CV
Alexis Melissa Elder
Email: first name dot last name AT gmail dot com
EDUCATION
PhD Philosophy, University of Connecticut, December 2013
MA Philosophy, University of Connecticut, May 2010
BA Philosophy, Southern Connecticut State University, May 2005
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION
Ethics, Philosophy of Technology
AREAS OF COMPETENCE
Social Philosophy, Metaphysics, Asian Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2020-present Associate Professor, University of Minnesota Duluth
2016-2020 Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota Duluth
2014-2016 Lecturer, Quinnipiac University
2014-2016 Lecturer, Southern Connecticut State University
2013-2014 Visiting Assistant Professor, Southern Connecticut State University
PUBLICATIONS
Books
2018 Friendship, Robots, and Social Media: False friends and second selves. New York, NY: Routledge.
Edited Volumes
2019 Journal of Information, Communication, and Ethics in Society, Volume 17 (2) special issue on “Creating, Changing, and Coalescing Ways of Life with Technologies” (co-edited with Marty J. Wolf and Malgorzata Plotka).
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
2023 “What Confucian Ethics Can Teach Us About Designing Caregiving Robots for Geriatric Patients”, Digital Society 2 (1), 7.
2023 “Robots, Rebukes, and Relationships: Confucian ethics and the study of human-robot interactions,” Res Philosophica, Volume 100(1), pp. 43-62
2022 “Siri, Stereotypes, and the Mechanics of Sexism,” Feminist Philosophy Quarterly, Volume 8 (3/4), Article 10.
2020 “’How could you even ask that?’ Moral considerability, uncertainty and vulnerability in social robotics,” Journal of Sociotechnical Critique, Volume 1(1), pp. 1-23.
2019 “Conversation from Beyond the Grave? A Neo-Confucian ethics of chatbots of the dead,” Journal of Applied Philosophy, first published online May 3.
2018 “What Words Can’t Say: Emoji and other nonverbal elements of technologically mediated communication,” Journal of Information, Communication & Ethics in Society, Volume 16 (1), pp. 2-15. (Preview chapter from book; peer-reviewed via normal journal processes.)
2014 “Excellent Online Friendships: An Aristotelian defense of social media,” Ethics & Information Technology, Volume 16 (4), pp. 287-297.
2014 “Zhuangzi on Friendship and Death,” Southern Journal of Philosophy, Volume 52 (4), pp. 576-593.
2014 “Why Bad People Can’t Be Good Friends,” Ratio, Volume 27 (1), pp. 84-99.
2013 “Anosognosia, Proprioception, and the Richness of Conscious Experience,” Journal of Consciousness Studies, Volume 20 (3-4), 2013, pp. 83-101.
Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters
2017 “Robot Friends for Autistic Children: Monopoly money or counterfeit currency?” Robot Ethics 2.0 (eds. Patrick Lin, George Bekey, Keith Abney, and Ryan Jenkins), New York, NY: Oxford University Press USA.
2017 “Figuring Out Who Your Real Friends Are,” Experience Machines: The Philosophy of Virtual Worlds (ed. Mark Silcox), London, UK: Rowman & Littlefield International.
2016 “Forgiveness and Friendship,” Forgiveness and Philosophy (ed. Court D. Lewis), Wilmington, DE: Vernon Press.
Invited Book Chapters
2022 “Social Media and Friendship,” Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Friendship, Routledge, pp. 358-370.
Book Reviews
2022 "Digital Souls: A Philosophy of Online Death," Australasian Journal of Philosophy, first published online ahead of print, p. 1
2020 “Living with Robots,” Philosopher’s Magazine, Volume 86(3), pp. 115-117.
Conference Proceedings
2015 “False Friends and False Coinage: A tool for navigating the ethics of sociable robots,” Computers & Society (ACM SIGCAS Newsletter), Volume 45 (3), pp. 248-254.
2015 “Boundary Enforcement and Social Disruption through Computer-Mediated Communication,” Computers & Society (ACM SIGCAS Newsletter), Volume 45 (3), pp. 45-51
Public Philosophy
2020 “Social Connection in a Time of Social Distancing,” Perfect Duluth Day, March 21.
2018 “What makes a good friend?” The Conversation. August 6.
2018 “Should you send a text or email? Here’s some advice from Aristotle.” The Conversation. March 2.
2017 “When should you unfriend someone on Facebook?” The Conversation. December 3.
CONFERENCE ACTIVITY
Refereed Presentations
2023 "Data After Death: Remembrance and resurrection," Computer Ethics, Professional Enquiry conference, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, May 16-18
2022 “The Seniors Aren’t Alright: Polarization, misinformation, and generational divides,” North American Society for Social Philosophy Conference, Neumann University, Aston, Pennsylvania, July 14-16
2021 “Siri, Stereotypes, and the Mechanics of Sexism,” Feminism, Social Justice, and AI Workshop, University of Waterloo (online due to COVID-19), July 28-28
2021 “What Confucian Ethics Can Teach Us About Designing Caregiving Robots for Geriatric Patients”, CEPE/IACAP Joint Conference, University of Hamburg (Online due to COVID-19), July 5-9
2020 “Distinguishability, Indistinguishability and Robot Ethics: Calling things by their right names,” ETHICOMP, Universidad de Rioja (online due to COVID-19), June 15-July 6
2019 “Neither person nor thing: The promise of an animal model for AI”(co-authored with Arshia Khan) Minnesota Philosophical Society conference, Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Cambridge, Minnesota, October 26
2019 “‘How could you even ask that?’ Uncertainty and vulnerability in social robotics,” Computer Ethics, Professional Enquiry, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, May 28-30
2018 “Conversations from Beyond the Grave? The ethics of chatbots of the dead,” ETHICOMP, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Sopot, Poland, September 24-26
2018 “Ethics of Disconnection,” Philosophy of Human-Technology Relations, University of Twente, Twente, The Netherlands, July 11-13
2017 “Why Not Just Step Away from the Screen and Talk Face to Face? The moral import of communication medium choice,” Society for Philosophy and Technology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany, June 14-17
2017 “What Words Can’t Say: Emoji and other elements of technologically-mediated communication,” CEPE/ETHICOMP, University of Turin, Turin, Italy June 5-8
2016 “Can Something Be Both Offensive and Meaningless?” Minnesota Philosophical Society, Winona State University, Winona, Minnesota, November 5
2016 “Repeatable Reasons, Irreplaceable Friends,” Philosopher’s Cocoon Philosophy Conference, University of Tampa, Tampa, Florida, October 8-9
2016 “Taking Control of the Conversation: Autonomy and Computer-Mediated Communication,” IACAP (International Association for Computing and Philosophy) Conference, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy, June 14-17
2016 “How Asynchronous Communication Technology Helps Women Take Control of Their Conversations,” Feminist In(ter)ventions: Women, Community, Technology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut, April 15-16
2016 “What’s Wrong with Robot ‘Friends’ for Lonely Seniors?” Pacific APA, San Francisco, California, March 30-April 3
2015 “Ontology of Friendship,” Philosophers’ Cocoon Philosophy Conference, University of Tampa, Tampa, Florida, November 7-8
2015 “False Friends and False Coinage: A tool for navigating the ethics of sociable robots,” ETHICOMP, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom, September 7-9
2015 “Boundary Enforcement and Social Disruption through Computer-Mediated Communication,” ETHICOMP, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom, September 7-9
2015 “A Theory of Intergroup Offense and Respect,” South Carolina Philosophy Society Conference, Wofford College, Spartanburg, South Carolina, March 27-28
2015 “Ontology of Friendship,” Midsouth Philosophy Conference, Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee, March 13-14 (accepted)
2015 “Ontology of Friendship,” North Carolina Philosophical Society Conference, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, February 27-28
2014 “Virtual Friends Can Be Virtue Friends,” ETHICOMP, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, Paris, France, June 26-28
Panels Organized
2019 AI & Robot Ethics: An interdisciplinary conversation. Speakers Marty J. Wolf, Arshia Khan, Marat Bhakpayev, Kathy McTavish, Center for Ethics and Public Policy, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota, February 12
2018 Game design and real world identities: A panel discussion of video game ethics. Speakers Erica Neely, Rob Wittig, Edward Downs, Charles McGregor, Center for Ethics and Public Policy, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota, March 14
2016 Evolving ethical opportunities and risks of communication technologies for women, with Frances Grodzinsky and Amanda Moras, Feminist In(ter)ventions: Women, Community, Technology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut, April 15-16
Comments
2019 Comments on Robbie Kubala’s “Partiality as a Non-Ideal Practice,” Central APA, Denver, Colorado, February 20-23
2016 Comments on Allauren Forbes’ “Philia and Relational Autonomy in Mary Astell’s A Serious Proposal to the Ladies,” Philosopher’s Cocoon Philosophy Conference, University of Tampa, Tampa, Florida, October 8-9
2015 Comments on Katherine Johnson’s “Is Ignorance Bliss?”, Philosophers’ Cocoon Philosophy Conference, University of Tampa, Tampa, Florida, November 7-8
2015 Comments on Pierre Le Morvan’s “Secrecy, Transparency, Fact, and Falsehood”, Information Ethics Roundtable, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, April 9-10
2015 Comments on Don Fallis’s “Shedding Light on Keeping People in the Dark”, Information Ethics Roundtable, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, April 9-10
Session Chair
2016 “Last Resort and Self-Defense in Law Enforcement” David Speetzen, Minnesota Philosophical Society, Winona State University, Winona, Minnesota, November 5
2013 “Do We Have a Duty to Resist Oppression?” Workshop, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, September 20-21
2011 “Ontology and Levels” Conference, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, October 7-8
2011 “Character: East & West” Conference, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, May 20-21
INVITED TALKS
2024 "The Ethics of Data After Death", University of Minnesota's Day of Data, January 11
2023 "Good Friends, Bad Behavior, and the Durability of Online Character," keynote talk at the conference On Friendship, Affection, and Other-Concern, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario, March 19
2020 “Self-Regard and Asymmetrical Friendship”, (invited symposium on “Self-Understandings and the Social” with Sydney Keough and Cassie Herbert, chaired by Ingrid Albrecht), APA Central, Chicago, Illinois, February 26-29
2019 “Not ‘Kids these days…’, it’s ‘Seniors these days…’: Ethical issues with older technology users” (keynote), Ethics and Technology Conference, Kutak Center for Teaching & Study of Applied Ethics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, October 31-November 2
2019 “How to Think about Ethics and Computing”, MinneWIC Conference, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota, February 17, 2019
2016 “Social Technology & the Good Life”, Quinebaug Valley Community College, Danielson, Connecticut and QVCC Center, Willimantic, Connecticut, September 27-28
2015 “Excellent Online Friendships”, Quinebaug Valley Community College, Danielson, Connecticut, April 28
FUNDING, AWARDS & HONORS
2024 UMD's College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences fully funded single-semester research leave (competitive), Spring 2024
2019 Discussant, 2019 Symposium on Humane Artificial Intelligence: The Challenges of Cultural and Ethical Diversity in Aligning Technology and Human Values, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii ($800 toward travel)
2018 College of Liberal Arts Research Award (Tenure-Track category), University of Minnesota Duluth ($750)
2017 Flipping Your Classroom Faculty Learning Community, University of Minnesota
TEACHING PRESENTATIONS
2024 Participant, CAHSS roundtable on AI/ChatGPT considerations for courses, University of Minnesota Duluth, January 9
2023 Panelist, CAHSS panel on AI/ChatGPT considerations for courses, University of Minnesota Duluth, August 24
2023 Lunch-n-Learns on AI & Academic Integrity, University of Minnesota-Duluth (January, x2)
2023 "Teaching About Race and Technology," Theorizing Race, Power, and Justice workshops, University of Minnesota Duluth (5 times)
2019 “How to Win at Research and Look Good as a Writer”, Women in Computing workshop for undergraduate researchers, University of Minnesota Duluth, September 13.
2018 “Thinking About Undergraduate Research”, Women in Computing workshop for undergraduate researchers, University of Minnesota Duluth, November 10.
2016 Roundtable discussion on teaching “Women, Community, Technology”, Feminist In(ter)ventions: Women, Community, Technology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut, April 15-16
2015 “How Flashcards Solve the Problem of Equitable Participation Distribution,” Teaching Academy, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut, May 11-12
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
University of Minnesota Duluth
Philosophy of Death and Grieving – Independent Study (Spring 2021)
Philosophy through Dialogue and Debate (Fall 2019, Fall 2020)
Eastern Philosophy (Spring 2019)
Greek Philosophy (Spring 2019, Fall 2020)
Ethics of Artificial Agents – Independent Study (Spring 2019)
Senior Seminar (Fall 2018)
Values and Technology (Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020)
Introduction to Philosophy (Spring 2018)
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence – Independent Study (Spring 2018)
Environmental Ethics (Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021)
Ethics of Addiction – Independent Study (Spring 2017)
Ethics and Society (Fall 2016, Summer 2017, 2019, 2020 online, Fall 2017)
Medical Ethics (Fall 2016)
Southern Connecticut State University
Women, Community, Technology (Spring 2016)
Death and the Meaning of Life (Spring 2015, Fall 2015)
Moral Problems in the Law (Spring 2014, Spring 2015 as writing intensive, Spring 2016)
Ethics: Know Thyself (Fall 2013, Spring 2014)
Logic (Spring 2014)
Critical Thinking & Introduction to Philosophy (Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015)
Quinnipiac University
Introduction to Philosophy (Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016)
Philosophy & Gender (Spring 2015)
University of Connecticut (Sole Instructor)
Philosophy & Gender (Fall 2010)
Philosophy & Social Ethics (Fall 2010 – Spring 2013)
Problems of Philosophy (Spring 2012)
Undergraduate Honors Thesis Advisor
Angelica Fleury, "What Relational Agency Teaches Us About Moral AI", University of Minnesota Duluth Philosophy Program, Fall 2020
Graduate Thesis Committee Member
Yumna Anwar, “Bipolar Disorder Predictive Model: A Study to Analyze and Predict Emotional Change using Physiological Signals”, University of Minnesota Duluth Computer Science Department, Summer 2019
Undergraduate Honors Thesis Committee Member
Eric Ciardiello, “Multinational Constitutionalism: Resolving Conflicts Among Group Rights within the State”, Southern Connecticut State University, Spring 2015
Teaching Training and Certification
New Faculty Program, University of Minnesota Duluth
SCSU Teaching Academy, Spring 2015
UConn Philosophy Department Teaching & Mentor Program Certification, Spring 2010
UConn Institute of Learning Teaching Certification, Fall 2008
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Peer Review
Journal of Science and Engineering Ethics
Bioethics
Moral Philosophy and Politics
Journal of Information, Communication, and Ethics in Society
Dao
Journal of Philosophical Research
Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology
Ethics & Information Technology
Erkenntnis
IEEE ETHICS (2021)
ACM FAccT (2021)
ETHICOMP (2017, 2018, 2021)
CEPE (2017, 2019, 2021)
To Profession
Program Committee member, CEPE, 2019
Programme Chair, ETHICOMP, 2018
Mentor, Job Candidate Mentoring Program for Women in Philosophy (2017)
Mentor, Philosophers’ Cocoon Mentoring Program (2016)
Coordinator, Society for Women In Philosophy (UConn branch), 2012-2013
President, Philosophy Graduate Student Association, UConn, 2010 – 2011
To Community
Judge, Responsible Computer Science Challenge, Mozilla Foundation, 2019-2020.
Presenter, “Ethics of Emerging Technologies”, Rural Electric Management Association’s Power Engineering Conference, Duluth, Minnesota, 2017.
To Department & College
College of Liberal Arts Representative, Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Subcommittee of the Faculty Senate, UMD (2018-present)
Editor, Program Newsletter, UMD (2019)
Director of Faculty Research, Philosophy Program, UMD (2018-present)
Co-Director, Center for Ethics and Public Policy, UMD (2016-present)
Union Representative, UMD (2016-present)
Founder/Coordinator, Philosophy Writing Bootcamp, SCSU, 2015-present
Founder/Coordinator, Philosophy Faculty Research Group, SCSU, 2014-present
Co-Organizer, Philosophy Department Reunion, SCSU, 2013-present
Member, Philosophy Department Grade Appeal Committee, SCSU, 2013-14
Head Teaching Mentor, Philosophy Department, UConn, 2011 – 2012
Mentor, Philosophy Department Teaching Mentor Program, UConn, 2008-2011
Graduate Advisor, UConn Philosophy Club, 2008-2013
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
ETHICOMP
Society for Philosophy and Technology
Minnesota Philosophical Society
International Association for Computing and Philosophy
American Philosophical Association
American Association of Philosophy Teachers
Society for Women in Philosophy