Faith and Tech Grand Rapids

3715 Wilson Avenue Southwest,Grandville MI 49418

27 February, 2023

Description

Data scientists, developers, engineers, product designers, architects -- we make decisions in our work everyday that pulls in our values and biases. Micah 6:8 states that what God requires of man is to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Justice, Mercy and Humilty have a special application when speaking to how we use data, develop ML algorithms and think about AI. In this session our guest speaker will be Dr. Steve VanderLeest, (PhD in computer engineering, University of Illinois). Steve is a software technical lead at The Boeing Company and an app developer at squishLogic LLC, a company he founded. Previously, he was principal engineer for multicore solutions at Rapita Systems, the chief operating officer at a small engineering services company, and a professor of engineering at Calvin University. He was also the first president of the Christian Engineering Society. Steve will present and lead a discussion of Faith and Technology in specific application to AI and Analytics, a chapter he authored in the book A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers which we introduced in our last session in November. Based on the three requirements of Micah 6:8, we will delve specifically into topics of justice, mercy and humility and how we bring these faith values into our work in technology. This event is hosted at Grace Bible Church, Grandville, by Jim VanderMey, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Open Systems Technologies (OST) a Grand Rapids based global technology services firm. Facilitating the discussion and Q&A is Dr. Paul Leidig, Professor and Director of the School of Computing at Grand Valley State University. Based on how things went last time, we will plan more time for conversation and networking. Snacks and drinks will be provided, Copies of the book, A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers will be available at the event. Parking is plentiful and onsite. Jim and Paul attend Grace Bible Church, the host location for this event, and along with Steve look forward to welcoming you to this open and inclusive discussion for the West Michigan tech community.