School of History and Philosophy of Science RESEARCH SEMINAR [The University of Sydney] [https://d31hzlhk6di2h5.cloudfront.net/20251020/1a/45/76/1f/11e94da13eb30c14a22dbdf8_1276x850.jpg] GenAI and mental health Elena Walsh (University of Wollongong) Dates: Monday, 3/11/2025 Start Time: 5:30pm Venue: Michael Spence Building, F23 Ground Floor, Auditorium (1) 104 How to register: Free, no registration required Website: https://hps-events.sydney.edu.au/<https://t.e2ma.net/click/ge7b6x/gm1o2zgb/s7p7l2e> Abstract: Quantitative measurement in the human sciences remains both widespread and controversial. Are depression scales, intelligence tests, etc. valid measurement instruments? Do they deliver quantitative or merely ordinal information? I discuss two approaches for understanding practices of quantitative measurement of theoretical attributes in the early stages of research. One uses causal notions to characterize dispositional attributes and to understand how they relate to measurement indications. It aims at standard epistemic desiderata in science (discovery, explanation, prediction) and offers good answers to traditional worries about human attributes (namely, are they really quantitative?) and about their measurement instruments (namely, are they valid?). A second approach uses the notion of value (as worked out in Dan Hausman's 2015 Valuing Health) to make sense of quantification practices. This approach does not resemble what scientists think of their measurement practices: it is not designed for the testing of tentative concepts but rather to standardize political decision making. Yet, I argue, this approach is the most plausible candidate for making sense of some human sciences’ measurement practices as quantifying anything. Such is the case for measurements that (i) combine distinct dimensions of the phenomena at stake and (ii) for which we don’t observe serious efforts aiming at embedding such measurements in predictive and explanatory networks. I illustrate with two examples: depression severity (HAMD) and the Human Development Index (HDI). Bio: Elena Walsh works across the Philosophy of Psychology, the Philosophy of Science, and the Philosophy of AI. She has expertise in the study of emotion and emotional dispositions, drawing especially on dynamical systems theory, life history theory, and predictive processing models of mind. Her current research places contemporary research on emotion in dialogue with the rapidly-developing approaches to machine learning coming to define 21st-century notions of both artificial and biological intelligence. She is interested in how norms and values may be embedded into decision-making processes undertaken by AI and data-driven technologies, and how human interaction with new technologies can impact our characters and regulate our attentional and emotional capacities. She has expertise in related areas including Moral Psychology (especially the relationship between emotion and reason) and Epistemology. She has a longstanding interest in Buddhist, Asian and comparative approaches to philosophy. Her other philosophical interests include the role of emotion and motivation in intelligent systems, and the opacity and ethical governance of emerging AI. Elena completed her PhD in 2019 at the University of Sydney. Her dissertation adopted a broadly naturalistic approach to provide a theoretical framework that explains how emotional dispositions are constructed in individuals over time. She has previously worked for the Department of Premier and Cabinet as a policy advisor, and as a researcher at the Practical Justice Initiative at the University of New South Wales. [https://images.e2ma.net/0/images/templates/spacer.gif] [The University of Sydney] Keep in touch [Facebook]<https://t.e2ma.net/click/ge7b6x/gm1o2zgb/8zq7l2e> [Twitter]<https://t.e2ma.net/click/ge7b6x/gm1o2zgb/osr7l2e> [Instagram]<https://t.e2ma.net/click/ge7b6x/gm1o2zgb/4ks7l2e> [LinkedIn]<https://t.e2ma.net/click/ge7b6x/gm1o2zgb/kdt7l2e> [YouTube]<https://t.e2ma.net/click/ge7b6x/gm1o2zgb/05t7l2e> Copyright © 2025 The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia Phone +61 2 9351 2222 ABN 15 211 513 464 CRICOS Number: 00026A Please add [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> to your address book or senders safe list to make sure you continue to see our emails in the future. Manage<https://app.e2ma.net/app2/audience/signup/1976084/1957350/1444559334/92984230374/?s=UVNkn6NyzqsWLhaWbbT4Z8pfu3vBCgA9pwlfTWUDpnI> your preferences | Opt out<https://t.e2ma.net/optout/ge7b6x/gm1o2zgb?s=MVDHaTMPceZJ_qVcIZBPxgr3J7I_nQ17axmTKHQb4Q4> using TrueRemove® Got this as a forward? Sign up<https://app.e2ma.net/app2/audience/signup/1976084/1957350.1444559334/> to receive our future emails. View this email online<https://t.e2ma.net/message/ge7b6x/gm1o2zgb>. Disclaimer<https://t.e2ma.net/click/ge7b6x/gm1o2zgb/gyu7l2e> | Privacy statement<https://t.e2ma.net/click/ge7b6x/gm1o2zgb/wqv7l2e> | University of Sydney<https://t.e2ma.net/click/ge7b6x/gm1o2zgb/cjw7l2e> --------- SydPhil mailing list To unsubscribe, change your membership options, find answers to common problems, or visit our online archives, please go to the list information page: https://mailman.sydney.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/sydphil
