March Co-Author Reacts to PA Banning Rep. John Lewis' Autobiographical Graphic Novels; CBR, September 27, 2022

JIM JOHNSON, CBR; March Co-Author Reacts to PA Banning Rep. John Lewis' Autobiographical Graphic Novels

"March, the trilogy of graphic novels chronicling the late Congressman John Lewis' Civil Rights activism, has been banned in one Pennsylvania institution -- and the series' co-author has called out books' ban -- and its timing.

"Kicking off #bannedbooksweek with the news that Allegheny County Jails in Pennsylvania banned March and Run from their facilities over the weekend is a heck of a way to start," tweeted Andrew Aydin, who co-wrote the March trilogy -- and its single-volume sequel Run -- with Rep. Lewis. Nate Powell illustrated the first trilogy, with Powell and L. Fury both handling the art on Run."

Universities Are Making Ethics a Key Focus of Artificial Intelligence Research; Insight Into Diversity, August 16, 2022

Lisa O'Malley , Insight Into Diversity; Universities Are Making Ethics a Key Focus of Artificial Intelligence Research

"As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more commonplace in our lives, many activists and academics have raised concerns about the ethics of this technology, including issues with maintaining privacy and preventing bias and discrimination...

“The subject of ethics and justice in technology development is incredibly urgent — it’s on fire,” Sydney Skybetter, a senior lecturer in theater arts and performance studies at Brown, explained in a recent university news release. Skybetter is one of three faculty members leading an innovative new course titled Choreorobotics 0101 in the computer science department. The class allows students with experience in computer science, engineering, dance, and theater to merge their interests by learning how to choreograph a 30-second dance routine for a pair of robots provided by the company Boston Dynamics. The goal of the course is to give these students — most of whom will go on to careers in the tech industry — the opportunity to engage in discussions about the purpose of robotics and AI technology and how they can be used to “minimize harm and make a positive impact on society,” according to the release."

Kingdom Come Highlighted The Importance of Superhero Ethics; Comic Book Resources, September 3, 2022

ASHLEY LAND, Comic Book Resources ; Kingdom Come Highlighted The Importance of Superhero Ethics

"Kingdom Come's depiction of the brash and unchecked younger heroes' recklessness and how without responsibility, power can become destructive is also a reminder of the famous Spider-Man code. The rapid devolution and anarchy that took place in the absence of Superman and Batman's well known "no killing" code showed readers why there are lines that superheroes should never cross. With many casual fans questioning why Batman doesn't simply kill Joker or why Superman doesn't kill Lex Luthor, this series serves as an excellent answer to those questions. Once superheroes turn themselves into judges, juries and executioners, they immediately risk becoming destructive tyrants."

Search for missing Native artifacts led to the discovery of bodies stored in ‘the most inhumane way possible’; NBC News, September 4, 2022

Graham Lee Brewer, NBC News; Search for missing Native artifacts led to the discovery of bodies stored in ‘the most inhumane way possible’

"Since the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990, federal law has required institutions that receive federal funding to catalog their collections with the National Parks Service and work toward returning them to the tribal nations they were taken from. But the University of North Dakota has no entries in the federal inventory, even though its administrators acknowledge it has possessed Indigenous artifacts since its inception in 1883.

The discovery at UND is illustrative of a wider, systemic problem that has plagued Indigenous communities for centuries. Despite the decades-old law, more than 100,000 are still housed in institutions across the country. The action and apology by North Dakota administrators points to a national reckoning as tribal nations are increasing pressure on public universities, museums and even libraries to comply with the law and catalog and return the Native American ancestors and cultural items in their possession."

Democracy is under attack – and reporting that isn’t ‘violating journalistic standards’; The Guardian, September 4, 2022

Robert Reich, The Guardian; Democracy is under attack – and reporting that isn’t ‘violating journalistic standards’

"It is dangerous to believe that “balanced journalism” gives equal weight to liars and to truth-tellers, to those intent on destroying democracy and those seeking to protect it, to the enablers of an ongoing attempted coup and those who are trying to prevent it...

“Balanced journalism” does not exist halfway between facts and lies."

Local libraries have become a major political and cultural battleground; NPR, August 31, 2022

John Burnett, NPR; Local libraries have become a major political and cultural battleground

"The culture war inside America's libraries is playing out in the monthly meetings of the Lafayette Library Board of Control. Conservative activists are demanding the removal of controversial books, librarians are being falsely accused of pushing porn, and free speech defenders are crying censorship."

Book bans are threatening American democracy. Here’s how to fight back.; The Washington Post, August 9, 2022

Margaret Sullivan , The Washington Post; Book bans are threatening American democracy. Here’s how to fight back.

"“People need to mobilize, because the efforts to ban books are very active and very organized,” Nossel said.

It’s also important to keep in mind — and raise your voice to say — that book bans run counter to a core tenet of what America is supposed to stand for.

So if you’re worried about threats to democracy involving voting rights, gerrymandering and the peaceful transfer of power after elections, you should save a little mental space for this, too.

Opposing censorship in the form of book banning is a part of the same crucial fight."

Library Sees Resignations Following Bullet-Riddled Books; Flathead Beacon, August 29, 2022

MICAH DREW, Flathead Beacon; Library Sees Resignations Following Bullet-Riddled Books

"Two ImagineIF library advisors have resigned from their posts due to perceived threats to their safety after several bullet-riddled books were dropped off at the library earlier this month. A third advisor who had previously planned to retire this year, also mentioned safety concerns upon leaving. 

On Aug. 3, library staff in Kalispell found five books left in the overnight drop box that appeared to have been shot with a firearm. All library branches closed for the day while law enforcement investigated. They determined it was an isolated incident and there was no threat to staff or the public. 

Two days later, two more books were found with bullets lodged in them. Library staff say that similar markings on the books indicated they were likely from the same person. 

While director Ashley Cummins said law enforcement still did not feel there was any threat to the community, members of the library staff opted to leave their positions. 

“They said they did not feel safe coming to work anymore,” Cummins said. “They signed up to be library workers, they didn’t sign up for that.”

Two additional staff members have expressed desires to resign as well, but Cummins said so far that has not happened. Instead, the director is working to reassure the staff with new safety precautions including the installation of security cameras around each library branch and new mandatory monthly safety trainings."

Copyright Fair Use: How Much Copying is Too Much Copying?; Lexology, August 15, 2022

Goodell DeVries Leech & Dann LLP - Jim Astrachan, Lexology; Copyright Fair Use: How Much Copying is Too Much Copying?

"...no plagiarist can excuse the wrong by showing how much of his work he did not pirate.” These words were written by Judge Learned Hand in 1936. His point was that a taking of someone else’s expression will not be excused merely because it is insubstantial in quantity when held up for comparison to the infringing work.

Years back a copyright defendant client related copyright lore as a defense to his actions. He swore up and down that copying was permissible as long as not more than 10 percent of the source work was taken. Many times that belief has been mistakenly repeated. Many of the older, bedrock, principles of copyright practice are worth repeating. Perhaps this repetition comes from being the teacher that I suspect is part of my DNA.

The “ancient” case of Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539 (1985) should absolutely disabuse anyone of this silly notion." 

Ethical issues of facial recognition technology; TechRepublic, August 31, 2022

  Patrick Gray in Artificial Intelligence, TechRepublic; Ethical issues of facial recognition technology

"Facial recognition technology has entered the mass market, with our faces now able to unlock our phones and computers. While the ability to empower machines with the very human ability to identify a person with a quick look at their face is exciting, it’s not without significant ethical concerns.

Suppose your company is considering facial recognition technology. In that case, it’s essential to be aware of these concerns and ready to address them, which may even include abandoning facial recognition altogether.

When assessing these ethical concerns, consider how your customers, employees and the general public would react if they fully knew how you’re using the technology. If that thought is disconcerting, you may be veering into an ethical “danger zone.”"