Your newsroom needs an AI ethics policy. Start here.; Poynter, March 25, 2024

Kelly McBride , Poynter; Your newsroom needs an AI ethics policy. Start here.

"Every single newsroom needs to adopt an ethics policy to guide the use of generative artificial intelligence. Why? Because the only way to create ethical standards in an unlicensed profession is to do it shop by shop.

Until we create those standards — even though it’s early in the game — we are holding back innovation.

So here’s a starter kit, created by Poynter’s Alex Mahadevan, Tony Elkins and me. It’s a statement of journalism values that roots AI experimentation in the principles of accuracy, transparency and audience trust, followed by a set of specific guidelines.

Think of it like a meal prep kit. Most of the work is done, but you still have to roll up your sleeves and do a bit of labor. This policy includes blank spaces, where newsroom leaders will have to add details, saying “yes” or “no” to very specific activities, like using AI-generated illustrations.

In order to effectively use this AI ethics policy, newsrooms will need to create an AI committee and designate an editor or senior journalist to lead the ongoing effort. This step is critical because the technology is going to evolve, the tools are going to multiply and the policy will not keep up unless it is routinely revised."

Lawyers viewed as more ethical than car salespeople and US lawmakers; ABA Journal, January 30, 2024

DEBRA CASSENS WEISS, ABA Journal ; Lawyers viewed as more ethical than car salespeople and US lawmakers

"Only 16% of Americans rate lawyers’ honesty and ethical standards as "high" or "very high," according to a Gallup poll taken in December.

The percentage has decreased since 2022, when 21% of Americans said lawyers had high or very high honesty and ethical standards, and since 2019, when the percentage was 22%, according to a Jan. 22 press release with results of Gallup’s 2023 Honesty and Ethics poll.

Lawyers did better than business executives, insurance salespeople and stockbrokers. Twelve percent of Americans viewed those occupations as having high or very high ethics and honesty. The percentage decreased to 8% for advertising practitioners, car salespeople and senators, and 6% for members of Congress."

Recognize Those Who Inspire Others to Uphold Ethical Principles; IEEE Spectrum, April 26, 2023

 SHERRY LINDBAK, IEEE Spectrum; Recognize Those Who Inspire Others to Uphold Ethical Principles 

"Do you know someone who has risen above others in demonstrating high standards of ethics and integrity? Or do you belong to an organization that has inspired others to share a vision of extraordinary ethical principles and practices? If so, IEEE wants to honor and celebrate their contributions.

The IEEE Ethics and Member Conduct Committee is now accepting nominations for this year’s IEEE Award for Distinguished Ethical Practices. The annual award recognizes an IEEE member, or an organization employing IEEE members, for exemplary ethical behavior or persuasive advocacy of ethical practices.

Nominators will be asked to explain:

• What situation was happening (or not happening) that caused the nominee to believe it was unethical?
• In what ways did the nominee demonstrate ethical leadership, courage, innovation, or honor to make the situation better?
• What was the overall impact of the nominee’s actions?

The deadline for nominations is 31 May. The recipient will be announced in November.

For more information, including eligibility requirements, and to access the nomination form, visit the EMCC-Award web page or write to ethics@ieee.org."

Roberts invited to testify at Senate hearing on Supreme Court ethics; NPR, April 20, 2023

Dustin Jones, NPR ; Roberts invited to testify at Senate hearing on Supreme Court ethics

"The chair of the Senate Judiciary committee has invited Chief Justice John Roberts to testify at a hearing next month focused on the ethical rules governing the Supreme Court as well as potential changes to those guidelines. 

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. said in a letter to Roberts on Thursday that recent reports found the justices are "falling short" of the ethical standards they and other public servants are supposed to follow. 

"The status quo is no longer tenable," Durbin wrote.

The call for Roberts' testimony comes at a turbulent time for the court and its members. Concerns surrounding the lifetime appointees involve Justice Clarence Thomas, who, according to an investigation by ProPublica, failed to disclose 20 years of luxury trips with billionaire and Republican donor Harlan Crow."

Atmospheric scientist loses honor, membership over ethics violation; The Washington Post, April 8, 2022

Kay Nolan, The Washington Post; Atmospheric scientist loses honor, membership over ethics violation

American Meteorological Society expels physicist Timothy Dunkerton after offensive tweet as professional science groups grapple with how to confront harassment, discrimination

"The Post obtained a copy of an email sent privately by AMS Associate Executive Director Stephanie Armstrong to society members who had filed a formal complaint about the physicist’s behavior.

That email names Dunkerton and says he “violated two components of the AMS Code of Conduct: 1) Members shall carry out their activities with integrity and the highest ethical standards. 2) Members must treat all individuals with respect. Members must refrain from all forms of discrimination, harassment, and bullying in their professional encounters.”...

Erika Marín-Spiotta, a University of Wisconsin geography professor who holds “bystander training” workshops — which teach people ways to intervene when they see harassment or bullying — stressed the importance of disclosing incidents of misconduct to the broader community.

It “is important so that the community is aware that these behaviors are happening, they are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” she said.

Oltman-Shay, Dunkerton’s former boss, said this week: “I applaud the AMS for continuing to review their code of ethics. … It’s my hope that this will become an example to serve as caution to those who bully.”"

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gives an incomplete history lesson on judicial ethics; NBC News, January 4, 2022

Steven Lubet, Williams Memorial Professor at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, NBC News ; Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gives an incomplete history lesson on judicial ethics

In his end of the year report, Roberts' argument for the court's independence from oversight omitted a key part of its history.

"His comments come amid increased calls for the Supreme Court to be subject to a code of ethics, like all other U.S. courts. As chief justice, though, Roberts has consistently defended the court’s refusal to adopt one, rejecting all suggestions of congressional or other oversight. His referring to Taft’s support for judicial independence seems to bolster that argument. But the story Roberts presented is oddly incomplete, omitting a crucial aspect of Taft’s legacy: Taft also believed that judges should be accountable for their conduct according to ethical standards developed outside the judiciary – a proposition that Roberts has politely but firmly rejected...

Another financial scandal, resulting in the resignation of Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas in 1969, spurred the ABA to re-examine the by-then-antiquated canons. The ABA promulgated the much-strengthened Code of Judicial Conduct in 1972. The Judicial Conference of the United States, with authority over the lower federal courts, officially adopted the code in 1973, as did every state judiciary in the following years. Though the code itself doesn’t include penalties, violations can lead to discipline in some circumstances.

That progress stopped at the Supreme Court steps. The Supreme Court has declined for over 50 years to adopt the Judicial Conference code, or any other, making it the only court in the U.S.without a formal set of ethics rules."

SAP Becomes First European Tech Company to Create Ethics Advisory Panel for Artificial Intelligence; PR Newswire via Yahoo, September 18, 2018

PR Newswire via Yahoo; SAP Becomes First European Tech Company to Create Ethics Advisory Panel for Artificial Intelligence

""SAP considers the ethical use of data a core value," said Luka Mucic, Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Executive Board, SAP. "We want to create software that enables the intelligent enterprise and actually improves people's lives. Such principles will serve as the basis to make AI a technology that augments human talent."

SAP guiding principles reflect the company's commitment to comply with the highest ethical standards."

Trump Rated Worse Than Other Modern-Day Presidents on Ethics; Gallup, September 13, 2018

Megan Brenan, Gallup; Trump Rated Worse Than Other Modern-Day Presidents on Ethics

"Bottom Line

The American public's ratings of the ethical standards of Trump and his administration's top officials are generally much worse than their ratings of his predecessors. Trump is viewed as having lower ethical standards than all presidents since Nixon, who resigned when faced with imminent impeachment."

The technology industry needs a set of professional ethics; Baltimore Sun, March 8, 2018

Adil E. Shamoo. Baltimore Sun; The technology industry needs a set of professional ethics

"In a wider view, using an ethical framework in scientific enterprise disperses ethical principles throughout society; patients and consumers adopt these ethical standards and come to expect and even extend these standards to other endeavors.

But we have failed to develop an ethical framework when it comes to technology or to understand the impact new media would have on our behavior and societal relationships.

We need to examine the current landscape of ethics within the rapidly expanding technology sector. Just as scientific research has added requirements for classes in ethics in research, the tech sector must develop widespread ethical educational efforts. The lack of firm ethical principles allowed a serious disruption to our 2016 political election and is changing the brains of social media users and rapidly changing the workplace and our economy. What has become commonplace has become acceptable. Robots replace humans in jobs; testing of consumer behavior without consent is unquestioned; acceptability of facial and voice recognition is rarely challenged even though misuse and privacy issues are frightening; and vitriolic, divisive missives are the norm on social media."

'No grey areas': experts urge Facebook to change moderation policies; Guardian, May 22, 2017

Jamie Grierson, Guardian; 

'No grey areas': experts urge Facebook to change moderation policies

"Facebook’s ethical standards should not be decided “behind closed doors”, the former chair of an influential parliamentary committee has said after the Guardian revealed the social media giant’s secret rules for moderating extreme content.

Yvette Cooper, chair of the home affairs select committee before parliament was dissolved for the upcoming election, said the files – used by Facebook to moderate violence, hate speech, terrorism, pornography, racism and self-harm – underlined a need for more transparency.

A report from the cross-party committee last month concluded social media companies, including Facebook, should face fines of tens of millions of pounds for failing to remove extremist and hate-crime material."

How the U.S. ethics chief took on Trump and became a reluctant Washington hero; Washington Post, March 30, 2017

David Montgomery, Washington Post; How the U.S. ethics chief took on Trump and became a reluctant Washington hero

"Reading aloud in a mild voice for 13 minutes, Shaub cited the Bible, Antonin Scalia and other authorities to make the case that presidents should act as if the conflict-of-interest law did apply to them. Previous presidents have done so, he said.

“Should a president hold himself to a lower standard than his own appointees?” he asked."

Ivanka Trump’s West Wing job isn’t just unethical. It’s also dangerous.; Washington Post, March 23, 2017

Helen Klein Murillo and Susan Hennessey, Washington Post; Ivanka Trump’s West Wing job isn’t just unethical. It’s also dangerous.

"The president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, is set to join his administration in an unspecified, but reportedly influential policy role. She claims she will not be a government employee despite having an office in the White House, holding a high-level security clearance and performing government work.

In a statement, Ivanka Trump concedes that there is “no modern precedent for an adult child of the president” but pledges to “voluntarily” comply with ethics rules. What the first daughter fails to acknowledge is that the very nature of her proposed role breaches ethical standards to which previous administrations have adhered for generations. That ethical breach does more than “shake up Washington” by breaking with norms and decorum — it threatens our national security."

Obama: Trump should follow my example on ethics; USA Today, 11/21/16

Gregory Korte, USA Today; Obama: Trump should follow my example on ethics:

"Obama said the approach he's taken is to "not just meet the letter of the law but to go well beyond the letter to the spirit." And he said those ethical standards need to extend to top administration officials, even on questions about travel and gifts.

He quoted his first White House counsel, Greg Craig: "'If it sounds like it would be fun, then you can't do it.' That's a general test. 'If it sounds like something you would enjoy or appreciate, no go.'

"And as a consequence, and I'll knock on some wood here, because we've got two months left, I am extremely proud of the fact that over eight years we have not had the kinds of scandals that have plagued other administrations," he said."

Think Tank Scholar or Corporate Consultant? It Depends on the Day; New York Times, 8/8/16

Eric Lipton, Nicholas Confessore, and Brooke Williams, New York Times; Think Tank Scholar or Corporate Consultant? It Depends on the Day:

"Intense advocacy by a think tank scholar is not notable in itself, but Mr. Eisenach, 58, a former aide at the Federal Trade Commission, has held another job: as a paid consultant for Verizon and its trade association.

And he has plenty of company.

An examination of 75 think tanks found an array of researchers who had simultaneously worked as registered lobbyists, members of corporate boards or outside consultants in litigation and regulatory disputes, with only intermittent disclosure of their dual roles.

With their expertise and authority, think tank scholars offer themselves as independent arbiters, playing a vital role in Washington’s political economy. Their imprimatur helps shape government decisions that can be lucrative to corporations.

But the examination identified dozens of examples of scholars conducting research at think tanks while corporations were paying them to help shape government policy. Many think tanks also readily confer “nonresident scholar” status on lobbyists, former government officials and others who earn their primary living working for private clients, with few restrictions on such outside work."