EagleEye

Guest Lecture: Weird Science: How Male Fantasies Fuel AI, Sept. 15

The Center for AI and the Liberal Arts (CAILA) invites you to a guest lecture by Dr. Mary Anne Franks of George Washington University Law School.

Weird Science: How Male Fantasies Fuel AI
Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 4:00 p.m.
Weatherly Wing, Seacobeck Hall
Reception to follow at 5:00 p.m. in the Dome Room

The talk is free and open to the public. Please share it with your students and consider building it into your fall courses; it speaks directly to questions of technology, gender, civil rights, and free expression that cut across our disciplines.

About the Talk
Sexual gratification. Servile assistance. Emotional validation. Sycophantic affirmation. Many of the disturbing and destructive uses of AI technology reflect longstanding male fantasies of control and exploitation of women. While AI abuses such as deepfake porn are disproportionately perpetrated by men and boys and disproportionately targeted at women and girls, the impact of dehumanizing and deceitful technological practices endangers everyone. When technological advances are fueled by unchecked resentment and unjustified entitlement, they will ultimately self-destruct.

About the Speaker
Dr. Mary Anne Franks is the Eugene L. and Barbara A. Bernard Professor in Intellectual Property, Technology, and Civil Rights Law at George Washington Law School. An internationally recognized expert on the intersection of civil rights, free speech, and technology, she serves as President and Legislative & Tech Policy Director of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, the leading U.S. nonprofit focused on image-based sexual abuse. Her model legislation has served as the template for multiple state and federal laws, and she regularly advises lawmakers and technology companies on privacy, free expression, and safety. She is the author of two award-winning books, Fearless Speech (2024) and The Cult of the Constitution (2019). Dr. Franks received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her doctorate from Oxford University, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar. She is the recipient of the 2026 NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award, a 2026 Faculty Fellow of the University of Chicago Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression, and an Affiliate Fellow of the Yale Law School Information Society Project. Learn more:

Learn more and find full event details on the CAILA website.