The Top 10 Library Stories of 2022; Publishers Weekly, December 9, 2023

Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly; The Top 10 Library Stories of 2022

PW looks back at the library stories that captivated the publishing world this year, and what they portend for 2023

"1. Attacks on the Freedom to Read Escalate

In 2022, a pernicious wave of politically motivated book bans continued to surge in local library and school districts across the nation, with the overwhelming majority of book challenges involving LGBTQ authors and themes or issues of race and social justice. And as a new year approaches, observers say the attacks on libraries and schools are only intensifying.

The numbers tell a disturbing story. In April, the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom released its annual report on banned and challenged books, announcing that it had tracked some 729 challenges involving 1,597 individual titles in 2021—the highest number of challenges since ALA began compiling its most-challenged-books lists 20 years ago. And during Banned Books Week in September, the ALA reported that the number of challenges through the first eight months of 2022 was on pace to shatter the already-record-breaking numbers from 2021...

2. State Legislators Take Aim at Libraries and Schools

In 2022, threats to the freedom to read escalated at the state level as well as the local level, with a host of new state measures targeting the work of libraries.

In March, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 1467,which mandates a public review of all public school instructional material, including library books, part of suite of laws signed under the guise of parental rights. In Tennessee, legislators passed HB 2666, which, among its provisions, vests the state’s textbook commission (rather than local decision makers) with final authority over whether challenged works can remain in school libraries. In Kentucky, lawmakers passed SB 167, which critics say will politicize library boards by giving local elected judges broad control to appoint members and veto power over large expenditures.

In Missouri, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft proposed a vague new “Protection of Minors” rule for libraries that would prohibit state funds from being used for materials deemed to “appeal to the prurient interests of any minor.” The new rule follows the passage of SB 775, a recently enacted state law that threatens criminal charges for Missouri librarians and teachers found to have provided “explicit sexual material” to students. In November, PEN America reported that fear of prosecution under the new law has already led librarians and educators to pull some 300 titles across 11 school districts.

And in a proposal sure to get publishers’ attention, Texas state representative Tom Oliverson proposed HB 338, a bill that would require publishers to create an “age appropriate” rating system for books sold to Texas school libraries, while also giving state officials the power to direct publishers to change ratings state officials disagree with, and to bar schools from doing business with publishers that do not comply.

3. Congress Holds Hearings on Book Bans, Introduces a Bill to Support School Librarians

The surge in book bans and legislative attacks on the freedom to read didn’t only register at the state and local levels in 2022—it captured the attention of Congress as well.

In April, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties held a hearing on the coordinated attacks on the freedom to read in libraries and schools, and in May held a second hearing focused on schools. At the second hearing, held on May 19, chairman Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, forcefully condemned new state laws seeking to ban books and prohibit the discussion of certain allegedly divisive subjects, like critical race theory and the LGBTQ community, calling such efforts “the hallmark of authoritarian regimes.” The laws, Raskin concluded, “are being used to undermine public faith in public schools and destroy one of the key pillars of our democracy.”

Meanwhile, two lawmakers this fall introduced a bicameral bill designed to support school libraries and protect school librarians. Introduced on October 6 by Rhode Island senator Jack Reed and Arizona representative Raúl Grijalva, both Democrats, the Right to Read Act (S 5064 and HR 9056) would authorize $500 million in grants to states to support school libraries in underserved areas. And, crucially, it would also extend “liability protections” to teachers and school librarians, which supporters say is a direct response to the rise in state laws threatening them with civil actions and criminal charges simply for making books available to students.

The bill was welcome news for school librarians, even though with just days left before the end of the 117th Congress it is all but dead on arrival. Advocates say the legislation lays down an important marker for federal action and will be reintroduced in 2023."

House Republicans again set their sights on ethics watchdogs; The Washington Post, January 3, 2023

Philip Bump, The Washington Post;  House Republicans again set their sights on ethics watchdogs

"From the outset, Republicans were opposed to the creation of an independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE)."

‘I had to do it to save everyone’: Man breaks into school and shelters more than 20 people from blizzard; CNN, December 30, 2022

Sharif Paget and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN; ‘I had to do it to save everyone’: Man breaks into school and shelters more than 20 people from blizzard

"‘I had to do it to save everyone’

Withey, who describes himself as a religious man, said he views the whole ordeal as a blessing in disguise. If just one person had taken him up on his plea for shelter that night, he would not have saved all those people, he said. 

One man who turned him away saw Withey snow blowing the cars and approached him in tears to apologize, saying he couldn’t sleep that night knowing he had denied Withey shelter. 

Withey stayed at the school until 8 p.m. on Christmas. “I didn’t leave until I made sure everyone was okay,” he said, adding that they started a group chat to stay in touch. 

Before he left, he made sure to leave a note apologizing for the break-in, which police found when they were eventually able to respond to the alarm Withey set off when he entered the school. 

“To whomever it may concern, I’m terribly sorry about breaking the school window and for breaking in the kitchen,” it read. “Got stuck at 8 pm Friday and slept in my truck with two strangers, just trying not to die,” it continued. “There were 7 elderly people also stuck and out of fuel. I had to do it to save everyone and get them shelter and food and a bathroom.” He signed the letter, “Merry Christmas Jay.”"

Pegasus spyware was used to hack reporters’ phones. I’m suing its creators; The Guardian, December 5, 2022

Nelson Rauda Zablah, The Guardian; Pegasus spyware was used to hack reporters’ phones. I’m suing its creators

"My colleagues weren’t just being trailed as they investigated that story. They, and at least 18 other members of El Faro – including me – had been the repeated targets of a weapons-grade espionage software called Pegasus. Pegasus is the gleaming toy of the Israel-based spyware firm NSO Group. Forensic analysis by the Citizen Lab and others found that Pegasus attacks in El Salvador started in June 2020 and continued until November 2021. In all, 35 journalists and members of civil society were spied on with this tool.

When you’re infected by Pegasus, spies effectively hold a clone of your phone. They can see everything, from your personal pictures and texts to your purchases and your selection and use of apps. When the spying was discovered I had to take measures that included exiting my family group chat and deleting my banking apps.

For journalists, this means spies can see every chat and phone call with our sources...

So, represented by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, 14 of my colleagues at El Faro and I have decided to sue NSO Group...

NSO executives shouldn’t be able to wash their hands as their tools are used to persecute journalists. In a very real sense, NSO set the hounds on us. And now we’re fighting back."

How Do You Protest in the Face of Censorship? An Empty Sign.; The New York Times, December 21, 2022

Jody Rosen, The New York Times; How Do You Protest in the Face of Censorship? An Empty Sign.

"The blank sign, for the protester who wields it and the government that disdains it, is full of potential: It is a tabula rasa, upon which every imaginable complaint, exhortation, remonstration, provocation, taunt, threat and irrefutable truth might someday be inscribed. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that those things are already written there — figuratively, at least — in invisible ink. The signs say nothing; they speak volumes."

Something is afoot with copyright this Public Domain Day; The Guardian, January 1, 2023

John Naughton, The Guardian; Something is afoot with copyright this Public Domain Day

"The issue highlighted by Public Domain Day is not that intellectual property is evil but that aspects of it – especially copyright – have been monopolised and weaponised by corporate interests and that legislators have been supine in the face of their lobbying. Authors and inventors need protection against being ripped off. It’s obviously important that clever people are rewarded for their creativity and the patent system does that quite well. But if a patent only lasts for 20 years, why on earth should copyright last for life plus 70 years for a novel? You only have to ask the question to realise that the founders of the American republic at least got that one right. Happy new year."

People Are Eagerly Consulting Generative AI ChatGPT For Mental Health Advice, Stressing Out AI Ethics And AI Law; January 1, 2023

Lance Eliot, Forbes ; People Are Eagerly Consulting Generative AI ChatGPT For Mental Health Advice, Stressing Out AI Ethics And AI Law

"The kicker in the case of generative AI is that the generated essay is relatively unique and provides an original composition rather than a copycat. If you were to try and find the AI-produced essay online someplace, you would be unlikely to discover it.

Generative AI is pre-trained and makes use of a complex mathematical and computational formulation that has been set up by examining patterns in written words and stories across the web. As a result of examining thousands and millions of written passages, the AI is able to spew out new essays and stories that are a mishmash of what was found. By adding in various probabilistic functionality, the resulting text is pretty much unique in comparison to what has been used in the training set.

That’s why there has been an uproar about students being able to cheat when writing essays outside of the classroom. A teacher cannot merely take the essay that deceitful students assert is their own writing and seek to find out whether it was copied from some other online source. Overall, there won’t be any definitive preexisting essay online that fits the AI-generated essay. All told, the teacher will have to begrudgingly accept that the student wrote the essay as an original piece of work. For ways that this might be combatted, see my detailed coverage at the link here."

A dangerous side of America’s digital divide: Who receives emergency alerts; The Washington Post, December 21, 2022

Brianna Sacks, The Washington Post; A dangerous side of America’s digital divide: Who receives emergency alerts

"While America’s digital divide has been improving, large chunks of the country, especially rural and tribal lands, are still lagging behind in connection, according to research and experts, and that significantly hampers their access to vital, potentially lifesaving information. Without cell towers, urgent emergency alerts can’t get to phones and it is more difficult for residents to warn one another of danger or contact authorities."

Green trademarks and the risk of greenwashing; WIPO Magazine, December 2022

Kathryn Park , WIPO Magazine; Green trademarks and the risk of greenwashing

"Beware the green sheen – the perils of greenwashing

Guidelines promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission in the United States in the Green Guidesand by the European Union in its directive on Unfair Commercial Practices, offer clear guidance on what constitutes misleading information. Under both regimes, using vague terms such as “sustainable,” “green,” “eco,” and the like, are not acceptable if false or misleading. Additionally, claims need to be supported by clear factual evidence and qualified so as not to overstate their benefits. Moreover, the environmental benefit claim must pertain directly to the product as manufactured or used.

While regulators pursue companies that run afoul of consumer protection laws, claims are also pursued by non-governmental entities. Competitors may also sue, as will consumers who are misled, often as part of a consumer class action...

So what constitutes actionable greenwashing? An example is labeling something as compostable, such as a garbage bag that is destined for a landfill where it will not break down.  Claiming that something is recyclable when the infrastructure supports only a fraction of the recycling that would be required to remove the environmental harm ─ think plastic water and soda bottles ─ may also constitute greenwashing. There have been a number of lawsuits in the United States in the past year against Coca-Cola, Blue Triton Brands (which manufactures Poland Spring, Deer Park and other water brands), and others, for making broad sustainability claims despite the fact the vast majority of their bottles end up in landfills and are not recycled. These lawsuits have been filed by various environmental advocacy groups like the Sierra Club."

Sherlock Holmes will finally escape copyright this weekend; The Verge, December 28, 2022

ADI ROBERTSON, The Verge ; Sherlock Holmes will finally escape copyright this weekend

"Watching the copyrights on art expire still feels like a novelty. After all, the US public domain was frozen in time for 20 years, thawing only in 2019. But this weekend’s Public Domain Day will give our cultural commons a few particularly notable new works. As outlined by Duke Law School’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain, the start of 2023 will mark the end of US copyrights on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s final Sherlock Holmes stories — along with the seminal science fiction movie Metropolis, Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, and the first full-length “talkie” film The Jazz Singer."

Vocational awe is always harmful; Information Wants To Be Free, December 22, 2022

Meredith Farkas, Information Wants To Be Free; Vocational awe is always harmful 

"Vocational awe for the individual can feel very very good… until it doesn’t. That sense of purpose is a powerful drug. I came into this profession with a healthy dose of vocational awe after leaving another helping profession, which means I should have known better but didn’t. Vocational awe is more than loving your job or caring about doing a good job. It’s a deep sense of identification with your work where your work becomes a core part of your identity. It’s more than a job; it’s something you were called to do (by God, but like the protestant work ethic, it’s mostly lost its religious connotations). It drives you to go “above and beyond” for your job and you feel good about doing it. For people who have experienced trauma and/or oppression, this deep identification can feel very good when you’re doing well in your work. Each achievement or accolade is another opportunity to feel a sense of self-efficacy, of worthiness. I remember that feeling well. But the flip side is that when things go wrong, you also see that as a referendum on your worth. If your sense of self is wrapped up in your work, having a boss who doesn’t like you, being demoted, being laid off, being mistreated by toxic colleagues, can cause deep wounds to one’s psyche. I’ve written in the past about my own experience with this and how it led to the worst depression of my life. I’ve also heard from so many people who had a similar experience and how it broke them. How they went from happily going above and beyond to questioning their own worthiness. No job is worth that. Crocker and Knight write about this phenomenon and the costs of making one’s self-esteem contingent on performance in one area of one’s life in the article “Contingencies of Self-Worth” (which Jennifer Crocker has written about extensively in other publications as well) and argue that “contingencies of self-worth are both sources of motivation and areas of psychological vulnerability.”

Tying your sense of self to your job can also be problematic when you are unable to devote the same amount of yourself to your work as you used to. Perhaps when you just had a baby. Or your spouse is diagnosed with cancer. Or you develop a disabling chronic illness. People whose sense of self-efficacy is tied tightly to their identity as a good worker struggle much more with the idea that they need to shift their priorities."

‘Do you have no shame?’: Tulsi Gabbard grills congressman-elect George Santos; The Guardian, December 28, 2022

Samira Asma-Sadeque, The Guardian; ‘Do you have no shame?’: Tulsi Gabbard grills congressman-elect George Santos

"Santos, who has also admitted to lying about graduating from Baruch College and working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, said he was not “a fake” and that “everybody wants to nitpick” at him now.

But Gabbard put Santos on the spot by asking him how he defines “integrity”."

The ethical dilemmas of renaming scientific principles that honour fallen idols; Physics World, December 26, 2022

Robert P Crease, Physics World; The ethical dilemmas of renaming scientific principles that honour fallen idols

"Is removing a name good because it avoids appearing to endorse the inappropriate behaviour of a scientist and encourages others to do a better job themselves? Or is removing a name bad because it makes us complacent by suggesting that we’ve eliminated a problem and don’t need to worry about it anymore, and in allowing us to pretend to ourselves that physics is done only by the morally stainless?

What, in other words, is the ethics of eponymy? Readers with insights should inform me and I’ll write about the topic in a future column."

The Signal App and the Danger of Privacy at All Costs; The New York Times, December 28, 2022

Reid Blackman, The New York Times; The Signal App and the Danger of Privacy at All Costs

"Two weeks ago, the Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey passionately advocated in a blog post the view that neither Twitter nor the government nor any other company should exert control over what participants post. “It’s critical,” he said, “that the people have tools to resist this, and that those tools are ultimately owned by the people.”

Mr. Dorsey is promoting one of the most potent and fashionable notions in Silicon Valley: that a technology free of corporate and government control is in the best interest of society. To that end, he announced he would give $1 million a year to Signal, a text-messaging app...

So I am not convinced we are really getting more freedom and “for the people by the people” by way of our technology overlords. Instead, we have a technologically driven shift of power to ideological individuals and organizations whose lack of appreciation for moral nuance and good governance puts us all at risk."

Elon Musk ‘orders Twitter to remove suicide prevention feature’; Reuters via The Guardian, December 23, 2022

Reuters via The Guardian; Elon Musk ‘orders Twitter to remove suicide prevention feature’

"Twitter has removed a feature in the past few days that promoted suicide prevention hotlines and other safety resources to users looking up certain content, according to two people familiar with the matter, who said it was ordered by new owner Elon Musk.

The removal of the feature, known as #ThereIsHelp, has not been previously reported. It had shown at the top of specific searches contacts for support organisations in many countries related to mental health, HIV, vaccines, child sexual exploitation, Covid19, gender-based violence, natural disasters and freedom of expression.

Its elimination could add to concerns about the wellbeing of vulnerable users on Twitter...

In part due to pressure from consumer safety groups, internet services including Twitter, Google and Facebook have for years tried to direct users to well-known resource providers such as government hotlines when they suspect someone may be in danger."

AI-Created Comic Has Been Deemed Ineligible for Copyright Protection; CBR, December 20, 2022

BRIAN CRONIN, CBR; AI-Created Comic Has Been Deemed Ineligible for Copyright Protection

"The United States Copyright Office (USCO) reversed an earlier decision to grant a copyright to a comic book that was created using "A.I. art," and announced that the copyright protection on the comic book will be revoked, stating that copyrighted works must be created by humans to gain official copyright protection. 

In September, Kris Kashtanova announced that they had received a U.S. copyright on his comic book, Zarya of the Dawn, a comic book inspired by their late grandmother that she created with the text-to-image engine Midjourney. Kashtanova referred to herself as a "prompt engineer" and explained at the time that she went to get the copyright so that she could “make a case that we do own copyright when we make something using AI.”"

Some of Trump’s New NFTs Look Like Photoshops of Google Search Results; PetaPixel, December 16, 2022

 JARON SCHNEIDER, PetaPixel; Some of Trump’s New NFTs Look Like Photoshops of Google Search Results

"After hyping a major announcement, Donald Trump revealed his next major project: NFTs. But reverse image searches of some of the “digital trading cards” revealed them to be edits of clothing easily found in Google search, raising copyright questions...

While these images aren’t what most would consider to be the height of photographic art, they are still photos that are presumably owned by a manufacturer and using images — even e-commerce photos — without permission in this manner brings up copyright questions: it may not be legal, not to mention unethical, to just take photos off web stores, turn them into “art,” and then sell them for $99 each.

Gizmodo says it reached out to the manufacturer of both pieces of clothing to ask if either granted the former U.S. President permission to use their images, but neither immediately responded." 

Age Verification Online: Ethical, Legal, and Technical Considerations; Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University, December 2022

Irina Raicu, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University ; Age Verification Online: Ethical, Legal, and Technical Considerations

"On December 1st, as part of the “IT, Ethics, and Law” lecture series (co-sponsored by MCAE and the High Tech Law Institute), I moderated an online panel; the title of our event was “Determining Users’ Ages Online: Ethical, Legal, and Technical Considerations.” The panelists were Eric Goldman (from Santa Clara University’s School of Law), Jennifer King (from the Stanford University Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence), and Sarah Krehbiel (from SCU’s Computer Science department). You can now watch the recording of that conversation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPqX2I98eL0"

Teens and Cyberbullying 2022; Pew Research Center, December 15, 2022

EMILY A. VOGELS, Pew Research Center; Teens and Cyberbullying 2022

"Nearly half of U.S. teens have been bullied or harassed online, with physical appearance being seen as a relatively common reason why. Older teen girls are especially likely to report being targeted by online abuse overall and because of their appearance."

Ethics Hotline available to Ohio University employees; Ohio University, Ohio News, December 5, 2022

Ohio University, Ohio News; Ethics Hotline available to Ohio University employees

"The following message was shared with Ohio University faculty and staff on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022

Dear Ohio University employees,

Promoting a responsible and ethical workplace is everyone’s responsibility. For more than 16 years, Ohio University has demonstrated its commitment to this principle by contracting with EthicsPoint® to provide the Ohio University Ethics Hotline. The hotline can be used to report concerns of fraud, waste, abuse, or non-compliance with regulations or University policies—anonymously if so desired. This process is managed by the Office of Audit, Risk, and Compliance, and additional information can be found on the Office’s website(opens in a new window). 

Members of the University community may submit an anonymous report one of two ways: through a toll-free number or through a web-intake process on any computer or mobile device. Reports made to the hotline—via phone or website—are triaged and responded to by anonymous dialogue between the reporter, Audit, Legal Affairs, or the University representative who can most appropriately respond to the concern.

The University encourages employees to report concerns through normal lines of communication, such as to a supervisor or to an office or individual whose responsibility it is to handle such reports. However, when employees are uncomfortable doing so, the hotline offers an alternative for filing concerns anonymously. The University prohibits retaliation against an individual who in good faith reports concerns or provides information about suspected University-related misconduct, whether reported through normal channels or through the hotline. 

If you have concerns about possible fraud, waste, abuse of University assets, or other compliance or regulatory issues, you can file a report from any computer or mobile device on the Ohio University Ethics Hotline(opens in a new window), or by calling EthicsPoint toll-free at (866) 294-9591. 

While investigations are conducted in a highly confidential manner, it should be noted that records generated during an investigation may be subject to disclosure in accordance with applicable laws, including Ohio’s Public Records Act. The University is also required by Ohio law to make the University community aware of an additional fraud hotline maintained by the Ohio Auditor of State. This additional hotline resource is available by calling (866) 372-8364. 

Thank you for doing your part in creating an open and ethical culture here at Ohio University. 

Marion L. Candrea
Chief Audit Executive"

Does the U.S. Supreme Court need an ethics code? Editorial Board Roundtable; Cleveland.com, December 17, 2022

Editorial Board, cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer; Does the U.S. Supreme Court need an ethics code? Editorial Board Roundtable

"So, is a Supreme Court ethics code needed? If so, should Congress impose one? The Editorial Board Roundtable offers its rulings."

PLOS flags nearly 50 papers by controversial French COVID researcher for ethics concerns; Retraction Watch, December 13, 2022

Retraction Watch ; PLOS flags nearly 50 papers by controversial French COVID researcher for ethics concerns

"The publisher PLOS is marking nearly 50 articles by Didier Raoult, the French scientist who became controversial for promoting hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19, with expressions of concern while it investigates potential research ethics violations in the work."

Star Wars’ evil Empire can feel a little corny — but then came Andor; December 15, 2022

Sonia Saraiya , Vox; Star Wars’ evil Empire can feel a little corny — but then came Andor

"Most of the heroes of Star Wars films are teenagers; much of the plot is family drama writ large. Andor works in a diametrically opposed way: The characters are weary adults, often forced to face moral dilemmas in the midst of what is otherwise their professional life...

Evil, Andor observes, is hidden inside the hearts of everyday lackeys."

First Global Forum on Ethics of AI held in Prague, one year after the adoption of UNESCO’s global recommendation; UNESCO, To Be Held December 13, 2022

 UNESCO; First Global Forum on Ethics of AI held in Prague, one year after the adoption of UNESCO’s global recommendation

The Global Forum on the Ethics of AI, hosted by the Czech Republic on 13 December 2022 in Prague, is the first international ministerial meeting to take place after the adoption of the global recommendation on the ethics of AI a year ago. The forum will place a spotlight on “ensuring inclusion in the AI world,” and take stock of the implementation of the recommendation so far. The event is held under UNESCO’s patronage.

"Human Rights At Risk

While artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing our lives, its benefits are not being distributed equitably across and within countries. Moreover, the technology continues to be developed in ways that raise risks related to human rights. They may also increase inequalities. While most countries are willing to take steps to minimize the risks associated with AI, many lack the regulatory capacity to do so. UNESCO seeks to bridge this gap by promoting a global and ethical approach to AI and offering guidance on regulatory measures and policies. The Recommendation is the first-ever global normative instrument in this domain, unanimously adopted 193 Member States of UNESCO."

Your selfies are helping AI learn. You did not consent to this.; The Washington Post, December 9, 2022

 Shira Ovide, The Washington Post; Your selfies are helping AI learn. You did not consent to this.

"My colleague Tatum Hunter spent time evaluating Lensa, an app that transforms a handful of selfies you provide into artistic portraits. And people have been using the new chatbot ChatGPT to generate silly poems or professional emails that seem like they were written by a human. These AI technologies could be profoundly helpful but they also come with a bunch of thorny ethical issues.

Tatum reported that Lensa’s portrait wizardly comes from the styles of artists whose work was included in a giant database for coaching image-generating computers. The artists didn’t give their permission to do this, and they aren’t being paid. In other words, your fun portraits are built on work ripped off from artists. ChatGPT learned to mimic humans by analyzing your recipes, social media posts, product reviews and other text from everyone on the internet...

Hany Farid, a computer science professor at the University of California at Berkeley, told me that individuals, government officials, many technology executives, journalists and educators like him are far more attuned than they were a few years ago to the potential positive and negative consequences of emerging technologies like AI. The hard part, he said, is knowing what to do to effectively limit the harms and maximize the benefits."

Popular Photo App Lensa Spurs Debate Over Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Art; WTTW, December 8, 2022

 Eunice Alpasan, WTTW; Popular Photo App Lensa Spurs Debate Over Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Art

"For a few dollars, users can submit photos of themselves that the app will use to generate multiple self-portraits in different art styles using artificial intelligence technology.

But the app has also reignited concerns about the ethics regarding the use of artificial intelligence in art.

A.I. algorithms work by going into large datasets of work posted online from various sources to help photo apps like Lensa generate self-portraits for users in different styles, said Jennifer deWinter, dean of Lewis College of Science and Letters at Illinois Tech. 

DeWinter said this presents a copyright issue, but because it’s a computer program generating the images, it makes it hard to trace back who is actually culpable. “It’s a problem of a giant, diffused system of multiple actors,” she said. 

Kennedy Freeman, a student in fine arts at Columbia College and founder of the Black fem art collective HourNine, said seeing these generated portraits spreading on social media made her concerned about how her art and those of other artists are being used without permission to help train A.I. generators."

Intellectual property waiver for COVID vaccines should be expanded to include treatments and tests; The Conversation, November 21, 2022

 Deborah Gleeson, Associate Professor in Public Health, La Trobe University, Dianne Nicol

Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Tasmania, James Scheibner
Lecturer in Law, Flinders University, The Conversation;

 Intellectual property waiver for COVID vaccines should be expanded to include treatments and tests

"Low and middle-income countries have been impacted disproportionately by the pandemic so far, suffering 85% of the estimated 14.9 million excess deaths in 2020 and 2021. 

Globally, progress in reducing extreme poverty was set back three to four years during 2020–21. But low-income countries lost eight to nine years of progress.

Expanding the WTO decision on COVID vaccines to include treatments and tests could be vital to reduce the health burden on poorer countries from COVID and enable them to recover from the pandemic. The Australian government should get behind this initiative and encourage other countries to do the same."

Everyday ethics: In praise of banned books; Reading Eagle, December 7, 2022

JOHN C MORGAN , Reading Eagle ; Everyday ethics: In praise of banned books

Works of literature that make people nervous are often the best ones to read.

"Great literature not only describes life but often shines a light on injustices.  I can’t read Orwell’s “1984” without seeing how the story applies to us today in America, for example.  From “The Catcher in the Rye” I can gain insight into what it feels like to be a young person in a culture that doesn’t acknowledge the particular state of feeling like an outsider.

Absolute freedom can lead to anarchy. Absolute control can lead to tyranny of the few over the many. Think of Russian state television as an example of what happens with complete control, and the new version of Twitter as what happens when little control is exercised. Somewhere in between these two extremes must be a reasoned solution that protects freedom of expression as well as community values that is legally and morally appropriate."

The Supreme Court Needs Real Oversight; The Atlantic, December 5, 2022

Glenn Fine, The Atlantic; The Supreme Court Needs Real Oversight

"A series of recent events at the Supreme Court threatens to undermine trust and confidence in the institution and demonstrates the need for it to have a code of ethics and for better oversight within the judiciary...

First, a code of judicial ethics should apply to Supreme Court justices. The Supreme Court should explicitly state that the Judicial Code of Conduct applies to it, or implement a modified code that does.

Second, the justices should be more transparent about their recusal decisions. They should explain the reasoning for their decisions to recuse, or not to recuse, themselves in significant cases.

Third, the judiciary as a whole should be subject to inspector-general oversight—to investigate alleged misconduct and to promote efficiency throughout the judiciary’s administrative operations, not to second-guess any judicial opinion. An experienced, permanent, internal judiciary inspector general, potentially reporting to the chief justice, could be structured to ensure that the judiciary maintains its institutional independence but employs more effective oversight.

In short, the Court needs to assure the public that it is governed by ethical rules and that each justice is not voluntarily judging his or her own compliance with ethical requirements. Supreme Court justices are not above the law or ethical rules. The Court’s failure to adopt an ethical code and its resistance to oversight risk further decline in public trust and confidence."

Z-Library operators arrested, charged with criminal copyright infringement; The Register, November 18, 2022

Jessica Lyons Hardcastle, The Register ; Z-Library operators arrested, charged with criminal copyright infringement

"Two Russian nationals accused of operating Z-Library – one of the largest online book piracy websites – have been charged with criminal copyright infringement, wire fraud and money laundering.

According to a newly unsealed indictment, 33-year-old Anton Napolsky and 27-year-old Valeriia Ermakova, both of St Petersburg, Russia, operated the site between January 2018 and November 2022, allowing people to freely download pirated books and academic papers.

The duo "did knowingly and willfully infringe a copyright for purposes of commercial advantage and private financial gain" by distributing copyrighted works "having a total retail value of more than $2,500," according to the court documents [PDF].

They were arrested on November 3 in Cordoba, Argentina, at the request of the United States. Around the same time, the Feds also took down Z-Library's network of nearly 250 domains and seized its assets – much to the dismay of students everywhere who used the site to access textbooks and academic journals without paying the hefty price tags charged by academic publishers."