All articles tagged with #ethics
Nobel laureate Richard Axel resigns as co-director of Columbia's Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute amid revelations of a multi-year association with Jeffrey Epstein; he calls the ties a serious error and will focus on his lab, while Columbia says no policy violations occurred and notes the broader fallout from the Epstein documents.
In an exclusive CBS Evening News interview, House Speaker Mike Johnson says the allegations that Rep. Tony Gonzales had an affair with a former staffer who later died by suicide are detestable and are under review by the Office of Congressional Conduct; Gonzales denies the affair and says he will not resign, with Johnson stressing that the facts are being allowed to play out, and noting the allegations originate from text messages that included a request for a “sexy pic” and other sexual banter.
The piece questions whether Kash Patel has blurred the lines between FBI business and personal life, citing a video of him celebrating Team USA with beer after the Milan game and detailing prior taxpayer-funded travel during the government shutdown. It links Patel’s Italy trip and social-media posts to a broader pattern of mixing private interests with official resources, comparing the situation to GSA misconduct cases and noting calls for accountability—though his spokesman denies the claims and officials say the official purpose of the trip is unclear.
In a WIRED excerpt adapted from A World Appears, Michael Pollan argues that AI can mimic many tasks but is unlikely to achieve true consciousness because embodiment and genuine feelings are central to consciousness, not merely computation. He critiques the Butlin report’s claim that there are no obvious barriers to conscious AI, questions computational-functionalism, and flags the ethical stakes of potential conscious machines— including questions about suffering, empathy, and moral consideration—using Frankenstein as a cautionary frame.
In What We Inherit, researchers Martschenko and Trejo argue that polygenic scores and commercial genetic testing could widen social inequality and erode genetic diversity, even as some benefits remain uncertain; they call for stronger regulation, better science education, and a careful, equitable approach to deploying this technology.
A Rolling Stone investigation shows that a $1.6 million birth-dose hepatitis B vaccine study in Guinea-Bissau was moved directly from the CDC director’s office to grants management, bypassing normal scientific review and ethical oversight, amid pressure from Kennedy allies and irregular ethics approvals, drawing WHO concern and congressional scrutiny as the project remains in limbo.
A Texas congressman, Rep. Tony Gonzales, is accused by the estranged husband of his former aide Regina Santos-Aviles of having had an affair with her before her death by self-immolation. Gonzales denies the relationship; a lawyer says he has seen texts to that effect, though The Washington Post could not verify them. The allegations surface as Gonzales fights a tight primary against Brandon Herrera and as critics question ethics and potential use of taxpayer funds, with the accuser’s lawyer framing the matter as a political issue rather than blackmail.
An Oxford AI professor warns the current AI surge could end in a Hindenburg-style crash due to under-tested tech and heavy commercial pressure, highlighting safety flaws in chatbots and the dangers of anthropomorphism; he urges treating AIs as neutral tools rather than humanlike companions to avoid catastrophic outcomes.
A fresh wave of executives is resigning as millions of Epstein files illuminate closer ties between Epstein and prominent business leaders, prompting questions about judgment and ethics. Hyatt's Tom Pritzker and Goldman Sachs’ Kathy Ruemmler are among the latest to step down, with other high-profile figures like Casey Wasserman and Peter Mandelson under scrutiny. Analysts say markets react faster than political arenas, boards are tightening governance, and more fallout is expected as the Epstein documents continue to surface.
Netflix’s Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model re-examines Tyra Banks and the show, revealing how ANTM evolved from a reform-minded project into a spectacle that often exploited contestants’ trauma. The docu-series features insiders and former contestants detailing disturbing moments—from drunken, potentially non-consensual incidents to shoots that glamorized violence and racism—while Banks offers partial apologies and shifts blame to audiences and industry norms. The piece argues that the show’s success thrived on a problematic system, even as Banks positions herself as a reformer, culminating in a portrait of ambition, accountability, and legacy in reality TV.
AI is evolving faster than the systems that evaluate it, so much published research can be outdated or misleading by the time it appears; studies based on older models risk misinforming on health and therapy, highlighting power imbalances favoring AI companies and the need for faster, more independent peer review.
A new paper argues that long-duration spaceflight could impair fertility, gamete quality, and embryonic development due to space radiation and microgravity, with potential epigenetic and heritable risks for offspring; experts call for a formal reproductive health framework and ethical guidelines for space research, even though reproduction in space is not currently advocated.
John Scalzi offers ten reflections on AI in February 2026, arguing he won’t use AI to write, that AI won’t replace him, that the public is weary of AI, and that he will continue to support human artists; he predicts AI will persist in some form but likely in a diminished role, highlights ethical concerns around training data and provenance, notes AI’s integration into common tools, and concludes that fans crave uniquely human creativity—so artists should avoid ceding their art to machines when possible.
Victoria Song visits a New York pop-up, EVA AI Cafe, where AI companions are taken on real-world “dates.” The piece chronicles her four speed-dates with AI partners, the crowded, media-heavy scene, and glitches that highlight the uncanny valley, while contrasting reactions from attendees who see it as a playful experiment about how technology reshapes connection with humans. It raises questions about the future of AI dating and whether such experiences can ever substitute human intimacy, ending with the author’s reminder to hug her flesh-and-blood spouse.
The World Health Organization criticized and halted a US-funded hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau that would compare vaccinating newborns at birth with delaying the dose to six weeks, calling the plan unethical and lacking justified scientific safeguards; the birth dose is a proven public health intervention, and about 14,000 babies were to be enrolled before the government suspended the project amid public outrage. Guinea-Bissau plans to roll out the birth-dose nationwide by 2028, with WHO support to accelerate adoption.