Students debate in ethics bowl

by Cas Szulc
edited by Tyler Comeau

Five Franklin Pierce students engaged in debate at the Ethics Bowl Demonstration in Marcucella 102 at 3 p.m. for the academic showcase.

The ethics bowl was a competitive speaking demonstration between students on two separate teams. The teams

(Photo: Cas Szulc)

would engage in conversation about topics that can be deemed ethical or unethical and would debate their stance on the matter. The topic chosen was about the use of AI technology in hospitals to determine what patients should be seen based off of their condition. Additionally, the AI also recommended a diagnosis and treatments for the patients.

The goal of the Ethics Bowl was to encourage students to think deeply about situations occurring around them. Kyle Klimowicz, a participant in the Ethics Bowl, said, “the purpose of this event is to encourage students to broaden their horizon. We want them to think critically about ethical dilemmas and about their instinctual feeling. Everything talked about today was real life stuff, it’s good to broaden your knowledge on subjects you do not really know about.”

Preparation for this event began about a month ago as the group set up teams and were introduced to the studies that they would be debating about. “We met about three or four times in preparation for today. We split up into teams based on how each one of us felt about the AI topic,” added Klimowicz.

The ethics team is always searching for more members to join. Every fall there are call outs for additional members along with posts on Raven Flash to help generate more members. Professor James Donelan, a coach of the ethics team, said, “those who are interested in competitive speaking are encourages to join. We have meetings once or twice a week and we go over the fundamentals of what goes into the debate.”