Artificial intelligence is about to get a close-up investigation from Notre Dame Catholic University academics tasked with reporting on its ethical uses. This is a task close to the Pope’s heart. Earlier this year he spoke of political leaders’ responsibility to ensure AI is used ethically. Project plan The University has announced that it will Read more
Surrogacy and gender-affirming surgery are two ethical issues discussed in a new Vatican document, “Infinite Dignity.” Some Catholics support Infinite Dignity’s message. Others are dismayed. Surrogate born woman against “womb renting” A woman born in 1991 via a surrogate mother, who is now a leading campaigner for the abolition of “womb renting”, is of a Read more
In a recent article, Dr Rose Crossin and Professor Joe Boden argue strongly and convincingly that it is time to “overhaul New Zealand’s outdated and harmful drug laws. A new approach Crossin and Bodin argue in favour of a health-based, Te Tiriti aligned approach that not only reduces harm but saves tax money and police Read more
It started as a small group of atheists tracking and removing religious signs from public streets in Los Angeles. Now, this network spans more than a handful of states, with volunteers documenting and taking down illegally placed religious material on utility poles and overpasses across the country. Known as the Atheist Street Pirates, the group Read more
Last weekend, millions of Twitter users saw Pope Francis appear on their feeds, modelling what seemed to be a custom Papal puffer coat. In reality, though, the head of the Catholic Church never wore that designer, Balenciaga-like jacket: The image was nothing more than a hyper-realistic A.I. generation. Behind this work of forgery was Pablo Read more
Like paper, print, steel and the wheel, computer-generated artificial intelligence is a revolutionary technology that can bend how we work, play and love. It is already doing so in ways we can and cannot perceive. As Facebook, Apple and Google pour billions into A.I. development, there is a fledgling branch of academic ethical study—influenced by Read more
A nursing academic says it’s unethical to rely on migrant workers to fix staff shortages. Health New Zealand will run an international recruitment service to ease immigration for health workers. But New Zealand College of Nurses Executive Director, Jenny Carryer, told Heather du Plessis Allan “there’s a 12 million-strong global shortage of nurses, and other Read more
Just hours after the announcement that a top official for the U.S. bishops’ conference had suddenly resigned on July 20 citing “possible improper behaviour,” a newly launched Catholic media venture, The Pillar, published a nearly 3,000-word article alleging that the priest, Msgr. Jeffrey Burrill, had engaged in “serial sexual misconduct” by frequenting gay bars and Read more
Even during a period when the bombs dropping on American Catholics fall with escalating and increasingly destructive frequency, the publication of an “investigation” of Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, the now-former general secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, blasts a crater worth crawling down into for a forensic examination. There are reasons to think Read more
Edward Jenner is considered the father of vaccinology. He pioneered the world’s first vaccine, which was for smallpox. Caused by a virus, smallpox was a serious disease which killed about three in ten of the people who contracted it and left many others with severe scars. Smallpox was mainly spread by direct, lengthy face-to-face contact Read more