USM tapped to develop ethics training in age of artificial intelligence; Portland Press Herald, September 5, 2023

LANA COHEN, Portland Press Herald; USM tapped to develop ethics training in age of artificial intelligence

"Thompson and other researchers at the Portland-based regulatory training and ethics center hope to better understand what is behind individuals’ tendencies to cut corners ethically and use that information to create training programs for businesses, nonprofits and colleges – including those in the UMaine System – that could help prevent cheating or other unethical conduct in research."

Governor Shapiro announces ethics rules, training for employees; WABC27, January 20, 2023

George Stockburger, Sarah Willson, WABC27; Governor Shapiro announces ethics rules, training for employees

"Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro says approximately 3,500 Commonwealth employees will be required to sign an integrity pledge and participate in ethics training.

Shapiro also announced an executive order regarding the solicitation or acceptance of gifts for executive branch employees. The rule includes “a total prohibition on gifts, discounts, services or any other items or other benefits of any value received from a lobbyist or lobbying firm.”...

The moves were part of a three-part ethics package announced by the Governor’s office on Friday."

What Students Gain From Learning Ethics in School; KQED, May 24, 2019

Linda Flanagan, KQED; What Students Gain From Learning Ethics in School


"Children at Kent Place are introduced to ethics in fifth grade, during what would otherwise be a health and wellness class. Rezach engages the students in simple case studies and invites them to consider the various points of view. She also acquaints them with the concept of right vs. right—the idea that ethical dilemmas often involve a contest between valid but conflicting values. “It’s really, really, really elementary,” she said.

In middle and upper school, the training is more structured and challenging. At the core of this education is a simple framework for ethical decision-making that Rezach underscores with all her classes, and which is captured on a poster board inside school. Paired with this framework is a collection of values that students are encouraged to study and explore. The values and framework for decision-making are the foundation of their ethics training."

The founder of Craigslist is funding a competition to make computer science more ethical; Quartz, October 10, 2018

Simone Stolzoff, Quartz; The founder of Craigslist is funding a competition to make computer science more ethical

"What have you been doing to help promote democracy recently?

Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist, has certainly been doing his part. His invention may have helped decimate classified-advertising revenue for print newspapers, but last month, he gave $20 million to a team of experienced journalists to investigate the power of Big Tech. In June, he gave $20 million to the CUNY journalism program, so the next generation of journalists can do the same. And today (Oct. 10), he announced he’s helping to fund a new competition called The Responsible Computer Science Challenge to incorporate more ethical training into undergraduate computer science curricula.

The initiative, which was incubated by Omidyar Network, and is also backed by Mozilla, and Schmidt Futures, is soliciting proposals from professors and graduate students about how to make ethics a central part of a software engineer’s education. A panel of independent judges will award up to $3.5 million in prizes to the winners.

The competition couldn’t come at a better time."

Data Science Institute prepares students for ethical decision-making; The Cavalier Daily (University of Virginia), October 4, 2018

Zoe Ziff, The Cavalier Daily (University of Virginia); Data Science Institute prepares students for ethical decision-making

"The University's Data Science Institute recently incorporated the new Center for Data Ethics and Justice — founded by the University’s Bioethics Chair Jarrett Zigon — in an effort to ramp up its focus on ethics in analysis and interpretation of data. This partnership has created a new course for graduate data science students that specifically addresses ethical issues related to the handling of data and advancement in technology. 

The DSI — located in Dell 1 and Dell 2 — is a research and academic institute that offers masters programs in data science as well as dual degrees in partnership with the Darden School of Business, the Medical School and the Nursing School. 

Phillip Bourne — director of the DSI and professor of biomedical engineering — regards ethics as a pillar of their graduate program. He said few data scientists have formal training in ethics, and the partnership with the Center will equip students with the tools to make ethical decisions throughout their careers. 

The Center brings a redefined course to the Master’s of Science in Data Science that is specifically designed for tackling ethical problems in the data science field."

Cambridge Analytica controversy must spur researchers to update data ethics; Nature, March 27, 2018

Editorial, Nature; Cambridge Analytica controversy must spur researchers to update data ethics

"Ethics training on research should be extended to computer scientists who have not conventionally worked with human study participants.

Academics across many fields know well how technology can outpace its regulation. All researchers have a duty to consider the ethics of their work beyond the strict limits of law or today’s regulations. If they don’t, they will face serious and continued loss of public trust."

UT computer science adding ethics courses to curriculum; KXAN, March 5, 2018

Alyssa Goard, KXAN; UT computer science adding ethics courses to curriculum

"Barbary Brunner, CEO of the Austin Technology Council, believes that what these ethics courses at UT are “a really valuable thing.” She explained that as companies in the tech world search for new ways to disrupt old ideas, it’s important to look at the human implications of what they’re setting out to do.

“This may be where the university leads the industry and the industry wakes up and says, ‘Wow that’s really smart,'” Brunner said. “For Texas to become a real tech powerhouse– which I think it can become — it needs to engage in the same sort of collaboration between higher education and the technology community that you see in California, that you see in the Seattle area.”

Brunner hasn’t heard many overarching discussions of ethics within the Austin tech world, but knows that individual discussions about ethics are going on at many companies, especially those related to security and artificial intelligence.

In the long run she thinks that ethics training may become one of many qualities tech companies look for in the recent graduates they hire."

USOC gives USA Gymnastics board six days to resign or federation will be decertified; USA Today, January 25, 2018

Nancy Armour and Rachel Axon, USA Today; USOC gives USA Gymnastics board six days to resign or federation will be decertified

"The other conditions imposed by the USOC are:

--All USA Gymnastics staff and board members must complete SafeSport training offered by the U.S. Center for Safe Sport within three months.

--All staff and board members must complete a comprehensive ethics training unit within the next six months.

“USA Gymnastics completely embraces the requirements outlined in the (email),” USA Gymnastics said in a statement posted on its website. “We understand that the requirements imposed by the letter will help us enhance our ability to build a culture of empowerment throughout the organization, with an increased focus on athlete safety and well-being.”

Rethinking Ethics Training in Silicon Valley; The Atlantic, May 26, 2017

Irina Raicu, The Atlantic; Rethinking Ethics Training in Silicon Valley

"I work at an ethics center in Silicon Valley.

I know, I know, “ethics” is not the first word that comes to mind when most people think of Silicon Valley or the tech industry. It’s probably not even in the top 10. But given the outsized role that tech companies now play, it’s time to focus on the ethical responsibilities of the technologists who help shape our lives.

In a recent talk, technologist Maciej Ceglowski argued that “[t]his year especially there’s an uncomfortable feeling in the tech industry that we did something wrong, that in following our credo of ‘move fast and break things,’ some of what we knocked down were the load-bearing walls of our democracy.”...

I work in an applied ethics center, and we do believe that technology can help democracy (we offer a free ethical-decision-making app, for example; we even offer a MOOC—a free online course—on ethical campaigning!). For it to do that, though, we need people who are ready to tackle the ethical questions—both within and outside of tech companies."

Justice Department orders more ethics training for lawyers; Politico, 8/8/16

Josh Gerstein, Politico; Justice Department orders more ethics training for lawyers:

"The Justice Department has ordered a large swath of its attorneys to undergo additional ethics training in response to a judge's findings that he was misled by federal government lawyers handling a high-profile lawsuit over President Barack Obama's immigration policies.

The new training — a one-hour, one-time program on top of existing requirements — was ordered last month for the roughly 1,000 attorneys in Justice's Civil Division and disclosed in a court filing made public Monday afternoon."