North Carolina radio station plans to reject broadcasts of 'inappropriate' Met operas; NPR, September 29, 2023

 Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR; North Carolina radio station plans to reject broadcasts of 'inappropriate' Met operas

"A listener-supported radio station in North Carolina, WCPE, is planning to withhold the broadcast of six contemporary operas this season from New York's Metropolitan Opera, because of the station management's objections to the operas' content. It is a classical music controversy that echoes larger, nationwide culture war debates.

WCPE's protest comes at a time when the Metropolitan Opera is eager to showcase its commitment to recently written operas and works from outside the traditional canon of music written by white men. Three of the operas that WCPE plans to reject in the 2023-24 season were written by Black or Mexican composers. This past April, WCPE also refused to broadcast another Met-produced opera written by a Black composer that included LGBTQ themes."

CMS bans ‘Banned Book Week,’ citing North Carolina’s parents’ rights bill; WFAE 90.7, September 29, 2023

Ann Doss Helms , WFAE 90.7; CMS bans ‘Banned Book [sic] Week,’ citing North Carolina’s parents’ rights bill

"The American Library Association celebrates Banned Book [sic] Week next week — but it’s been banned in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and could face challenges across North Carolina.

The library association uses the week to celebrate freedom to read and to talk about attempts to censor books. But at a time when parents’ rights groups across the country are asking that books be removed or restricted, CMS has told principals to cancel any events or messages linked to Banned Book Week...

Groups that have recently challenged books in North Carolina include Moms for Liberty, Mama Bears of Catawba County and Pavement Education Project, based in Wake County. They have asked that books containing profanity, sexual content and other material they deem offensive be removed from libraries or restricted to students whose parents have consented.

The American Library Association itself has come under fire by some who say it’s defending inappropriate books. Colleen Miller of the Pavement Education Project told WFAE on Friday that the association’s leaders are engaged in “promotion of the LGBTQ ideology and other Marxist theories.”"

New California law bars schoolbook bans based on racial and LGBTQ topics; NPR, September 26, 2023

Jonathan Franklin , NPR; New California law bars schoolbook bans based on racial and LGBTQ topics

"California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law Monday prohibiting school boards across the state from banning books, instructional materials or curricula categorized as inclusive or diverse.

Under the new law, which went into effect immediately after its signing, the state can fine schools that would block textbooks and library books that allow students to learn about diverse communities.

The bill — formally known as AB 1078 — also authorizes Tony Thurmond, state superintendent of public instruction, to purchase instructional materials for school districts, regain costs from the purchases and determine whether to fine school boards if they do not abide by the state's updated instructional standards."

How To Approach AI Adoption Ethically And Responsibly Within Your Organization; Forbes, September 24, 2023

 Rhett Power, Forbes; How To Approach AI Adoption Ethically And Responsibly Within Your Organization

"In order to take full advantage of everything AI technology has to offer, you must be careful and efficient when adding this technology to your organization’s processes. Luckily, you can do a few things to ensure a smooth and flawless transition. Here are four strategies that can pave the way for ethical implementation...

2. Remain up to date on all regulations.

In addition to establishing an AI ethics advisor, it is essential to remain current on the ever-evolving regulations surrounding the use of AI. As the technology advances rapidly, laws will be enacted to address ethical concerns and protect individuals’ rights. By proactively addressing potential problems related to privacy infringement or bias algorithms through adherence to regulations, organizations can foster a positive reputation while harnessing the benefits of AI innovation. Remaining current on all the regulations ensures your organization meets all legal requirements and industry standards.

Until legal requirements and industry standards are ironed out, you must aim to be as transparent as possible. “Currently, there is no way to peer into the inner workings of an AI tool and guarantee that the system is producing accurate or fair output,” says Tsedal Neeley, Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration and senior associate dean of faculty and research at Harvard Business School. “As a consequence, leaders should exercise careful judgment in determining when and how it’s appropriate to use AI, and they should document when and how AI is being used. That way people will know that an AI-driven decision was appraised with an appropriate level of skepticism, including its potential risks or shortcomings.”"

New S&S Program, Books Belong, Takes Aim at Book Bans; Publishers Weekly, September 20, 2023

 Jim Milliot , Publishers Weekly; New S&S Program, Books Belong, Takes Aim at Book Bans

"Simon & Schuster is introducing a new "multi-platform education and resources program," Books Belong, during this year's Banned Books Week (October 1-7), as part of an effort to expand the publisher's response to the book bans and challenges.

The program, the publisher said, will "highlight the merits of books that have been subject to bans and challenges and will provide educators, parents, librarians, and students with tools and resources" on how to "take action when faced with a challenge in their community" and "incorporate banned and challenged books into classroom, library, and family reading time." 

The initiative's website will host "reading group guides and videos, book lists, giveaways, exclusive author and expert content, and links to additional resources," S&S said, including those from Unite Against Book Bans and PEN America."

NASA’s Mars Rovers Could Inspire a More Ethical Future for AI; The Conversation via Gizmodo, September 23, 2023

 Janet Vertesi, The Conversation via Gizmodo; NASA’s Mars Rovers Could Inspire a More Ethical Future for AI

"In industries where AI could be used to replace workers, technology experts might consider how clever human-machine partnerships could enhance human capabilities instead of detracting from them.

Script-writing teams may appreciate an artificial agent that can look up dialog or cross-reference on the fly. Artists could write or curate their own algorithms to fuel creativity and retain credit for their work. Bots to support software teams might improve meeting communication and find errors that emerge from compiling code.

Of course, rejecting replacement does not eliminate all ethical concerns with AI. But many problems associated with human livelihood, agency and bias shift when replacement is no longer the goal.

The replacement fantasy is just one of many possible futures for AI and society. After all, no one would watch Star Wars if the droids replaced all the protagonists. For a more ethical vision of humans’ future with AI, you can look to the human-machine teams that are already alive and well, in space and on Earth."

Justice Kagan Calls for the Supreme Court to Adopt an Ethics Code; The New York Times, September 22, 2023

Adam Liptak, The New York Times;  Justice Kagan Calls for the Supreme Court to Adopt an Ethics Code

"Justice Elena Kagan said on Friday that the Supreme Court should adopt a code of ethics, saying that “it would be a good thing for the court to do that.”

Her comment, part of a wide-ranging live-streamed public interview at Notre Dame Law School, came on the day ProPublica reported that Justice Clarence Thomas had twice attended an annual event for donors organized by the conservative political network established by the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch.

Justice Kagan did not discuss the report, but she said that an ethics code “would, I think, go far in persuading other people that we were adhering to the highest standards of conduct.” She added that “I hope we can make progress.”"

Illustrator stands by graphic novel of Anne Frank's diary that got Texas teacher fired; CBC, September 22, 2023

 Sheena Goodyear, CBC; Illustrator stands by graphic novel of Anne Frank's diary that got Texas teacher fired

"When Anne Frank Fonds, the foundation that holds the copyright to Frank's diary, first commissioned the graphic novel adaptation, Polonsky says he and writer Ari Folman believed it was important to include the previously censored materials. 

"We accepted this challenge because we felt it was important to keep this story alive, and also to portray Anne as a full human being," he said. "She's not a mascot for the Holocaust. She's not a symbol. We think it's important to represent her as a complicated young writer."

In illustrating those more sensitive pages, Polonsky says he took great care to make sure nothing was too explicit for young readers."

Former Weld County librarian wins settlement after district fired her for promoting LGBTQ, anti-racism programs; Colorado Public Radio (CPR), September 22, 2023

  Matt Bloom, Colorado Public Radio (CPR); Former Weld County librarian wins settlement after district fired her for promoting LGBTQ, anti-racism programs

"A former librarian will receive $250,000 from the High Plains Library District as part of a settlement in a lengthy civil rights dispute over her firing. 

Brooky Parks lost her job at Erie Community Library in 2021 after promoting anti-racism and LGBTQ history workshops for teens. The programming drew backlash from the district’s board of trustees, which oversees more than a dozen public libraries across Northern Colorado.

Members of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission signed off on the financial agreement on Friday, making it official. It also drops discrimination charges against the district and includes requirements that district leaders update their programming policies to be more inclusive. 

“I feel validated and really vindicated,” Parks said. “I think this sends a message to all libraries that there’s consequences for retaliation against people and that libraries are meant to serve all members of the community.”"

Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events; ProPublica, September 22, 2023

 Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott  Alex Mierjeski, ProPublica ; Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events

"The code of conduct for the federal judiciary lays out rules designed to preserve judges’ impartiality and independence, which it calls “indispensable to justice in our society.” The code specifically prohibits both political activity and participation in fundraising. Judges are advised, for instance, not to “associate themselves” with any group “publicly identified with controversial legal, social, or political positions.”

But the code of conduct only applies to the lower courts. At the Supreme Court, justices decide what’s appropriate for themselves.

“I can’t imagine — it takes my breath away, frankly — that he would go to a Koch network event for donors,” said John E. Jones III, a retired federal judge appointed by President George W. Bush. Jones said that if he had gone to a Koch summit as a district court judge, “I’d have gotten a letter that would’ve commenced a disciplinary proceeding.”

“What you’re seeing is a slow creep toward unethical behavior. Do it if you can get away with it,” Jones said."

U.S. Senate Hearing: “Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature”; InfoDocket, September 11, 2023

 Gary Price, InfoDocket; U.S. Senate Hearing: “Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature”

"U.S. Senate Hearing: “Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature”

 September 11, 2023 by Gary Price

UPDATED POST: Now Available: Video Recording and Prepared Testimony of the Hearing . Note: A keyword searchable version of the video recording is also available via the C-SPAN Video Library.

—End Update—


The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing, “Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature” is scheduled to begin at 10:00am (Eastern) on Tuesday, September 12, 2023.

The hearing will be streamed live on the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary website.

Witnesses List (as of September 11, 2023):

Max Eden
Research Fellow
American Enterprise Institute
Arlington, VA

Nicole Neily
President
Parents Defending Education
Arlington, VA

Cameron Samuels
Student, Brandeis University
Co-Founder, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas
Katy, TX

Emily Knox
Associate Professor
University of Illinois
Bloomington, IL

The Honorable Alexi Giannoulias
Secretary of State
State of Illinois
Chicago, IL

Hearing Web Page"

Lawyer suspended for trying to attend 2 online CLE programs at once; ABA Journal, September 19, 2023

DEBRA CASSENS WEISS, ABA Journal ; Lawyer suspended for trying to attend 2 online CLE programs at once

"According to the Sept. 11 sanctions order, Buckley had submitted proof of CLE credits in 2023 to reinstate his law license after an administrative suspension. The material showed that Buckley was trying to get credit for two live webcasts that happened at the same time on June 16, 2022.

Buckley said in an initial response he had attended the two programs using a computer and an iPad. He said he didn’t realize that simultaneous attendance was a violation of bar rules.

The bar counsel later received additional information that, on June 17, 2022, Buckley attended a four-hour-and-40-minute webcast that began at 12:39 p.m. and viewed an on-demand six-hour-and-39-minute CLE that began at 1:06 p.m.

The order by Justice Thomas McKeon of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court cited an earlier case in which a lawyer received a one-year suspension for relying on his assistant to take his CLE classes."

VR transports users to notorious Venezuelan prison: ‘The world needs to know’; The Washington Post, September 22, 2023

María Luisa Paúl, The Washington Post ; VR transports users to notorious Venezuelan prison: ‘The world needs to know’

"The simulation was created by Voces de la Memoria — voices of memory — a nonprofit that uses technology to advocate for human rights and whose founder, Victor Navarro, was arbitrarily detained in El Helicoide, where he said he was tortured...

Then Navarro went through a virtual reality experience about Anne Frank’s time in the Secret Annex: “I felt like in any moment, the Nazis were going to take me to a concentration camp,” he said. “If I was able to empathize with Anne Frank, someone I don’t know and who lived in another time, maybe others would be able to empathize with what happened in El Helicoide.”.

Shortly after, Voces de la Memoria was born. By combining interviews with former detainees and input from psychologists, the organization put together “a virtual museum of terror designed to generate action,” said Francisco Marquez Lara, a senior adviser to the nonprofit who was detained in El Helicoide in 2016.

“Memory museums and experiences of this kind are usually done after the atrocities are over,” he said. “But we know that time makes people lose a bit of interest and sensitivity, and we don’t want this to keep happening. This tool is an innovation in the fight for human rights that has the potential to reach people wherever they are and immerse them into something that isn’t talked about enough.”"

Book Bans Are Rising Sharply in Public Libraries; The New York Times, September 21, 2023

 Elizabeth A. Harris and Alexandra Alter, The New York Times ; Book Bans Are Rising Sharply in Public Libraries

"More than two years into a sharp rise in book challenges across the United States, restrictions are increasingly targeting public libraries, where they could affect not only the children’s section but also the books available to everyone in a community.

The shift comes amid a dramatic increase in efforts to remove books from libraries, according to a pair of new reports released this week from the American Library Association and PEN America, a free speech organization.

The A.L.A. found that nearly half the book challenges it tracked between January and August of this year took place in public libraries, up from 16 percent during the same period the year before. The association reported nearly 700 attempts to censor library materials, which targeted more than 1,900 individual titles — more than during the same period in 2022, a year that saw the most titles challenged since the organization began tracking the data.

Most of the challenged books were by or about people of color or L.G.B.T.Q. people.

“A year, a year and a half ago, we were told that these books didn’t belong in school libraries, and if people wanted to read them, they could go to a public library,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the A.L.A.’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “Now, we’re seeing those same groups come to public libraries and come after the same books, essentially depriving everyone of the ability to make the choice to read them.”"

‘It’s almost magical’: how robotic pets are helping UK care home residents; The Guardian, September 1, 2023

 Robert Booth, The Guardian; ‘It’s almost magical’: how robotic pets are helping UK care home residents

"It is not the first time care homes have experimented with robots. With mixed results, Japan has invested hundreds of millions of pounds in developing potential devices such as Hug, a lifting robot; Paro, a robotic seal; and Pepper, a “lovable” humanoid robot. In 2021 it was reported that production of Pepper had been halted...

With one in 10 social care jobs vacant, a temptation may be to use the pets to free up pressed staff from spending time with residents. Care workers at Oak Manor, where the pets have been used for a year, said they must not be deployed in the same way some parents pacify children with iPads. Success comes when the pets provide a familiar focus when agitation and anxiety is rising and they encourage socialisation as residents pet them together."

Ariana Grande, Guillermo del Toro, Padma Lakshmi and More Sign Open Letter Denouncing Book Bans and Their “Chilling Effect” (Exclusive); The Hollywood Reporter, September 19, 2023

Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter; Ariana Grande, Guillermo del Toro, Padma Lakshmi and More Sign Open Letter Denouncing Book Bans and Their “Chilling Effect” (Exclusive)

"The letter encourages signatories and readers to address challenges at the local level across U.S. school districts, while calling out book bans as “restrictive behavior” that is “antithetical to free speech and expression.” It also underscores the “chilling effect” these bans can have “on the broader creative field.”...

“It’s embarrassing that we are banning books in this country, in this culture, in this day and age. And it’s dangerous that a handful of individuals are deciding that any book with Black and queer people is divisive,” said Burton, executive producer of the 2023 documentary The Right to Read. “We are calling on everyone to join us in raising their voices to uphold artistic freedom, embrace multicultural history and put a stop once and for all to book bans.”"

ANALYSIS: Professional Integrity Tops Lawyers’ Ethics Wish List; Bloomberg Law News, September 20, 2023

Melissa Heelan, Bloomberg Law News ; ANALYSIS: Professional Integrity Tops Lawyers’ Ethics Wish List

"Lawyers have undergone some soul-searching in the wake of election fraud cases and the Jan. 6 raid on the US Capitol. So it stands to reason that they chose “maintaining the integrity of the profession” as the legal ethics category most in need of revision, according to a recent Bloomberg Law survey. 

The respondents, both in-house and law firm lawyers, also said that they want to see more guidance on artificial intelligence and technology.

The American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which provide the basis for state ethics rules, are divided into eight categories (in addition to a preamble), each comprised of anywhere between three (Counselor) and 18 (Client-Lawyer Relationship) rules."

Opinion: The world Is a mess. Embracing ethics might be our only hope; The Mercury News, September 19, 2023

 THOMAS G. PLANTE, The Mercury News; Opinion: The world Is a mess. Embracing ethics might be our only hope

"Perhaps our only hope to reverse these disturbing trends is to dramatically embrace better ethical decision making on a massive scale. This is no easy task, and our prognosis for doing so is poor. No one wants to be told what to do and to be criticized for their decisions. In fact, when I was recently shopping an ethics book proposal around to publishers, I was told by one editor that, “No one will read a book on ethics since no one thinks that they have an ethics problem. If anything, people think other people have ethical problems, not them.” Oy!

I believe that there are three critical ethical principles that we should all embrace for our well-being and survival."

Warren County tries to control local library in LGBTQ+ book debate; The Washington Post, September 15, 2023

 Gregory S. Schneider, The Washington Post; Warren County tries to control local library in LGBTQ+ book debate

"Warren County supervisors, under pressure from a group of conservative activists who want to remove LGBTQ+ materials from children’s sections of the library, withheld three-quarters of Samuels’s operating funds from the budget that went into effect July 1. Library leaders tightened parental controls, but the activists’ attacks broadened, until the county proposed a fundamental change in the way the library operates.

If the library cedes greater control to the county over which books stay and go, the budget woes would go away. But the Samuels board of trustees voted 11-1 Thursday to stand their ground, defending their book selection policies as protecting the interests of vulnerable minority groups in the community and fairly representing everyone.

“We don’t want to get sued and we don’t want to discriminate,” Melody Hotek, president of the board of trustees, said earlier in an interview with The Washington Post. “So we’re holding the line.”

The standoff in Front Royal is the first example in Virginia of attacks on books threatening the operation of a public library. Most fights over literature have taken place in school libraries, part of a national movement by conservative activists seeking to ban or restrict access to books they find objectionable. A few other Virginia counties have wrestled with objections to LGBTQ+ or sexually explicit content in public libraries, but none has yet resulted in a battle for funding."

Bizarre AI-generated products are in stores. Here’s how to avoid them.; The Washington Post, September 18, 2023

  Heather Kelly, The Washington Post; Bizarre AI-generated products are in stores. Here’s how to avoid them.

"However, in situations where AI’s involvement is not obvious or desired, a product can be a scam, outright fraud and even dangerous, experts say...

When it comes to books, incorrect information can be dangerous. Amazon recently removed a guide on foraging for mushrooms that some readers claimed was generated by AI and could have given incorrect advice about what mushrooms were edible or poisonous.

“The accuracy problem is real,” said Ravit Dotan, an AI ethics researcher and adviser. “People don’t understand that textual generated AI is not optimized to generate truth. It’s optimized to generate text that’s compelling.”"

Republican candidate for Missouri governor vows to burn books after viral flamethrower video; The Kansas City Star, September 18, 2023

KACEN BAYLESS , The Kansas City Star; Republican candidate for Missouri governor vows to burn books after viral flamethrower video

"Eigel’s remarkable comment promising to burn books comes as he embarks on a campaign for governor attempting to appeal to the staunch right wing of the Missouri Republican Party. Public book burnings typically illustrate extreme censorship related to political, cultural and religious materials. They often invoke historic atrocities such as burning of Jewish texts in Nazi Germany or racist bonfires by the Ku Klux Klan."

Red states quit nation’s oldest library group amid culture war over books; The Washington Post, September 17, 2023

 Hannah Natanson, The Washington Post ; Red states quit nation’s oldest library group amid culture war over books

"The American Library Association is facing a partisan firefight unlike anything in its almost 150-year history."

With self-driving cars, it's the ethics we have to navigate; The Japan Times, September 17, 2023

PETER SINGER, The Japan Times ; With self-driving cars, it's the ethics we have to navigate

"One important but often overlooked ethical issue raised by autonomous vehicles is whether they should be programmed to avoid hitting animals and, if so, which ones...How we should value the lives and interests of all sentient beings is a question that AI ethics needs to address."

America's Top Librarian on the Rise of Book Bans; The Ezra Klein Show, The New York Times, September 12, 2023

The Ezra Klein Show, The New York Times; America's Top Librarian on the Rise of Book Bans

"Public libraries around the country have become major battlegrounds for today’s culture wars. In 2022, the American Library Association noted a record 1,269 attempts at censorship — almost double the number recorded in 2021. Library events like drag story times and other children’s programming have also attracted protest. How should we understand these efforts to control what stories children can freely access?

Emily Drabinski is the president of the American Library Association and an associate professor at the Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. She is steering an embattled organization at a moment when libraries — and librarians themselves — are increasingly under fire.

[You can listen to this episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” on the NYT Audio App, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google or wherever you get your podcasts.]

This conversation unpacks the political and cultural anxieties fueling the attacks on libraries. The guest host Tressie McMillan Cottom discusses with Drabinski how libraries are a bulwark against the increasing class divides of American life, how the “small infrastructure” of the public library differs from big infrastructure like highways and bridges, how library classification systems can entrench the status quo, the parallels between political attacks on the library and the U.S. Postal Service, how censorship attempts fit in the broader landscape of anti-queer and anti-trans legislation and much more."

'Empty shelves with absolutely no books': Students, parents question school board's library weeding process; CBC, September 13, 2023

Nicole Brockbank, Angelina King , CBC; 'Empty shelves with absolutely no books': Students, parents question school board's library weeding process

"Weeding books by publication date raises concerns...

Libraries not Landfills, a group of parents, retired teachers and community members says it supports standard weeding, but shares Takata's concerns about both fiction and nonfiction books being removed based solely on their publication date.

The group is also concerned about how subjective criteria like inclusivity will be interpreted from school to school in the later stages of the equity-based weeding process."

Moms for Liberty is winning its fight to remove books from one Maryland school district; The Baltimore Banner, September 13, 2023

Kristen Griffith , The Baltimore Banner; Moms for Liberty is winning its fight to remove books from one Maryland school district

"Carroll County is among a growing number of Maryland school systems seeing pushes to remove books from their libraries as a national movement takes root here. The American Library Association reported in March that 2022 saw the highest number of book challenges since the organization was founded 20 years ago. The 1,269 attempts nearly double the challenges in 2021.

The Maryland Association of School Librarians has supported librarians facing book challenges in Wicomico, Worcester, Calvert, Somerset and Baltimore counties. But Carroll is the only one to change its book selection procedure in response."

In Show of Force, Silicon Valley Titans Pledge ‘Getting This Right’ With A.I.; The New York Times, September 13, 2023

Cecilia Kang, The New York Times ; In Show of Force, Silicon Valley Titans Pledge ‘Getting This Right’ With A.I.

"Elon Musk warned of civilizational risks posed by artificial intelligence. Sundar Pichai of Google highlighted the technology’s potential to solve health and energy problems. And Mark Zuckerberg of Meta stressed the importance of open and transparent A.I. systems.

The tech titans held forth on Wednesday in a three-hour meeting with lawmakers in Washington about A.I. and future regulations. The gathering, known as the A.I. Insight Forum, was part of a crash course for Congress on the technology and organized by the Senate leader, Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York.

The meeting — also attended by Bill Gates, a founder of Microsoft; Sam Altman of OpenAI; Satya Nadella of Microsoft; and Jensen Huang of Nvidia — was a rare congregation of more than a dozen top tech executives in the same room. It amounted to one of the industry’s most proactive shows of force in the nation’s capital as companies race to be at the forefront of A.I. and to be seen to influence its direction."