p.m. on the library’s first floor. Admission and parking for the lecture are free.
Other keynote speakers include Dr. Gerard Magill of Duquesne University, who will discuss ethical decision-making in health care organizations, and Dr. J. Camille Dempsey, director of PennWest’s Center for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies, who will examine how AI shapes what people accept as true about health.
Two University of Zurich researchers will also speak. Dr. Giovanni Spitale will explore whether AI can be neutral, and Dr. Federico Germani will discuss how to respond to misinformation during a public health crisis.
For the full schedule and additional information, visit https://www.pennwest.edu/community/edinboro/institutes/bioethics/global-conference.php.