America must win the race for A.I. ethics; Fortune, February 15, 2022

Will Griffin, Fortune; America must win the race for A.I. ethics

"Buried in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (NDAA), recently signed by President Joe Biden, are two of the most consequential pieces of artificial intelligence (A.I.) legislation ever enacted into law: the Artificial intelligence Capabilities and Transparency (AICT)Act and the Artificial Intelligence for the Military (AIM) Act.

For the first time ever, Congress has signaled that the federal government is finally moving towards defining A.I. ethics as a core requirement of the U.S. national strategy, while also asserting that traditional American values must be integrated into government and Department of Defense (DOD) A.I. use cases.

While this legislation falls far short of the calls for regulation consistent with the European Union model and desired by many in the A.I. ethics community, it plants the seeds of a thoughtful and inevitable A.I. ethics regulatory regime."

Vermont is one of five states without a statutory code of ethics. A bill in the Senate seeks to change that; Vermont Public Radio (VPR), March 8, 2022

Peter Hirschfeld, Vermont Public Radio (VPR); Vermont is one of five states without a statutory code of ethics. A bill in the Senate seeks to change that

"Last month, a federal judge unsealed documents that showed former Gov. Peter Shumlin had accepted gifts and favors from the man who perpetrated the massive EB-5 fraud in the Northeast Kingdom.

Those documents, first covered by VTDigger, reveal that Shumlin’s aides flagged the favors — including free stays in a luxury New York City condominium — as a potential “problem.”

Shumlin’s general counsel, however, advised they needn’t be concerned from a legal perspective at least, because, according to an FBI summary of those conversations, “the state of Vermont does not have a statute regarding gifts, or a requirement for such disclosures.”

Vermont is one of only five states in the country without a statutory code of ethics."

MapLab: The Case for a Cartographer’s Code of Ethics; Bloomberg, March 9, 2022

Marie Patino, Bloomberg ; MapLab: The Case for a Cartographer’s Code of Ethics

"In 2017, Kent spearheaded the drafting of the first and only known professional code of cartography ethics for the British Cartographic Society (BCS) while he was the president of the organization. The code upholds five principles: Honesty, integrity, competence, respect and responsibility. It also warns of potential sanctions that can be taken against members if they don’t follow these principles, including being banned from the BCS — though Kent says this hasn’t happened yet.

“There’s an increased sense of responsibility that goes with the idea of mapmaking.” Kent says. “I think cartographers have for too long not really grasped the idea that what they’re doing has immense power to change the way how people see the world.”

Now, momentum for ethical guidelines may be picking up...

Buckley, who created a user group at Esri to discuss best practices and ideas for mapmaking ethics, is planning ethics discussions at other map gatherings this year. “Having good examples, I think, is what we need to move towards next,” Buckley said. “After we come up with a code of ethics, the statements have to be supported by resources that people can look at to understand how to enact ethical practices.”"

Here Comes the Full Amazonification of Whole Foods; The New York Times, February 28, 2022

 Cecilia Kang, The New York Times; Here Comes the Full Amazonification of Whole Foods

"The technology, known as Just Walk Out, consists of hundreds of cameras with a god’s-eye view of customers. Sensors are placed under each apple, carton of oatmeal and boule of multigrain bread. Behind the scenes, deep-learning software analyzes the shopping activity to detect patterns and increase the accuracy of its charges.

The technology is comparable to what’s in driverless cars. It identifies when we lift a product from a shelf, freezer or produce bin; automatically itemizes the goods; and charges us when we leave the store. Anyone with an Amazon account, not just Prime members, can shop this way and skip a cash register since the bill shows up in our Amazon account...

Alex Levin, 55, an 18-year resident of Glover Park, said people should not reject the store’s changes.

“We need to understand the benefits and downsides of the technology and use it to our advantage,” he said...

Many were suspicious of the tracking tech.

“It’s like George Orwell’s ‘1984,’” said Allen Hengst, 72, a retired librarian."

Opinion: Travels with Milley: The general brings his ‘big green map’ to NATO’s flank; The Washington Post, March 8, 2022

David Ignatius, The Washington Post; Opinion: Travels with Milley: The general brings his ‘big green map’ to NATO’s flank

"On the eve of Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion, Biden ordered Milley and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to brief Congress on what the map showed — and then to give the same briefing, on “deep background,” to the Pentagon press corps. This was a declassified version of code-word intelligence, drawn from communications intercepts, surveillance satellites and spies on the ground. America’s best weapon against Putin, Biden decided, was the truth. The administration had found a way to weaponize intelligence."

Law Society of Ontario cancels upcoming bar exams after content allegedly leaked to some candidates; Toronto Star, March 5, 2022

Joshua Chong, Toronto Star; Law Society of Ontario cancels upcoming bar exams after content allegedly leaked to some candidates

"The Law Society of Ontario (LSO) has cancelled upcoming bar exams slated to begin Tuesday after examination content was allegedly “improperly accessed” by some candidates.

More than 1,000 candidates were set to write the online examinations, which were scheduled from March 8 to 11 and March 22 to 25, the LSO said in a statement issued Saturday. 

“This decision has been made as a result of information the Law Society has received which strongly indicates that examination content has been improperly accessed by some candidates, compromising the integrity of the upcoming examination period,” the LSO said.

The breach also affects candidates who had already written the exam." 

An Upcoming Webinar on AR/VR, Ethics, and Law; Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, Thursday, March 10, 2022 12 Noon PST/3 PM EST

Irina Raicu, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University; An Upcoming Webinar on AR/VR, Ethics, and Law

Thursday, March 10, 2022 12 Noon PST/3 PM EST

"Irina Raicu is the director of the Internet Ethics program (@IEthics) at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Views are her own.

On Thursday, March 10, we will be hosting an online webinar titled “Virtual Reality, Real Virtues, and Augmented Norms and Laws.” It’s not too late to register and add your questions to this conversation about ethical and legal issues associated with the widening adoption of VR and AR technology!

The panelists presenting will be attorney Brittan Heller—who advises companies on issues such as privacy, content moderation, online harassment, and civic engagement; was the founding director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Technology and Society; and previously worked for the International Criminal Court and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division—and Erick Ramirez, who is an associate professor in Santa Clara University’s Philosophy department, a co-creator of VR analogs of well-known philosophical thought experiments, and the author of a recently published textbook titled The Ethics of Virtual and Augmented Reality: Building Worlds.

The event is part of Santa Clara University’s “IT, Ethics, and Law” lecture series, which is co-sponsored by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and the High Tech Law Institute. (Please join our Internet/Technology ethics mailing list if you’d like to be notified of future events in the series.)

For a preview of some of the issues likely to be mentioned in our conversation, see Heller’s 2020 report titled “Reimagining Reality: Human Rights and Immersive Technology,” and Ramirez’s “It’s Dangerous to Think Virtual Reality Is an Empathy Machine.”

Whether or not VR and AR can serve as “empathy machines,” constitute “the future of corporate training,” create new “kids' issues,” require new standards of privacy protection, or do all of the above and more, they are bound to require careful analysis and ongoing conversations."

Fighting Disinformation Can Feel Like a Lost Cause. It Isn’t.; The New York Times, March 7, 2022

Jay Caspian Kang, The New York Times; Fighting Disinformation Can Feel Like a Lost Cause. It Isn’t.

"Joel Breakstone, the director of the Stanford History Education Group, believes that there needs to be more attention paid to what, exactly, is taught in these media literacy programs. Frequently used lessons like the memorably named Currency Reliability Authority Purpose (CRAP) test ask students to put their information through a gantlet of questions. But Breakstone believes they do not really work for a variety of reasons, the most salient being that most people don’t really know how to check sources and the reliability of information.

What he and his group suggest, instead, is a more comprehensive approach that teaches kids how to assess not only the reliability of the specific information they’ve found online but also who published it and for what purpose. In doing this, students are looking at the whole ecosystem in which the information resides, which improves their ability to question things that may seem to come from sources that look reputable enough."

This Woman's Boss Kept Taking Her Work, So She Added A Hidden Signature To Her Presentation, And It's Deliciously Petty; Buzzfeed, March 7, 2022

Alexa Lisistza, Buzzfeed ; This Woman's Boss Kept Taking Her Work, So She Added A Hidden Signature To Her Presentation, And It's Deliciously Petty

"In hindsight, she said, "I think [managers passing off work as their own is] common because in this field of work, it’s like a lion cage. You need to fight your way up. Literally. No matter who gets hurt."...

Sometimes people forget that they work with people, for people," Cristina concluded. "It doesn’t always have to be a competition. We can work together to grow. We don’t need to steal from each other. We can learn from each other and be better — create a better [workspace]...where everyone is supported and appreciated. But sometimes, I feel like that’s just a dream.""

Serving on a Nonprofit Board: Basics and Ethical Responsibilities; PBI, April 6, 2022

 PBI; Serving on a Nonprofit Board: Basics and Ethical Responsibilities

Wednesday, April 6, 2022, Live Webcast

3 substantive CLE credits | 1:30 pm to 4:45 pm

"Thinking of serving on a nonprofit board? We’ve got you covered.

Many attorneys get the chance to join a nonprofit board. This can be a very rewarding experience to improve your skills and make valuable connections while helping a cause that is meaningful to you. This CLE will explore the role of the Board of Directors and the laws governing nonprofits. You will get training on the basics of nonprofit board service, including charitable issues raised under state and federal laws for current board members.

Explore the nuts and bolts of serving on a nonprofit board

Some topics covered will include:

• Proper due diligence: what questions to ask and documents to request before joining
• Understanding your role as a board member
• Board member fiduciary duties
• Board member limited liability, D&O insurance, and indemnification
• The basics of nonprofit financial information
• Ethics of serving on a nonprofit board
• And more!"

U.S. Copyright Office Joins Message on International Women’s Day 2022; U.S. Copyright Office, Issue No. 948, March 8, 2022

U.S. Copyright Office, Issue No. 948 ; U.S. Copyright Office Joins Message on International Women’s Day 2022

"The U.S. Copyright Office has joined with national and regional intellectual property offices from around the world as well as with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to issue a message in support of women creators and innovators. This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is “Gender Equality for a Sustainable Tomorrow.”"

Holocaust Denial Materials and Other Fascist Content Removed from Library Ebook Platforms; Library Journal, March 7, 2022

 Matt Enis , Library Journal; Holocaust Denial Materials and Other Fascist Content Removed from Library Ebook Platforms

"In February, collection development librarians from U.S. public libraries pointed out on listservs and social media that several fascist ebooks—including ebooks that deny the Holocaust, a sympathetic biography of Hitler, and a new English translation of a title written by Nazi officer—were available for patrons to download on hoopla and were surfacing in searches alongside other nonfiction content. One of the titles was also available for libraries to license via OverDrive Marketplace. On February 22, the Library Freedom Project (LFP) and Library Futures (LF) released a joint statement demanding “full accountability for how these materials were selected for inclusion on the platforms and more transparency in the companies’ material selection processes going forward” along with a form letter template for concerned librarians to email the leaders of both companies...

Citing the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s collection of antisemitic content as an example, Potash argued that there are legitimate uses for this content, such as the study of propaganda or the history of the Holocaust. He emphasized that context-free antisemitic or Holocaust denial ebooks surfacing in a library’s popular history collection was highly unlikely to happen on OverDrive’s patron-facing platform.

“We are strong advocates of freedom of speech and First Amendment rights, and we also believe in trusting librarians,” Potash said. “So, every aspect of what gets added or discovered in a patron-facing site is because a librarian made that judgement call or selected the title.”...

Macrina contends that the current climate makes the removal of fascist propaganda even more important. “My view of free speech has an analysis of power in it,” she said. “Who is really at risk of being silenced? Who is really under threat for their speech? [Currently] it’s queer people, it’s Black people, it’s people of color in general…. Trans children right now have just become criminalized in Texas. So, the context of the book bannings that we’re seeing are part of a bigger issue that we are facing as a society that is challenging the very humanity of some of the most marginalized people…. Nazis went after those people. Nazis burned books.”"

ALA Announces $7 Million in Grants to Support Accessibility; American Libraries, March 3, 2022

 American Libraries; ALA Announces $7 Million in Grants to Support Accessibility

"On March 3, the American Library Association announced that its Libraries Transforming Communities initiative will be distributing $7 million in grants to support accessibility efforts at small and rural libraries. The statement reads as follows:

The American Library Association (ALA) announced today that its Libraries Transforming Communities project will offer more than $7 million in grants to small and rural libraries to increase the accessibility of facilities, services, and programs to better serve people with disabilities.

“[The] Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities [grant] represents an important next step in ALA’s commitment to serving small and rural libraries as well as emphasizing the essential connection between accessibility and our work in spreading the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI),” said ALA President Patricia “Patty” M. Wong. “Made possible by a generous grant, this project will also allow ALA to strengthen our staff by providing accessibility training and other professional development around EDI issues. We are also grateful for the opportunity to bring on ALA’s first accessibility officer to oversee our work on this important core value.”"

Opinion: Genomics’ Ethical Gray Areas Are Harming the Developing World; Undark, February 24, 2022

DYNA ROCHMYANINGSIH, Undark; Opinion: Genomics’ Ethical Gray Areas Are Harming the Developing World

"Various ethics guidelines on health-related research — including UNESCO’s International Declaration on Human Genetic Data and international ethical guidelines published by the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences, or CIOMS, in collaboration with the World Health Organization — advise researchers to seek approval from an ethics committee in the host country. Such reviews are critical, bioethicists say, because cultural and social considerations of research ethics might vary between countries. In low-resource countries especially, ethics reviews are essential to protect the interests of participants and ensure that data are used in ways that benefit local communities.

Nowhere in Larena and Jakobsson’s paper, or in any of the subsequent publications based on the Philippines study, does the Uppsala team mention obtaining such an ethics approval in the Philippines — and Philippines officials say they never granted the team such an approval."

‘Shocking behaviour’: Russian gymnast shows ‘Z’ symbol on podium next to Ukrainian winner; the Guardian, March 6, 2022

Agencies, The Guardian; ‘Shocking behaviour’: Russian gymnast shows ‘Z’ symbol on podium next to Ukrainian winner

"“The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) confirms that it will ask the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation to open disciplinary proceedings against Ivan Kuliak following his shocking behaviour at the Apparatus World Cup in Doha, Qatar,” a statement from the ruling body said."

ResearchGate dealt a blow in copyright lawsuit; Nature, March 4, 2022

Diana Kwon, Nature; ResearchGate dealt a blow in copyright lawsuit

"A landmark court case in which two major academic publishers sued the popular website ResearchGate for hosting 50 of their copyrighted papers has come to a close — although both sides say that they will appeal. The court in Munich, Germany, has not only prohibited ResearchGate from hosting the papers, but also ruled that it is responsible for copyright-infringing content uploaded on its platform. The decision has the potential to set a precedent for further restrictions on the site, which has 20 million users worldwide." 

George Orwell Quotes: "War is peace." 1984

Good Reads; George Orwell Quotes

“War is peace. 

Freedom is slavery. 

Ignorance is strength.”

― George Orwell, 1984"

Russia Takes Censorship to New Extremes, Stifling War Coverage; The New York Times, March 4, 2022

Anton Troianovski, The New York Times; Russia Takes Censorship to New Extremes, Stifling War Coverage

"Mr. Putin signed a law that effectively criminalizes any public opposition to or independent news reporting about the war against Ukraine. Taking effect as soon as Saturday, the law could make it a crime to simply call the war a “war” — the Kremlin says it is a “special military operation” — on social media or in a news article or broadcast."

‘Good Place’ creator Michael Schur asks: How can we live a more ethical life?; The Washington Post, March 4, 2022

Michael Schur , The Washington Post; ‘Good Place’ creator Michael Schur asks: How can we live a more ethical life?

"For every conscientious citizen, there’s a whole bunch of cheaters and liars and Wolf of Wall Street maniacs who see ethical rules as annoying obstacles to getting whatever they want — not, you know, once a month, but literally all the time. Perhaps we can break down this whole confusing morass into four simple questions that we can ask ourselves whenever we encounter any ethical dilemma, great or small:

What are we doing? Why are we doing it? Is there something we could do that’s better? Why is it better?...

“Trying to do the right thing” means we are bound to fail. Even making our best efforts to be good people, we’re gonna screw up. Constantly. We’ll make a decision we think is right and good, only to find out it was wrong and bad. We’ll do something we don’t think will affect anyone, only to find out it sure as hell did, and man are we in trouble. We will hurt our friends’ feelings, harm the environment, support evil companies, accidentally help an elderly Nazi cross the street. We will fail, and then fail again, and again, and again. On this test, which we take daily whether we want to or not, failure is guaranteed — in fact, even getting like a C-plus often seems hopelessly out of reach. All of which can make caring about what we do seem pointless.

But that failure means more, and has more potential value, if we do care. Because if we care about doing the right thing, we will also want to figure out why we failed, which will give us a better chance to succeed in the future. Failure hurts, and it’s embarrassing, but it’s also how we learn stuff — it’s called “trial and error,” not “one perfect trial and we nail it and then we’re done.” Plus, come on — the alternative to caring about our ethical lives is really no alternative at all. We’re supposed to just ignore all questions about our behavior? Phone it in, morally speaking? I can’t believe that’s the right move. If we care about anything in this life, we ought to care about whether what we’re doing is good or bad."

40 Best Maya Angelou Quotes to Live By; Good Housekeeping, February 23, 2022

 KARLA POPE, Good Housekeeping; 40 Best Maya Angelou Quotes to Live By

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."

The Manhattan Project Shows Scientists’ Moral and Ethical Responsibilities; Scientific American, March 2, 2022

George Iskander,  Scientific American; The Manhattan Project Shows Scientists’ Moral and Ethical Responsibilities

"Collective action has power, but it starts with the individual."

Yik Yak has returned — and so have reports of cyberbullying, students say; The Record by Recorded Future, February 18, 2022

Emma Vail , The Record by Recorded Future; Yik Yak has returned — and so have reports of cyberbullying, students say

"Yik Yak, an anonymous social media app that was shuttered in 2017 after coming under fire for facilitating cyberbullying, was resurrected last year with an emphasis on new protective measures including anti-bullying guardrails. But students and watchdog groups are already reporting instances of abuse, and say that the new safeguards aren’t enough to stop people from using the app for cyberbullying. 

The app’s targeted consumers are college and high school students, allowing users to post or ‘Yak’ anonymously to others within a 5-mile radius. First launched in 2013 by Furman University students Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington, the app experienced a rollercoaster of initial success followed by sharp criticism that would lead to its demise in 2017. 

Advertised to be a safer and welcoming space, the app relaunched in August of 2021. New measures were put in place to ensure user safety including a downvote system. Posts that get 5 downvotes by other users are immediately removed from the platform. Yik Yak has implemented a one-strike-and-you’re-out policy that will ban the user from the app if the “violation is serious,” as stated on the website."

A Broad Look at Broadband; American Libraries, March 1, 2022

American Libraries ; A Broad Look at Broadband

What high-speed internet access and affordability look like around the country

"Why Access Is Important. During the pandemic, technology has been a lifeline: 9 in 10 Americans said the internet has been essential or important to them over the past two years. But for those who lack digital access, inequality has widened. Without the internet, people are more likely to miss out on the ability to work, find a job, bank, participate in telemedicine, and do schoolwork, not to mention maintain social connections with friends and family. Affordability and availability are key factors for why people lack access."

Statements of Solidarity with Colleagues in Ukraine by Archive, Library, and Other Organizations; Info Docket, Library Journal, February 27, 2022

 Gary Price, Info Docket, Library Journal; Statements of Solidarity with Colleagues in Ukraine by Archive, Library, and Other Organizations

"Statements of Solidarity and Support (Latest Entries in Bold)

• American Historical Association: Historians Condemn Russian Invasion of Ukraine (February 2022)
• AUPresses: On Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
• 15 Member Societies (ACLS) Sign On to American Historical Association Statement Condemning Russian Invasion of Ukraine
• American Library Association (ALA) Stands with Ukrainian Library Community
• Association Research Libraries (ARL) Statement on Ukraine
• Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Statement on the Situation in Ukraine
• Canada: On Behalf of the Ex Libris Association: Statement of Solidarity With Our Professional Colleagues in the Ukraine
• Canadian Library Community Expresses Support for Ukraine (via CFLA)
• Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) Statement on Ukraine
• Danish Library Association: Libraries Can Help Ukraine in the Fight for Truth
• Committee on Data of the International Science Council (CODATA) Statement on the War in Ukraine
• Digital Preservation Coalition Statment (DPC) on the Invasion of Ukraine, February 2022
• Elsevier Condemns Russian Invasion of Ukraine
• European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA) Statement on Ukraine
• Federation of European Publishers (FEP) Condemns Russia’s Attack on Ukraine
• International Association for the Humanities (MAG) Statement on the Russian Invasion (via ACLS)
• International Council on Archives (ICA): Solidarity with Ukrainian Archives and Records Professionals
• International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Statement on Ukraine
• International Council on Museums (ICOM) Statement Concerning the Russian Invasion Into Ukraine
• International Publishers Association (IPA) Response to Ukrainian Publishers and Booksellers Association
• International Science Council (ISC) Statement on Ukraine
• Joint Statement by the National Academies of the G7 States on Russia’s Attack on Ukraine
• Library Association of Latvia Statement to Ukrainian Librarians and Citizens
• Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) Statement of Support for Ukraine
• NASEM: ‘We Stand With Our Colleagues in Ukraine,’ Say U.S. National Academies Presidents
• OCLC Stands in Solidarity With Ukraine
• ORCID: A Special Message About Ukraine
• PEN Statement on Ukraine (PEN America)
• Society of American Archivists (SAA): Solidarity with Ukrainian Archives and Archivists
• Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) Statement of Solidarity With Library Professionals in Ukraine
• SPARC Europe: Ukraine, We Stand With You
• Springer Nature Condemns Russian Invasion
• Taylor & Francis Statement on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
• UK Community of Librarians, Archivists and Information Professionals Issue Statement of Solidarity and Support with Ukrainian Colleagues (via CILIP)
• UMass Libraries Stand with Ukraine
• Wikimedia Foundation Calls for Continued Access to Free and Open Knowledge as Ukraine Crisis Continues
• The Wiener Holocaust Library’s Statement on Ukraine)"

KC-area library leader quits after trustees rejected diversity, condemned LGBT program; kansascity.com via NewsBreak, February 27, 2022

kansascity.com via NewsBreak; KC-area library leader quits after trustees rejected diversity, condemned LGBT program

"Steven Potter, director of the Mid-Continent Public Library in Independence, Missouri, is resigning after more than a decade at the helm, and a wrong-way shift to the hard right in library board ideology has something to do with it."

BBC, CNN and other global news outlets suspend reporting in Russia; The Guardian, March 4, 2022

Harriet Sherwood, Dan Milmo and agencies, The Guardian; BBC, CNN and other global news outlets suspend reporting in Russia

"The new law, passed on Friday, makes intentionally spreading “fake” or “false” news about the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine a criminal offence. President Valdimir Putin approved the new law on Friday evening, according to the Tass state news agency.

It came after the Kremlin accused the BBC of playing a “determined role in undermining the Russian stability and security”.

Davie said: “This legislation appears to criminalise the process of independent journalism. It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development.

“Our BBC News service in Russian will continue to operate from outside Russia.

“The safety of our staff is paramount and we are not prepared to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution simply for doing their jobs. I’d like to pay tribute to all of them, for their bravery, determination and professionalism.

“We remain committed to making accurate, independent information available to audiences around the world, including the millions of Russians who use our news services. Our journalists in Ukraine and around the world will continue to report on the invasion of Ukraine.”"

Ronn Torossian Admits To "Ethical Lapses" Amid News Site Controversy; PRovokeMedia, February 23, 2022

Diana Marszalek, PRovokeMedia ; Ronn Torossian Admits To "Ethical Lapses" Amid News Site Controversy

"After finally admitting to owning Everything-PR, 5WPR founder and CEO Ronn Torossian apologized for his lack of transparency on the issue, acknowledging making “missteps including ethical lapses and errors in judgment” during the 20-year history of his firm...

Torossian’s apology comes following Crain’s New York Business’s report last week that he does indeed own Everything-PR, despite years of denial, and used the site to boost his own firm while slamming other agencies...

“In addition to being a cowardly and blatant violation of PRSA's Code of Ethics, Ronn’s actions are a stain on our profession and undermine our role as guardians of facts and integrity for those we serve. We strongly condemn his and his firm’s direct role in perpetrating disinformation while pretending to be a legitimate industry news site," said PRSA-NY's board said in a statement."

David Boggs, Co-Inventor of Ethernet, Dies at 71; The New York Times, February 28, 2022

Cade Metz, The New York Times; David Boggs, Co-Inventor of Ethernet, Dies at 71

Thanks to the invention he helped create in the 1970s, people can send email over an office network or visit a website through a coffee shop hot spot.

"David Boggs, an electrical engineer and computer scientist who helped create Ethernet, the computer networking technology that connects PCs to printers, other devices and the internet in offices and homes, died on Feb. 19 in Palo Alto, Calif...

Before becoming the dominant networking protocol, Ethernet was challenged by several other technologies. In the early 1980s, Mr. Metcalfe said, when Mr. Boggs took the stage at a California computing conference, at the San Jose Convention Center, to discuss the future of networking, a rival technologist questioned the mathematical theory behind Ethernet, telling Mr. Boggs that it would never work with large numbers of machines.

His response was unequivocal. “Seems Ethernet does not work in theory,” he said, “only in practice.”"

ALA Stands with Ukrainian Library Community; American Libraries, March 1, 2022

 American Libraries; ALA Stands with Ukrainian Library Community

"On March 1, the American Library Association (ALA) released a statement in support of the Ukrainian library community. The full statement reads as follows:

ALA and its divisions support our Ukrainian colleagues and will work with the global library community to answer the appeal from the Ukrainian Library Association to provide accurate information as a means to support democracy and freedom of expression.

ALA has adopted into its policies Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.”

ALA continues to encourage our members to help raise public consciousness regarding the many ways in which disinformation and media manipulation are used to mislead public opinion in all spheres of life, and further encourages librarians to facilitate this awareness with collection development, library programming, and public outreach that draws the public’s attention to those alternative sources of information dedicated to countering and revealing the disinformation.

American Library Association Executive Board

American Association of School Librarians Board of Directors

Association for Library Service to Children Board of Directors

Association of College and Research Libraries Board of Directors

Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures Board of Directors

Public Library Association Board of Directors

Reference and User Services Association Board of Directors

Young Adult Library Services Association Board of Directors

United for Libraries Board of Directors"

A New Code for Ethical Collecting Calls on the Art Market to Do Better by Transparently Working with Dealers; ART News, March 1, 2022

Tessa Solomon , ART News; A New Code for Ethical Collecting Calls on the Art Market to Do Better by Transparently Working with Dealers

"In 2020, Pepe gathered a group of like-minded collectors from around the world—Pedro Barbosa, Iordanis Kerenidis, Andre Zivanari, Sandra Terdjman, Haro Cumbusyan, and Jessica and Evrim Oralkan—to form a think tank dedicated to tackling the problem. The collective, working with an advisory team of 15 curators and artists, spent over a year drafting a set of principles and standards using “the language of professionals,” or what other industries use as a means of heading off power imbalances, according to Pepe. The draft is a living document, continually open to edits and additions as deeper dimensions of the issue reveal themselves.

Last week, the collective released the text of their efforts at the ARCO Madrid art fair. Titled Code of Conduct for Contemporary Art Collectors, the 11-page manual provides a template for collectors of all levels for ethically acquiring, exhibiting, and donating art, which was also reviewed by the group’s advisory team.

The code includes how to interact with dealers responsibly and transparently, how to support institutions and serve on their governing boards, and how to build and maintain collections. Each bullet point is broken down into several subcategories—the section on dealing with dealers, for example, covers “holding dealers accountable to pay artist[s] promptly,” and “not requesting artworks below fair market price,” such as asking for a discount...

This isn’t the first of ethical guideline introduced for the art world, though it is the most comprehensive. Previous attempts include the Basel Art Trade Guidelines, published by the Basel Institute on Governance, and the American Alliance of Museums’s Code of Ethics for Museums, but enforcement of either is uneven and the scope of their concerns is significantly narrower...

The group plans to update the code yearly, adding new concerns as they arise and other recommendations crowdsourced from a survey on the website. Oralkan added, “It’s a good thing—living documents shouldn’t have an end.”"

Kandinsky Painting Returned to Jewish Heirs by Amsterdam Museum; The New York Times, February 28, 2022

Colin Moynihan, The New York Times; Kandinsky Painting Returned to Jewish Heirs by Amsterdam Museum

Dutch officials, citing their “moral duty,” gave over the work which had been held by the Stedelijk Museum since 1940.

"“As a city, we bear a great responsibility for dealing with the indescribable suffering and injustice inflicted on the Jewish population in the Second World War,” Touria Meliani, a deputy mayor, said in the statement. “To the extent that anything can be restored, we as a society have a moral duty to act accordingly.”

The issue of whether to return the work had become part of a broader debate over how Dutch authorities should evaluate restitution requests."

The Battle for the Soul of the Library; The New York Times, February 24, 2022

Stanley Kurtz, The New York Times; The Battle for the Soul of the Library

"Ultimately, librarians who work to balance a library’s holdings will be far more persuasive advocates for intellectual freedom than those with a political ax to grind.

There is a lesson here for the professions upon whose trustworthy refereeing our society depends for its stability: judges, government bureaucrats, journalists and more. These occupations should work to recapture lost neutrality. As our political conflicts deepen, we need our traditionally fair and impartial referees far more, not less, than before." 

How to protect the first ‘CRISPR babies’ prompts ethical debate; Nature, February 25, 2022

Smriti Mallapaty, Nature; How to protect the first ‘CRISPR babies’ prompts ethical debate

"Two prominent bioethicists in China are calling on the government to set up a research centre dedicated to ensuring the well-being of the first children born with edited genomes. Scientists have welcomed the discussion, but many are concerned that the pair’s approach would lead to unnecessary surveillance of the children.

The proposal comes ahead of the possibly imminent release from prison of He Jiankui, the researcher who in 2018 shocked the world by announcing that he had created babies with altered genomes. He’s actions were widely condemned by scientists around the world, who called for a global moratorium on editing embryos destined for implantation. Several ethics committees have since concluded that the technology should not be used to make changes that can be passed on."