Oxford University institute hosts AI ethics conference; Oxford Mail, June 21, 2024

Jacob Manuschka , Oxford Mail; Oxford University institute hosts AI ethics conference

"On June 20, 'The Lyceum Project: AI Ethics with Aristotle' explored the ethical regulation of AI.

This conference, set adjacent to the ancient site of Aristotle’s school, showcased some of the greatest philosophical minds and featured an address from Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Professor John Tasioulas, director of the Institute for Ethics in AI, said: "The Aristotelian approach to ethics, with its rich notion of human flourishing, has great potential to help us grapple with the urgent question of what it means to be human in the age of AI.

"We are excited to bring together philosophers, scientists, policymakers, and entrepreneurs in a day-long dialogue about how ancient wisdom can shed light on contemporary challenges...

The conference was held in partnership with Stanford University and Demokritos, Greece's National Centre for Scientific Research."

Stanford president to resign over concerns about integrity of his research; The Guardian, July 19, 2023

Guardian staff and agency , The Guardian; Stanford president to resign over concerns about integrity of his research

"The president of Stanford University, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, has announced he will resign after concerns about the integrity of his research."

Should College Come With Trigger Warnings? At Cornell, It’s a ‘Hard No.’; The New York Times, April 12, 2023

 Katherine Rosman, The New York Times ; Should College Come With Trigger Warnings? At Cornell, It’s a ‘Hard No.’

"Ms. Morey called it the “Stanford Effect,” referring to a 10-page open letter written in March by Jenny Martinez, dean of Stanford University Law School, in which she affirmed her decision to apologize to Stuart Kyle Duncan, a Donald J. Trump-appointed federal appeals judge, after hecklers interrupted his speech."

Stanford makes a startling new discovery. Ethics; ZDNet, June 4, 2018

Chris Matyszczyk, ZDNet; Stanford makes a startling new discovery. Ethics

"Now, in a glorious moment of chest-beating and head-bobbing, Stanford University president Marc Tessier-Lavigne has admitted that his university -- which spawned so many young, great tech titans, such as the founders of Google, Instagram and LinkedIn -- failed to make titanic efforts in the area of ethics. 

In an interview with the Financial Times, he revealed that the university now intends to explore the teaching of "ethics, society and technology."

As we survey the political and social carnage that seems to have been enabled by technology over the last few years, it's remarkable that this wasn't thought of before."

Stanford to step-up teaching of ethics in technology; Financial Times, June 3, 2018

Financial Times; Stanford to step-up teaching of ethics in technology

"The university at the heart of Silicon Valley is to inject ethics into its technology teaching and research amid growing criticism of the excesses of the industry it helped spawn.

The board of Stanford University, one of the world’s richest higher education institutions with an endowment of $27bn, will meet this month to agree funding and a plan to implement the findings of an internal review that recommends a new initiative focused on “ethics, society and technology” and improved access to those on lower incomes."

Stanford's Final Exams Pose Question About the ethics of Genetic Engineering; Futurism, July 9, 2017

Tom Ward, Futurism; Stanford's Final Exams Pose Question About the ethics of Genetic Engineering

"When bioengineering students sit down to take their final exams for Stanford University, they are faced with a moral dilemma, as well as a series of grueling technical questions that are designed to sort the intellectual wheat from the less competent chaff:

If you and your future partner are planning to have kids, would you start saving money for college tuition, or for printing the genome of your offspring?

The question is a follow up to “At what point will the cost of printing DNA to create a human equal the cost of teaching a student in Stanford?” Both questions refer to the very real possibility that it may soon be in the realm of affordability to print off whatever stretch of DNA you so desire, using genetic sequencing and a machine capable of synthesizing the four building blocks of DNA — A, C, G, and T — into whatever order you desire...

It is vital to discuss the ethics of gene editing in order to ensure that the technology is not abused in the future. Stanford’s question is praiseworthy because it makes today’s students, who will most likely be spearheading the technology’s developments, think about the consequences of their work."