Ominous rhetoric gains grounds in Russia as its forces founder in Ukraine; The Washington Post, April 13, 2022

Robyn Dixon, The Washington Post; Ominous rhetoric gains grounds in Russia as its forces founder in Ukraine

"In late March, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a probe into whether Ukrainian students’ textbooks “target children with hatred of Russia and the Russian language” and “distort history.” There already is evidence, Finkel noted, of Russian soldiers in Ukraine going through libraries and schools and destroying books in Ukrainian or those about the country’s history and struggle for independence.

“I think there is a clear indication that [the Russians] are targeting quite deliberately everything and everyone that is associated with Ukrainians as a national identity,” he said."

Top prize in Bioethics Cartooning Contest considers substance and style in publishing; Morgridge Institute for Research, April 11, 2022

Mariel Mohns , Morgridge Institute for Research ; Top prize in Bioethics Cartooning Contest considers substance and style in publishing

"Five prizes were awarded in the fifth annual Morgridge Institute for Research Ethics Cartooning Competition, which invites participants to make a cartoon on any ethical issue related to biomedical research.

This year’s competition drew 61 entrants from 41 different departments and programs at UW-Madison and affiliated research institutions.

A panel of judges applied the following criteria to the competition: depiction and analysis of a research ethics issue, humor, and artistry. A popular vote by the public also contributed to the results. The following winners were selected:

• First Prize: Logan Keding, School of Medicine and Public Health, Endocrinology and Reproductive Physiology Program
• Second Prize: William Mayner, School of Medicine and Public Health, Neuroscience Training Program
• Third Prize: Natalie Schudrowitz, School of Medicine and Public Health
• Honorable Mentions: Sydney Hoel, School of Medicine and Public Health, Infectious Disease; Mikaela Seemann, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Biochemistry
• Logan Keding, a graduate student in the Ted Golos Laboratory at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at UW-Madison, took the top prize.

Keding works with rhesus macaques as a non-human primate model, and hopes to better understand fetal growth restriction during pregnancy.

“I love illustrating and frequently create figures for Golos Lab publications,” Keding says. “I have no formal training, but I have always loved creating all types of art.”

His winning cartoon addresses the balance of substance and style that researchers must often consider when publishing their researching findings.

“If your research is great and sexy, you are more likely to successfully publish in a high impact journal,” he explains. “Creating relevant, engaging, visually pleasing work is not necessarily a bad thing—but it does create an accessory incentive, outside the quality of the work at hand, for scientists to consider when pursuing research or publication.”

As a first-year PhD candidate, Keding says his laboratory colleagues are invaluable in shaping his perspective on research and ethics.

“I often turn to more senior graduate students, colleagues, or mentors to discuss questions I have about research philosophy or bioethical issues,” he says. “I often get good, candid feedback this way.”

The Morgridge Ethics Cartooning Competition, developed by Morgridge Bioethics Scholar in Residence Pilar Ossorio, encourages scientists to shed light on timely or recurring issues that arise in scientific research.

“I love seeing when our artists get to talk to others about ethical issues and what their intentions were, and the experience of making their cartoons,” says Ossorio. “I think it’s another way for them to have an impact on the world and to bring their scientific knowledge to the broader public. It’s been really great.”

The top five winning cartoons are depicted below. Ossorio’s team thanks all the contest entrants for their creative works that addressed important ethical issues in biomedical research."

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.”"

AI.Humanity Ethics Lecture Series will explore the ethics of artificial intelligence; Emory University, Emory News Center, April 5, 2022

Emory University, Emory News Center; AI.Humanity Ethics Lecture Series will explore the ethics of artificial intelligence

"As society increasingly relies on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, how can ethically committed individuals and institutions articulate values to guide their development and respond to emerging problems? Join the Office of the Provost to explore the ethical implications of AI in a new AI.Humanity Ethics Lecture Series.

Over four weeks in April and May, world-renowned AI scholars will visit Emory to discuss the moral and social complexities of AI and how it may be shaped for the benefit of humanity. A reception will follow each lecture.

Matthias Scheutz: “Moral Robots? How to Make AI Agents Fit for Human Societies” 

Monday, April 11

Lecture at 4 p.m., reception at 5:30 p.m.

Convocation Hall — Community Room (210)

Register here.

AI is different from other technologies in that it enables and creates machines that can perceive the world and act on it autonomously. We are on the verge of creating sentient machines that could significantly improve our lives and better human societies. Yet AI also poses dangers that are ours to mitigate. In this presentation, Scheutz will argue that AI-enabled systems — in particular, autonomous robots — must have moral competence: they need to be aware of human social and moral norms, be able to follow these norms and justify their decisions in ways that humans understand. Throughout the presentation, Scheutz will give examples from his work on AI robots and human-robot interaction to demonstrate a vision for ethical autonomous robots...

Seth Lazar: “The Nature and Justification of Algorithmic Power” 

Monday, April 18

Lecture at 4 p.m., reception at 5:30 p.m.

Convocation Hall — Community Room (210)

Register here.

Algorithms increasingly mediate and govern our social relations. In doing so, they exercise a distinct kind of intermediary power: they exercise power over us; they shape power relations between us; and they shape our overarching social structures. Sometimes, when new forms of power emerge, our task is simply to eliminate them. However, algorithmic intermediaries can enable new kinds of human flourishing and could advance social structures that are otherwise resistant to progress. Our task, then, is to understand and diagnose algorithmic power and determine whether and how it can be justified. In this lecture, Lazar will propose a framework to guide our efforts, with particular attention to the conditions under which private algorithmic power either can, or must not, be tolerated.

Ifeoma Ajunwa: “The Unrealized Promise of Artificial Intelligence” 

Thursday, April 28

Lecture at 4 p.m., reception at 5:30 p.m.

Oxford Road Building — Presentation Room and Living Room/Patio

Register here.

AI was forecast to revolutionize the world for the better. Yet this promise is still unrealized. Instead, there is a growing mountain of evidence that automated decision making is not revolutionary; rather, it has tended to replicate the status quo, including the biases embedded in our societal systems. The question, then, is what can be done? The answer is twofold: One part looks to what can be done to prevent the reality of automated decision making both enabling and obscuring human bias. The second looks toward proactive measures that could allow AI to work for the greater good...

Carissa Véliz: “On Privacy and Self-Presentation Online” 

Thursday, May 5

Lecture at 4 p.m. 

Online via Zoom 

A long tradition in philosophy and sociology considers self-presentation as the main reason why privacy is valuable, often equating control over self-presentation and privacy. Véliz argues that, even though control over self-presentation and privacy are tightly connected, they are not the same — and overvaluing self-presentation leads us to misunderstand the threat to privacy online. Véliz argues that to combat some of the negative trends we witness online, we need, on the one hand, to cultivate a culture of privacy, in contrast to a culture of exposure (for example, the pressure on social media to be on display at all times). On the other hand, we need to readjust how we understand self-presentation  online."

Meet the 1,300 librarians racing to back up Ukraine’s digital archives; The Washington Post, April 8, 2022

Pranshu Verma, The Washington Post; Meet the 1,300 librarians racing to back up Ukraine’s digital archives

"Buildings, bridges, and monuments aren’t the only cultural landmarks vulnerable to war. With the violence well into its second month, the country’s digital history — its poems, archives, and pictures — are at risk of being erased as cyberattacks and bombs erode the nation’s servers.

Over the past month, a motley group of more than 1,300 librarians, historians, teachers and young children have banded together to save Ukraine’s Internet archives, using technology to back up everything from census data to children’s poems and Ukrainian basket weaving techniques.

The efforts, dubbed Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online, have resulted in over 2,500 of the country’s museums, libraries, and archives being preserved on servers they’ve rented, eliminating the risk they’ll be lost forever. Now, an all-volunteer effort has become a lifeline for cultural officials in Ukraine, who are working with the group to digitize their collections in the event their facilities get destroyed in the war.""

Eight studies by former Harvard, BIDMC researcher retracted over ethics review; Boston Globe, April 3, 2022

Jessica Bartlett, Boston Globe ; Eight studies by former Harvard, BIDMC researcher retracted over ethics review

"A former Harvard professor and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center doctor has had eight research studies or abstracts retracted by three different medical journals for problems with critical oversight approvals for the research."

NASA Administrator and Panel of 7 Astronauts Talk Leadership and Ethics; University of Central Florida, April 1, 2022

Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, University of Central Florida ; NASA Administrator and Panel of 7 Astronauts Talk Leadership and Ethics

"It will take more than astronauts, engineers, and scientist to live in space. It will take clothes designers, food managers, communicators, artists, and a lot more.

That was one of the messages NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and several fellow former astronauts delivered Friday during a 90-minute presentation about leadership and ethics at the Plaza Live near downtown Orlando.

About 50 students from the University of Central Florida joined others from Bethune-Cookman, UF, USF and several local high schools for the free panel discussion, which was part of the Nelson Initiative on Ethics and Leadership based at the University of Florida. Nelson, a former U.S. Senator who flew on a space shuttle mission in 1986, moderated the discussion. The speakers included:

• Charlie Bowden, pilot, and former NASA Administrator
• Robert Lee “Hoot” Gibson, who flew with Nelson and served as chief of the Astronaut Office from 1992 to 1994
• Rhea Seddon, retired astronaut and a surgeon
• George Pinky Nelson, who is also a physicist and astronomer
• Brewster Shaw, retired astronaut and former Boeing executive
• Jim Weatherbee, retired U.S. Navy officer and former test pilot and aerospace engineer

The speakers talked about what it takes to be a leader, the courage needed to do the right thing and the many challenges they faced. For example, Bowden who is African American, couldn’t get any of his state representatives to appoint him to the Naval Academy. He eventually became an astronaut. Gibson first became a surgeon because the astronaut program was closed to women until the late 70s. She was among the first six women to join the NASA corp.

“Don’t listen to people who say you can’t do something,” Bolden said at the event. “You will always find people who don’t like you for one reason or another. Don’t waste your time explaining why you are there. Just do your job.”

Bolden also said people need to think about space in broader terms, as in STEAM, not just STEM.

“Of all the 18,000 people at NASA a very, very small percentage are engineers, scientists and payload specialists,” he said. “It takes everyone in a lot of different roles.”

All the astronauts encouraged students to pursue their passion and to be leaders in their own lives.

Weatherbee said the best leaders in extreme industries share three traits, which can be adopted into any field. These leaders have an intense commitment to a mission. They care about their people as people, not for what they can give the mission, but because you are interested in their individual success. And lastly, leaders are highly competent in their technical field and know how to communicate."

Supreme Court Might Get a Code of Ethics Thanks to Clarence Thomas; Newsweek, March 31, 2022

 ALEXANDRA HUTZLER , Newsweek; Supreme Court Might Get a Code of Ethics Thanks to Clarence Thomas

"Supreme Court justices are the only judges in the United States not forced to abide by a formal ethics code, but that could change as a result of the controversy surrounding Clarence Thomas.

The 74-year-old senior justice is facing calls to recuse himself from cases related to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol after text messages revealed that his wife, Virginia Thomas, expressed support for efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election."

House Ethics Committee struggles to crack down on bad behavior; The Washington Post, April 2, 2022

 Paul Kane, The Washington Post; House Ethics Committee struggles to crack down on bad behavior

"Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) can cite almost verbatim the first rule of congressional conduct.

“Members shall behave at all times in a manner that reflects creditably upon the House,” he said, unprompted, during a Wednesday interview, forgetting just one extra “shall” in the opening clause of the House’s Code of Official Conduct.

As chairman of the House Ethics Committee, Deutch would like to see a bit more vigorous policing of behavior that doesn’t break specific rules but clearly brings discredit to the institution...

Deutch thinks there is room for the ethics panel to take up issues like this, if both sides are willing to just take the first clause of the rule book seriously.

“If members are doing things that are abhorrent, then it should certainly trigger a conversation about clause one,” Deutch said. “Again, the broadest interpretation of that rule is what is required.”"

She Took the White House Photos. Trump Moved to Take the Profit.; The New York Times, March 31, 2022

 Eric Lipton and Maggie Haberman , The New York Times; She Took the White House Photos. Trump Moved to Take the Profit.

"There is no legal prohibition on Mr. Trump assembling and publishing photographs that a White House staff member took during his tenure; under federal law, those photographs are considered in the public domain and not subject to copyright. There is a public Flickr account, now managed by the National Archives, that has 14,995 photos from the Trump White House, a third of them listing Ms. Craighead as the photographer."

Open source intelligence observers gain growing role in how war is viewed; Stars and Stripes, March 29, 2022

 ALISON BATH, Stars and Stripes ; Open source intelligence observers gain growing role in how war is viewed

"Citizen intelligence analysts are spotlighting the Russian navy’s role in its war on Ukraine, using publicly available information to report on missile launches, blockades and other actions in the Black and Mediterranean seas.

The information gathered using open-source intelligence, or OSINT, offers a glimpse into Russia’s maritime war activities and sometimes challenges information released by government sources.

Dozens of private citizens are parlaying their prior military experience, specialized knowledge of the Russian navy and online information-mining skills into robust, almost-real-time coverage of Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began Feb. 24."

Self-driving semis may revolutionize trucking while eliminating hundreds of thousands of jobs.; The Hill, March 23, 2022

 Joseph Guzman , The Hill; Self-driving semis may revolutionize trucking while eliminating hundreds of thousands of jobs.

"Aniruddh Mohan, a PhD candidate in the department of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University and co-author of the study, said widespread implementation will depend on how successful pilot programs in the Sun Belt are in the coming years, but warned any lapse in safety could slow down progress. 

“One thing to keep in mind, just as we saw with the passenger vehicle automation race, the moment you even have one accident, that could really set the industry back,” Mohan said. 

“So I think it remains to be seen how quickly this develops.”"

See ‘Spot’ Save: Robot Dogs Join the New York Fire Department; The New York Times, March 17, 2022

Chelsia Rose Marcius, The New York Times; See ‘Spot’ Save: Robot Dogs Join the New York Fire Department

Plans to use two new robot dogs only in precarious search and rescue missions may help avoid the controversy that met the Police Department’s robots last year. 

"“It’s like every piece of equipment we have,” he said. “We hope to never, ever have to use it. But when we need it, it’s important that we have the right thing.”"

New ALA Poll Shows Voters Oppose Book Bans; American Libraries, March 24, 2022

American Libraries; New ALA Poll Shows Voters Oppose Book Bans

"A new national poll commissioned by the American Library Association (ALA) released on March 24 shows that seven in 10 voters oppose removing books from public libraries, including majorities of voters across party lines. In addition, 74% of parents of public school children expressed confidence in school libraries and librarians to choose which books are available to children and said books that have been contested should be available on an age-appropriate basis.

The poll, conducted March 1–6, surveyed 1,000 voters and 472 parents of children in public schools. It is the first to view the issue of book bans through the lens of public and school libraries. The poll’s results demonstrate that voters have a high regard for librarians and recognize the critical role libraries play in their communities. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that book bans are far from being a partisan issue; they are opposed by large majorities of voters regardless of personal political affiliation.

“The survey results confirm what we have known and observed: that banning books is widely opposed by most voters and parents,” said ALA President Patricia “Patty” M. Wong in a March 24 statement. “As a career librarian who began in public libraries working with children, I’m thrilled to see that parents have a high degree of confidence in school libraries’ decisions about their collections and very few think that school librarians ignore parents’ concerns. This truly validates the value and integrity of library professionals at a time when many are feeling burned out because of accusations made by small but loud groups.”

More than 330 cases of book bans and challenges were reported to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) between September 1 and November 30, 2021. The total number of challenges in 2021 was more than double the number of reports from 2020 (156 challenges) and exceeded the overall number of challenges from 2019 (377 challenges).

OIF will announce the full 2021 book challenge totals and its annual Top 10 List of Most Challenged Books on April 4, during National Library Week (April 3–9). Additionally, the annual accounting of book censorship in the US will be released as part of ALA’s State of America’s Libraries 2022 report.

More data points from the poll:

• 71% of respondents oppose efforts to have books removed from their local public libraries, including majorities of Democrats (75%), independents (58%), and Republicans (70%)
• Most voters and parents are confident library workers can make good decisions about what books to include in collections and agree that libraries in their communities do a good job of offering books with broad and diverse viewpoints
• Voters across the political spectrum have a sense of the importance of public libraries (95% of Democrats, 78% of independents, 87% of Republicans) and school libraries (96% of Democrats, 85% of independents, 91% of Republicans)

The poll was conducted by Hart Research Associates and North Star Opinion Research on behalf of ALA. It included 1,000 voters and 472 parents of children in public schools. The sample is demographically and geographically representative of voters and parents in the US. Additional survey findings and methodology can be found on the ALA website.""

Even in the digital age, Only human-made works are copyrightable in the U.S.; March 21, 2022

K&L Gates LLP - Susan Kayser and Kristin Wells , Lexology; Even in the digital age, Only human-made works are copyrightable in the U.S. 

"The U.S. Copyright Office Review Board refused copyright protection of a two-dimensional artwork created by artificial intelligence, stating that “[c]urrently, ‘the Office will refuse to register a claim if it determines that a human being did not create the work,’” see recent letter. The Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices does not explicitly address AI, but precedent, policy, and practice makes human authorship currently a prerequisite.

A “Creativity Machine,” authored the work titled “A Recent Entrance into Paradise.” The applicant, Steven Thaler, an advocate for AI IP rights, named himself as the copyright claimant. Thaler’s application included a unique transfer statement: “ownership of the machine,” and further explained that the work “was autonomously created by a computer algorithm running on a machine.” Thaler sought to register the work as a work-for-hire because he owns the Creativity Machine.

AI’s “kill switch” at the U.S. Copyright Office? AI isn’t human. The Review Board relied on the Office’s compendium of practices and Supreme Court precedent dating back to 1879—long before computers were a concept—to hold that the U.S. Copyright Office will not register a claim if it determines that a human being did not create the work.

The Review Board also denied Thaler’s argument that the work made for hire doctrine allows non-human persons like companies to be authors of copyrighted material. The Board explained that works made for hire must be prepared by “an employee” or by “parties” who “expressly agree in a written instrument” that the work is for hire.

Because Thaler did not claim any human involvement in the work, the Board did not address under which circumstances human involvement in machine-created works might meet the statutory requirements for copyright protection. This is an issue that may soon arise."

Online Copyright Piracy Debate Ramps Up Over Proposed Legal Fix; Bloomberg Law, March 23, 2022

Riddhi Setty, Bloomberg Law; Online Copyright Piracy Debate Ramps Up Over Proposed Legal Fix

"Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Intellectual Property Subcommittee, recently proposed the SMART (Strengthening Measures to Advance Rights Technologies) Copyright Act of 2022, which aims to hold service providers accountable for fighting copyright theft... 

New Tools

The SMART Act proposes to create a new Section 514 of the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act, with a new set of technical measures, called Designated Technical Measures or DTMs, which would be automated tools for identifying and protecting copyrighted works online. 

The librarian of Congress would be responsible for designating DTMs. Failure to accommodate these technical measures would result in statutory damages for service providers, but wouldn’t threaten their safe harbor. The damages range from a minimum of $200 to $2.4 million per action of copyright holder, according to the draft law.

Tillis and Leahy said in a fact sheet that the bill would require the agency to hire a chief technology adviser and chief economist and that the office would start a public process to assess which existing technologies should be made standard for public use.

Free Speech

One of the primary concerns about the bill is how it might impact free speech if it becomes law. 

The SMART Act doesn’t provide technical details about how the filters would be set or what percentage of uploaded material would be required to be a match to an underlying copyrighted work to be flagged.

“Algorithms are designed to be over inclusive—when you’re designing them you want them to catch as much as possible and the problem is you can’t have a computer tell what is fair use and what is not,” said Rose. She anticipates that while the protective filters the Copyright Office would set up under this act would fix the problem for some, the collateral damage would be the free speech of possibly millions of internet users.

Joshua S. Lamel, executive director of a coalition of creators called Re:Create, said he didn’t think the Copyright Office could find the balance between taking down copyright infringing content and taking down content that is covered by fair use. “We as a society shouldn’t be violating privacy to that level and creating so much of a Big Brother-like situation in the name of policing for copyright infringement,” he said."

Opinion: Free speech doesn’t mean hecklers get to shut down campus debate; The Washington Post, March 24, 2022

  

Erwin Chemerinsky

 and 

Howard Gillman

 , The Washington Post

; Opinion: Free speech doesn’t mean hecklers get to shut down campus debate

"Freedom of speech does not include a right to shout down others so they cannot be heard...

It is profoundly disturbing that some students assert a right to determine what messages are acceptable on a campus and try to deprive others within the community of their right to invite or listen to speakers of their choice...

College campuses should be a place where all ideas and views can be expressed. A primary goal of higher education is to empower students to critically analyze ideas across a broad spectrum of disciplines. The strengths and weaknesses of ideas are determined not by conformity to any preexisting orthodoxy, but through the process of rational argument and evidence-based reasoning. This is how better ideas gain more legitimacy and worse ideas are exposed and rebutted.

It is especially problematic when the students attempting to silence other viewpoints are lawyers in training. How are legal professionals to argue cases if they are unwilling to hear from, and learn to respond to, the opposing side of current debates?

Although the goal of inclusivity is noble and imperative, silencing speech cannot be the way to achieve it."

E.U. Takes Aim at Big Tech’s Power With Landmark Digital Act; The New York Times, March 24, 2022

Adam Satariano, The New York Times ; E.U. Takes Aim at Big Tech’s Power With Landmark Digital Act

The European Union was expected to finalize the Digital Markets Act, the most sweeping legislation to regulate tech since a European privacy law was passed in 2018.

"Officials on Thursday were putting the finishing touches on the law, called the Digital Markets Act, which would be the most sweeping piece of digital policy since the bloc put the world’s toughest rules to protect people’s online data into effect in 2018. The legislation is aimed at stopping the largest tech platforms from using their interlocking services and considerable resources to box in users and squash emerging rivals, creating room for new entrants and fostering more competition.

What that means practically is that companies like Google could no longer collect data from different services to offer targeted ads without users’ consent and that Apple might have to allow alternatives to its App Store on iPhones and iPads. Violators of the law, which would most likely take effect early next year, could face significant fines.

The Digital Markets Act is part of a one-two punch by European regulators. As early as next month, the European Union is expected to reach an agreement on a law that would force social media companies such as Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, to police their platforms more aggressively."

Drones get blood to patients faster—and reduce waste; The University of British Columbia, March 21, 2022

The University of British Columbia; Drones get blood to patients faster—and reduce waste

"Prompt blood delivery can be lifesaving for people who need transfusions for emergencies such as postpartum hemorrhage, severe malaria, or traumatic injuries. However, only a few facilities in Rwanda are able to collect and store blood, posing a serious risk for people who don’t live near distribution centers...

In 2016, Rwanda became the first African country to integrate drone deliveries into its healthcare system. The project is a partnership between the Government of Rwanda and California-based robotics company Zipline Inc.

Currently, the program is focused mainly on blood deliveries. However, the project has started to expand the deliveries of vaccines and essential medicines for the treatment of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, malaria, and tuberculosis.

While most studies to this point have focused on feasibility, the new paper from Nisingizwe and her team is one of the first to measure actual outcomes. Next, the researchers want to determine whether drone delivery improves health outcomes and is ultimately cost-effective, and explore its potential for transporting other perishable health products and medicines.

“Drone technology has tremendous potential to improve access to care for people living in rural and remote areas, not just in Rwanda, but all around the world,” said Dr. Michael Law, a professor in UBC’s Centre for Health Services and Policy Research and senior author on the study.

Drone delivery is being explored as a potential healthcare solution in other countries, including in British Columbia, where a UBC-led study is exploring the feasibility of using drones to transport medical supplies between Stellat’en First Nation and the Village of Fraser Lake."

Panel: Drone warfare is increasingly sophisticated, deadly; Cornell Chronicle, March 17, 2022

 Jim Hanchett , Cornell Chronicle ; Panel: Drone warfare is increasingly sophisticated, deadly

"“We’re here to make sense of this evolving technology,” said panel moderator Sarah Kreps, the John L. Wetherill Professor of Government in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the faculty in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy.

While the U.S. has used drones for the targeted killing of terrorists, their use by other entities around the world is on the rise.

“Drones can aid, they can watch, and they can kill,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Paul Lushenko, a General Andrew Jackson Goodpaster Scholar at Cornell and a doctoral student in the field of international relations."

COMIC: How a computer scientist fights bias in algorithms; NPR, TED Radio Hour Comics, March 14, 2022

VRENI STOLLBERGER, LA Johnson, NPR, TED Radio Hour Comics ; COMIC: How a computer scientist fights bias in algorithms

The ex-Google researcher staring down Big Tech; Politico, March 18, 2022

BRAKKTON BOOKER , Politico; The ex-Google researcher staring down Big Tech

"THE RECAST:  President Biden ran on a platform promising to root out inequities in federal agencies and programs. Has his administration done enough to tackle the issue of discriminatory AI?

GEBRU: I'm glad to see that some initiatives have started. I like that the Office Of Science And Technology Policy (OSTP), for instance, is filled with people I respect, like Alondra Nelson, who is now its head.

My biggest comment on this is that a lot of tech companies — all tech companies — actually, don't have to do any sort of test to prove that they're not putting out harmful products...

The burden of proof always seems to be on us...The burden of proof should be on these tech companies."

Names on a list: Fleeing Mariupol, one checkpoint at a time; Associated Press, March 21, 2022

MSTYSLAV CHERNOV, Associated Press; Names on a list: Fleeing Mariupol, one checkpoint at a time

"The absence of information in a blockade accomplishes two goals.

Chaos is the first. People don’t know what’s going on, and they panic. At first I couldn’t understand why Mariupol fell apart so quickly. Now I know it was because of the lack of communication. 

Impunity is the second goal. With no information coming out of a city, no pictures of demolished buildings and dying children, the Russian forces could do whatever they wanted. If not for us, there would be nothing.

That’s why we took such risks to be able to send the world what we saw, and that’s what made Russia angry enough to hunt us down. 

I have never, ever felt that breaking the silence was so important."

Wake County Library Makes It Harder to Ban Books; IndyWeek, March 16, 2022

Jasmine Gallup, IndyWeek; Wake County Library Makes It Harder to Ban Books

"Wake County’s Community Services program manager Frank Cope replied that if a book was challenged on the grounds of “obscenity” or another First Amendment concern, the library would consult the county attorney’s office. Leaders plan to add a provision to the policy clarifying how and when a lawyer will be involved in book challenges.

The American Library Association advises that libraries have a lawyer on retainer to consult on legal issues, Caldwell-Stone says. But there are some potential snags in using the county attorney to fill that role.

“There’s a conflict of interest, especially when there are elected officials arguing a book should be pulled and you have the county attorney make a decision,” Caldwell-Stone says. “It should be independent legal counsel that doesn’t also represent the police department and the county government.”"

A professor found his exam questions posted online. He’s suing the students responsible for copyright infringement.; The Washington Post, March 16, 2022

Jaclyn Peiser, The Washington Post ; A professor found his exam questions posted online. He’s suing the students responsible for copyright infringement.

"Now, Berkovitz is suing the unknown students from the Orange, Calif., university for copyright infringement. In a lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the professor alleges the students “infringed Berkovitz’s exclusive right to reproduce, make copies, distribute, or create derivative works by publishing the Midterm Exam and Final Exam on the Course Hero website without Berkovitz’s permission.”"

U.S. News Ranked Columbia No. 2, but a Math Professor Has His Doubts; The New York Times, March 17, 2022

Anemona Hartocollis, The New York Times; U.S. News Ranked Columbia No. 2, but a Math Professor Has His Doubts

"The rankings have driven colleges to make relatively benign changes in culture, but there has also been some fraud, Mr. Diver said. “There’s been repeated evidence of not just gaming the system,” he said, but also “outright misrepresentation, outright lying.”

Last year, a former dean of Temple University’s business school was found guilty of using fraudulent data between 2014 and 2018 to improve the school’s national rankings and increase revenue. The school’s online M.B.A. program was ranked best in the country by U.S. News & World Report in the years that he falsified data.

Over the years, other schools like Iona College, Claremont McKenna College and Emory University have been found to have falsified or manipulated data."

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says US businesses should pull out of Russia, calls for more aid; USA Today, March 16, 2022

Joey GarrisonCelina TeborLedyard KingJohn BaconRick RouanMatthew Brown, USA Today; Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says US businesses should pull out of Russia, calls for more aid

""Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace," he Zelenskyy said in remarks livestreamed at the U.S. Capitol. He added, “I call on you to do more."

Violence against women in politics marks ‘moral and ethical failure’ - General Assembly President; United Nations News, March 15, 2022

United Nations News ; Violence against women in politics marks ‘moral and ethical failure’ - General Assembly President

As a former Parliamentarian, and a lifelong politician, violence against women in politics is an issue near to my heart. It is a moral and ethical failure on us as a society,” said the President of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, whose office organized the event on the sidelines of the Commission on the Status of Women. 

The event brought together Vice-Presidents, Government Ministers and senior officials from more than 20 UN Member States – some of whom spoke from personal experience about the barriers to running for office as a woman candidate."

The Ukrainian War and Ethical Leadership; Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, March 15, 2022

 Ann Skeet, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University; The Ukrainian War and Ethical Leadership

"Throughout these choices, the ethics of care are at play. Each leader is balancing the primary interests they serve and the commitments that have been made, on behalf of those interests, to alliances like NATO and the EU. It is a moment in history when relationships matter deeply.

Individuals are making personal choices centered on some of these same tradeoffs. How do I prioritize taking care of myself and my family versus meeting a collective call to protect my country? Ukrainian leaders helped make this choice, requiring men to stay and protect the country, permitting women to leave and care for children.

The global response to the plight of the Ukrainian people is grounded in commitment to fundamental human rights. Diplomats and NATO leaders are running a utilitarian calculus, pursuing diplomacy and defense simultaneously. Business leaders are prioritizing the common good over corporate short-term profits. As with Covid, the world is running a real time ethics simulation. Only it's real."

In the War Over Ukraine, Expect the Unexpected; The New York Times, March 15, 2022

Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times; In the War Over Ukraine, Expect the Unexpected

"I am always amazed by the courage that seemingly average people manifest in war — in this case, not only by Ukrainians, but also by Russians who refuse to buy Putin’s lies, knowing that he is turning them into a pariah nation. So I marvel at the breathtaking courage demonstrated on Monday evening by Marina Ovsyannikova, an employee at Russia’s Channel 1, a state-run television channel, who burst into a live broadcast of Russia’s most-watched news show, yelling, “Stop the war!” and holding up a sign behind the anchorwoman saying, “They’re lying to you here.” She was interrogated and, for the moment, released — probably because Putin feared making her into a martyr.

Marina Ovsyannikova — remember her name. She dared to tell the czar that he had no clothes. What courage.

And finally, wars also reveal extraordinary acts of kindness."

Fleeing Putin’s wartime crackdown, Russian journalists build media hubs in exile; The Washington Post, March 13, 2022

Steve Hendrix, The Washington Post ; Fleeing Putin’s wartime crackdown, Russian journalists build media hubs in exile

"Smirnov was also imprisoned for 25 days for retweeting a joke that offended the Kremlin."

Sandy Hook review: anatomy of an American tragedy – and the obscenity of social media; The Guardian, March 13, 2022

Charles Kaiser , The Guardian; Sandy Hook review: anatomy of an American tragedy – and the obscenity of social media

"Those recommendations are the result of the infernal algorithms which are at the heart of the business models of Facebook and YouTube and are probably more responsible for the breakdown in civil society in the US and the world than anything else invented.

“We thought the internet would give us this accelerated society of science and information,” says Lenny Pozner, whose son Noah was one of the Sandy Hook victims. But “really, we’ve gone back to flat earth”."