2026 Bruttell Series in Religion and Social Ethics

Bruttell Endowment for Social Ethics presents 

Redemptive Tech: How Silicon Valley Gained
Moral Authority, from the Microchip to AI

Wednesday, Oct. 28
7:30 p.m.

Student Union Ballroom
McNichols Campus
Campus Map (pdf)

Featuring
Becca Lewis is an Assistant Professor in Comparative Media Studies at MIT

Refreshments will be available.

Program Description

How did America first come to pin its hopes and dreams for the future on Silicon Valley? And how has that dream soured for some, while only growing stronger for others?

This talk grapples with these questions by going back in time to the 1970s and 1980s, the moment when Silicon Valley first gained the attention of the media. At a moment of great uncertainty about the future, a series of political and business writers articulated a vision of Silicon Valley that could save America not only from economic peril, but also from a broader sense of moral decay. In turn, this vision has shaped the Valley itself, and it continues to inform the ethical and political debates around its new technologies.

Questions?

Contact Todd Hibbard, hibbarja@udmercy.edu | 313-993-1088

Becca Lewis is an Assistant Professor in Comparative Media Studies at MIT. She was previously a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Stanford University Department of Communication, where she obtained her PhD in 2024. Her work examines the ideas and politics that shape Silicon Valley and the internet, with a particular focus on right-wing ideology. She previously worked as a researcher at the Data & Society Research Institute, where she published flagship reports on online broadcasting, media manipulation, and disinformation. Her work has been published in academic journals including New Media & Society, Social Media + Society, and American Behavioral Scientist, and in news outlets such as The Guardian and New York Magazine. She holds an MSc in social science from Oxford University and a BA in film studies from Columbia University.

Co-sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies and the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences