UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Acclaimed science-fiction author Ted Chiang will be delivering the Rock Ethics Institute’s 2026 Richard B. Lippin Lecture in Ethics on March 25.
The lecture is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in Freeman Auditorium in the HUB-Robeson Center on Penn State’s University Park campus. Admission is free and open to the public.
Chiang’s lecture will consider the incompatibility between generative AI and art, a subject that he has examined extensively in his fiction, as well as in essays published in venues like The New Yorker.
Chiang is the author of “Stories of Your Life and Others” and “Exhalation,” two collections that have garnered sustained attention across literary, scientific and philosophical communities. His novella “Story of Your Life” was adapted into the Academy Award–nominated film "Arrival." In naming him one of its 100 Most Influential People in 2023, Time magazine said, “Ted Chiang is perhaps the world’s most celebrated living science-fiction author.”
Over the past three decades, Chiang has received numerous Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards and has become one of the most influential contemporary voices exploring the human implications of technological change.
“Ted Chiang’s writing consistently reminds us that technologies do not arrive in the world fully formed or value-neutral,” said Ted Toadvine, Nancy Tuana Director of the Rock Ethics Institute. “His work asks us to consider how imagination, creativity and moral judgment shape the development and use of technologies, especially as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly entangled with artistic practice.”
The Rock Ethics Institute (REI) has promoted "Ethical Technologies" as its organizing theme for the year, making Chiang’s visit especially timely.
The theme highlights research at the intersection of ethics and emerging technologies, emphasizing that innovation is not simply a matter of engineering or efficiency, but also of justice, responsibility and human values. Faculty affiliated with REI — including Laura Cabrera, whose work addresses the ethics of neurotechnologies, and Alan Wagner, who studies moral decision-making in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics — exemplify this integrated approach.
Chiang’s talk further emphasizes the broader public role of REI’s mission, Toadvine said: “Engaging the public in careful, sustained reflection on the ethical dimensions of technology is central to our mission. Chiang’s essays and stories offer an entry point into those conversations that is both intellectually rigorous and widely accessible.”
Desiree Lim, associate director of the Rock Ethics Institute, noted that Chiang’s work on AI and art offers a particularly valuable lens for thinking about technology’s cultural impact.
“By examining how artificial intelligence intersects with creativity and artistic expression, Chiang encourages us to think carefully about authorship, agency and value,” Lim said. “His work helps us reflect not only on current debates about AI, but also on how our cultural and ethical commitments will shape the future of human and machine collaboration.”
The 2026 Richard B. Lippin Lecture in Ethics is co-sponsored by the Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence, the College of the Liberal Arts, the Department of English and the Department of Art History.
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