Tommy is currently in his second year of the Common Law Program at the University of Ottawa. Prior to law school, Tommy completed his Bachelor of Chemical Engineering with a specialization in Biomedical and Environmental Engineering at Queen’s University. Tommy has always been intrigued by ethical questions in the biomedical field, specifically surrounding genetic engineering technology like CRISPR. Through the Technoship program offered by the Center for Law, Technology, and Society, Tommy is excited to explore the ethical implications of AI on our daily lives. 

Tommy’s favourite movie, “The Martian”, portrays an ethical conundrum that he thinks will become increasingly present in our society. In “The Martian”, NASA spends presumably hundreds of millions of dollars in labour and materials and risks the lives of five astronauts to save one stranded on Mars. The space thriller surely leaves an audience with questions regarding technology. Can we get to humans to Mars? Can we live on Mars? And can air escaping from a space suit act as thrust? However, the movie made Tommy think about how humans value life. 

Why does it not feel wrong to spend the money to save a stranded astronaut when that money could be put to more efficient use? What makes an astronaut’s life more valuable than a patient who can’t afford surgery? Why do humans value certain lives more than others, and how will AI adopt or change human tendencies? 

These are questions Tommy hopes to find answers to while working with CRAiEDL!