Monday, December 26, 2016

  1. The Promise of Ethical Machines

    Susan Leigh Anderson

    The Promise of Ethical Machines

    20

     emphasizes ethicists' integral role in developing robots that we can trust to act independently.

    Tokyo humanoid Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

    The prospect of artificial intelligence has long been a source of knotty ethical questions, typically about how humans can and should use advanced robots. What is missing from the discussion is the need to develop a set of ethics for the machines themselves, to enable them to operate autonomously. READ MORE

  2. Is Our Economic Future Behind Us?

    Joel Mokyr

    Is Our Economic Future Behind Us?

    7

     rebuts the widespread belief that technological innovation can no longer drive rapid growth.

    Researchers in lab where the first gene edited embryo was made Xinhua News Agency/Stringer

    With the global economy yet to recover from the 2008 economic crisis, concern about the future – especially of the advanced economies – is intensifying. But, with scientific progress surging forward, there is plenty of reason to believe that technological advances will continue to surpass our wildest dreams – and drive growth. READ MORE

  3. The New Brain Drain in Science

    Sami Mahroum

    The New Brain Drain in Science

    10

     laments the hegemony of empiricism at the expense of all other research approaches today.

    Africa Scientists Peter Martell/AFP/Getty Images

    A twofold problem has emerged in science worldwide: select academic journals have become disproportionately influential, and they have placed a premium on empirical research. As scientists' research priorities, problems, and methods gravitate to these journals' standards, developing countries – and good science – are losing out. READ MORE

  4. Privacy for Refugees

    Inga Kroener

    Privacy for Refugees

    1

     calls for privacy-impact assessments to ensure that sensitive personal data are protected.

    Newsart for Privacy for Refugees NurPhoto/Getty Images

    For most consumers, it is possible, if not necessarily easy, to opt out of sharing sensitive personal information. But, for vulnerable people, such as nearly five million Syrian refugees, refusing to provide personal data, which may be shared among a multitude of agencies and organizations, can mean being sent back to a war zone. READ MORE

  5. Gene Editing and Seed Stealing

    Chee Yoke Ling, ET AL

    Gene Editing and Seed Stealing

    & 3

    &  warn of the dangers of Internet-facilitated exchanges of biodiversity.

    Newsart for Gene Editing and Seed Stealing Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

    In the last few decades, great strides have been made in regulating the movement of genetic material across countries. But, with the advent of advanced gene-editing techniques, this progress could be lost, to the detriment of the Convention on Biological Diversity – and those it was created to protect. READ MORE

Fake news or real views Learn More
160 pages
160 pages

Commentaries available in 12 Languages

Don’t let fabricated news obscure real world views.
Support our work by donating.

Donate now