The White House; Statement by President Joe Biden on the Omicron COVID-19 Variant
"In addition, I call on the nations gathering next week for the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting to meet the U.S. challenge to waive intellectual property protections for COVID vaccines, so these vaccines can be manufactured globally. I endorsed this position in April; this news today reiterates the importance of moving on this quickly."
"Anne Pritchett, senior vice president with the industry group PhRMA, said that lifting patent waivers for COVID vaccines could backfire in the next global health crisis.
"We don’t want to be deterring innovation by saying to companies, ‘There’s no incentive for you to invest in that, because we’re just going to take your IP and give it away,'” she said.
Countries in the EU, plus Switzerland and the U.K., support that view."
Peter Walker , The Guardian; Nursing unions around world call for UN action on Covid vaccine patents
"Nursing unions in 28 countries have filed a formal appeal with the United Nations over the refusal of the UK, EU and others to temporarily waive patents for Covid vaccines, saying this has cost huge numbers of lives in developing nations.
The letter, sent on Monday on behalf of unions representing more than 2.5 million healthcare workers, said staff have witnessed at first hand the “staggering numbers of deaths and the immense suffering caused by political inaction”.
The refusal of some countries to budge on rules about intellectual property rights for vaccines had contributed to a “vaccine apartheid” in which richer nations had secured at least 7bn doses, while lower-income nations had about 300m, it argued."
Lesley Wroughton, The Washington Post ; Frustrated by vaccine inequity, a South African lab rushes to replicate Moderna’s shot
"At the World Trade Organization (WTO), trade ministers had been scheduled to begin meetings Tuesday over a contentious proposal by South Africa and India to temporarily waive intellectual property rights on coronavirus vaccines and therapies or find a way to allow developing countries to access the technologies. The meeting has been postponed because of the omicron variant. No new date has been set...
African countries have historically depended on Western donors and United Nations-backed programs such as the vaccine alliance known as Gavi, a partnership of donors and pharmaceutical companies that buys vaccines at lower prices and makes them available to countries that need them. Covax, a vaccine marketplace that was meant to secure coronavirus inoculations for developing countries, has struggled to access enough supplies during the pandemic...
Moderna has said it will not prosecute those found to be infringing on its covid-related patents during the pandemic, which amounts to an informal waiver, said Marie-Paule Kieny, a French virologist who chairs the U.N.-backed Medicine Patent Pool, which is part of the WHO’s efforts in Africa.
The concern with a waiver, Kieny said, is what happens once the pandemic ends. Any broader waiver agreed on at the WTO talks would likely have a time limit, she said, without a commitment from the drugmakers to enter into licensing agreements.
She said companies should negotiate now with drugmakers such as Moderna to reach formal licensing agreements before the pandemic is over."
UN News; 193 countries adopt first-ever global agreement on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
"Artificial intelligence is present in everyday life, from booking flights and applying for loans to steering driverless cars. It is also used in specialized fields such as cancer screening or to help create inclusive environments for the disabled.
According to UNESCO, AI is also supporting the decision-making of governments and the private sector, as well as helping combat global problems such as climate change and world hunger.
However, the agency warns that the technology ‘is bringing unprecedented challenges’.
“We see increased gender and ethnic bias, significant threats to privacy, dignity and agency, dangers of mass surveillance, and increased use of unreliable Articificial Intellegence technologies in law enforcement, to name a few. Until now, there were no universal standards to provide an answer to these issues”, UNESCO explained in a statement.
Considering this, the adopted text aims to guide the construction of the necessary legal infrastructure to ensure the ethical development of this technology.
“The world needs rules for artificial intelligence to benefit humanity. The Recommendation on the ethics of AI is a major answer. It sets the first global normative framework while giving States the responsibility to apply it at their level. UNESCO will support its 193 Member states in its implementation and ask them to report regularly on their progress and practices”, said UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay."
Aspen Institute ; Final Report: Commission on Information Disorder
"Information disorder is a crisis that exacerbates all other crises."
Editorial Board, The Washington Post ; Opinion: America is sick with information disorder. Time for a cure.
"“Information disorder” is a malady that comes in many forms, from made-up news to manipulated media to misunderstood satire. According to a six-month investigation by a commission at the Aspen Institute, the United States is not trying nearly hard enough to find a cure.
The report starts, as any study aimed at restoring trust and truth ought to, by acknowledging reality: “In a free society, a certain amount of misinformation will always exist.” The hope isn’t to punish every exaggeration, piece of propaganda or flat-out lie but to home in on the most egregious damage caused by specific types of mis- and disinformation — by discouraging people from spreading falsehoods and minimizing the fallout when they do. This is easiest in “empirically grounded” areas, in which facts can most clearly be found: public health and election integrity foremost among them."
Sarah Moroz, The Daily Beast; ‘Maus’ Author Art Spiegelman: ‘We Are on the Brink of Fascism’
"“Comics are an art of communication,” Spiegelman said, standing firmly in contrast to so-called “high art.” In the past, “communicating too easily was considered commercial,” he noted, but countered simply: “I think art is anything that gives shape to your thoughts or feelings.”...
“Cartoonists are gone,” Spiegelman said. “Humor has become more and more dangerous… Pictures are dangerous.” Editors fear “different interpretations,” he lamented: “Newspapers want to keep every reader they have—so it’s better to talk to the stupid ones.” He concluded: “Every time someone says something satirical, they get cancelled.”"
Andrew K. Robertson, ABA Journal ; How to Ethically Respond to Negative Online Reviews
, The Conversation; Librarians help students navigate an age of misinformation – but schools are cutting their numbers
"“Access to school librarians has become a major educational equity issue,” says Keith Curry Lance, who with Debra Kachel led the IMLS study. In a recent email he told me, “School districts losing librarians tend to be ones that can least afford the loss in a society characterized by increasing economic inequality.”...
School librarians also work to ensure that students are taught issues of intellectual freedom. They collaborate with teachers to help students understand the ethical use of ideas and information."
KARLA POMERO, Northern Wyoming News; Ethics of news photos in a digital world
"Ethically, for a news photo there is not much you can or should manipulate. We take out some of the yellow when shooting photos in certain locations due to the overhead lighting.
If using a flash and the lighting is wrong and I get people with red eyes I will use the tool to remove the red eyes because I know those people did not have red eyes at the time I took the photo.
That’s the key in news photography. The news photo must tell the story of what was happening at that exact moment, where it was taken at that moment. You must not alter the story and altering the photo alters that story.
If you photoshop out things in the background of a photo because they may be distracting – that’s altering history, the history of that photo.
One of the students said they will combine photos to get the exact composite they want. You can do that for art. You can not do that when telling news through photos."
Makena Kelly, The Verge ; After COVID boom, ebook aggregators face licensing questions from Congress
"“Many libraries face financial and practical challenges in making e-books available to their patrons, which jeopardizes their ability to fulfill their mission,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is our understanding that these difficulties arise because e-books are typically offered under more expensive and limited licensing agreements, unlike print books that libraries can typically purchase, own, and lend on their own terms.”
In September, Wyden and Eshoo first questioned publishers over the terms they set for ebook licensing. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many public libraries to shut down in-person service, and people began using online services like Overdrive’s Libby app to borrow digital books in lieu of physical copies. “Ensuring that libraries can offer an array of resources, including e-books, is essential to promoting equity in education and access to information,” the lawmakers wrote to Penguin Random House earlier this year."
, The Conversation; Artificial intelligence is getting better at writing, and universities should worry about plagiarism
"The dramatic rise of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has spotlit concerns about the role of technology in exam surveillance — and also in student cheating.
Some universities have reported more cheating during the pandemic, and such concerns are unfolding in a climate where technologies that allow for the automation of writing continue to improve.
Over the past two years, the ability of artificial intelligence to generate writing has leapt forward significantly, particularly with the development of what’s known as the language generator GPT-3. With this, companies such as Google, Microsoft and NVIDIA can now produce “human-like” text.
AI-generated writing has raised the stakes of how universities and schools will gauge what constitutes academic misconduct, such as plagiarism. As scholars with an interest in academic integrity and the intersections of work, society and educators’ labour, we believe that educators and parents should be, at the very least, paying close attention to these significant developments."
RADIA TURAY, Miami Herald; After 25 years, Miami-Dade’s Ethics Commission remains a guardian of the public trust | Opinion
"“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” The late U.S. Rep. John Lewis
Twenty-five years ago, the voters of Miami-Dade County spoke up and did something. They used the power of their vote to amend the county’s home rule charter to create the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust.
Their vote was based on the basic truth that government should serve the governed, not the governing. They believed that local government employees and government officials had a special duty to abide by a standard of ethics in order to maintain the trust of those they serve. The Ethics Commission was created to serve as the guardian of the public trust. As a result of the referendum, the County Commission enacted the Miami-Dade Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics Ordinance and other ethics laws that every local government official and government employee must abide by in Miami-Dade County.
The Code establishes a minimum standard of ethical conduct and behavior, and its provisions promote transparency in government and protect against cronyism and self-dealing."
PAMELA WOOD, The Baltimore Sun; Maryland lawmaker-doctor won’t face ethics violation for tuning into legislative meetings from the operating room
"Hill had initially defended her decision to join video meetings while at work as a doctor, saying her patients knew about it and she wasn’t putting them in any danger.
A Board of Physicians investigation found that one patient did not know Hill tuned into a legislative meeting, while the other patient was told about 10 minutes before surgery, but no consent paperwork was on file. Both legislative meetings where she appeared on camera from the operating room were streamed on the General Assembly’s website and YouTube channels."
"Spotsylvania County schools will not remove “sexually explicit” books from library shelves or conduct a full audit of library holdings—but some School Board members said they will continue to take a stance against the inclusion of what they view as offensive material in school library books.
The board on Monday night rescinded last week’s directive to pull books with “explicit” content from shelves amid backlash from the public.
The 5–2 vote was not supported by Courtland representative Rabih Abuismail or Livingston representative Kirk Twigg, who last week made comments about burning books with such content.
“I think we should throw those books on the fire,” Abuismail said at the Nov. 8 school board meeting, while Twigg said many “would like to see the books before we burn them so we can identify within our community that we are eradicating this bad stuff.”
The board’s vote came shortly after midnight, following four-and-a-half hours of public comment from dozens of parents, students, teachers and librarians. Nearly all of those who made comments at the special-called meeting spoke passionately in support of libraries and books."
American Medical Association (AMA); AMA calls for privacy guidelines governing mail-order DNA tests
"Taking a cheek swab and sending it to a mail-order DNA testing company takes only a few minutes, but the information might live on forever—and become widely available.
At its Interim Special meeting, the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates expressed concern that the privacy laws governing genetic information do not apply to these over-the-counter tests. The AMA will work with federal agencies to strengthen the privacy safeguards.
“People curious about their ancestry shouldn’t be worried that the data extracted from saliva will be shared,” said Thomas J. Madejski, M.D., a member of the AMA Board of Trustees. “This can have serious consequences, and again highlights the need to demand privacy for health care records, even seemingly innocuous ones.”...
While federal law prevents health insurance companies and employers from discriminating based on genetic information, these restrictions do not apply to life, disability, or long-term care insurance companies, which can result in insurance application rejections. Users of consumer genetic testing should be advised of the potential risks of their participation.
The AMA will advocate to add long-term care, life, and disability insurance to the federal law overseeing genetic testing. The AMA also will support privacy standards that would prohibit pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, universities, and other entities with financial ties to genetic testing companies from sharing identified information without the consent of the tested individual."
Defense Innovation Unit; Responsible AI Guidelines: Operationalizing DoD's Ethical Principles for AI
"About DIU's Responsible AI Initiative
DIU launched a strategic initiative in March 2020 to implement the DoD’s Ethical Principles for Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its commercial prototyping and acquisition programs. For over a year, DIU explored methods for implementing these principles with DoD partners in several AI prototype projects that cover applications including, but not limited to, predictive health, underwater autonomy, predictive maintenance, and supply chain analysis. The result is a set of Responsible AI Guidelines that are informed by DIU’s practical experience, but also draw upon best practices from government, non-profit, academic, and industry partners.
DIU will continue collaborating with experts and stakeholders from government, industry, academia, and civil society to further develop the RAI Guidelines. To provide feedback on the RAI Guidelines or schedule a discussion on how to implement these guidelines in your department or agency, please feel free to email: responsibleai@diu.mil."
MIT Technology Review
"In a bid to promote transparency, the Defense Innovation Unit, which awards DoD contracts to companies, has released what it calls “responsible artificial intelligence” guidelines that it will require third-party developers to use when building AI for the military, whether that AI is for an HR system or target recognition.
The guidelines provide a step-by-step process for companies to follow during planning, development, and deployment. They include procedures for identifying who might use the technology, who might be harmed by it, what those harms might be, and how they might be avoided—both before the system is built and once it is up and running.
“There are no other guidelines that exist, either within the DoD or, frankly, the United States government, that go into this level of detail,” says Bryce Goodman at the Defense Innovation Unit, who coauthored the guidelines."
Marina Villeneuve, AP; NY ethics commission rescinds approval for Cuomo book deal
"Republican Commissioner David McNamara said state property, resources and personnel were used to prepare, write, edit and publish the book “contrary to the representations” made on Cuomo’s behalf.
Cuomo has acknowledged that state employees helped with tasks including editing the manuscript.
But he’s claimed that those employees were “volunteering.”"
Beena Ammanath , Harvard Business Review; Thinking Through the Ethics of New Tech…Before There’s a Problem
"Appoint a Chief Tech Ethics Officer
The best methods to address the ethics of new technologies are not going to be one size fits all. A broad range of potential impacts may need to be examined and a varied collection of potential risks may have to be mitigated. But most organizations would likely benefit from placing a single individual in charge of these processes. This is why organizations should consider a chief ethics officer — or a chief technology ethics officer — who would have both the responsibility and the authority to marshal necessary resources.
Some industries have grappled with trust and ethics challenges for decades. Hospitals and research centers have long employed ethics officers to oversee questions in research projects and clinical medical practice, for instance. Technology can certainly raise new concerns, even here: Think of a medical school implementing a VR tool to help augment the competency of surgeons and the importance of examining whether the tool works equally well across race or gender. But the broader point is that trust and ethics issues can be managed effectively — as long as the proper leadership commitments are made.
With a chief technology ethics officer in place, it remains important to involve specialists from a number of different disciplines, as discussed previously. These people may come from the fields of anthropology, sociology, philosophy, and other areas. Depending on the issues presented by a specific technology or application, it may be necessary to seek out people who bring knowledge of law, politics, regulation, education, or media."
Matt Stieb, Intelligencer; The NIH and Moderna Are Fighting Over Who Owns Their Vaccine
"While last year the government was calling the shot the “NIH-Moderna COVID-19 vaccine,” the biotech giant filed a patent made public this week in which it found that “only Moderna’s scientists” designed the vaccine. The patent, filed in July, is specific to the genetic sequence creating spike proteins, which allow vaccine recipients to build antibodies to block the virus when the body is actually exposed. As the New York Times reports, the NIH was surprised by the attempt at a solo effort. If the two parties cannot figure out a way to split the credit, the government will have to determine if it will take the expensive step of going to court. Already, the U.S. has paid $10 billion in taxpayer funds for Moderna to help create the vaccine, test its efficacy, and provide shots for the federal government."
