ACM Ethics (Archive Only)

We have moved our social media presence to bit.ly/acm_ethics and bit.ly/acm-ethics Please join us there! This account will remain here as a historical archive but will not be active.

UnitedHealth pressured employees to cut off payments for seriously ill patients in lockstep with a computer algorithm’s calculations, denying rehab care for older and disabled Americans as profits soared. Read: trib.al/zNxpK1Y

Humans in the loop are not enough to fix algorithms. When push comes to shove, companies choose profits over people. The latest example: UnitedHealth forced employees to cut off care based on an algorithm's prediction. If they disagree, they're fired. statnews.com/2023/11/14/uni…

The internet's original sin doctorow.medium.com/the-internets-… #copyright #IdentityTheft #AI #ClassWar #privacy #laboral

ICYMI: my Elson Ethics lecture on “Ethics of Artificial Intelligence - What It Is and Why We Need It”, given on Oct 4th at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. A remarkable occasion and a real privilege. m.youtube.com/watch?v=PynlyF… #AI

I have lost count of how many meetings I’ve attended warning about the danger of AI in the classroom. But over the weekend I found myself grading student papers…many of which showed clear signs of AI. Some thoughts on this underwhelming experience… librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2023/10/17/oka…

Montreat College's @montreatcollege Cybersecurity Oath is something to check out: montreat.edu/cyber-oath/ - "I will...exercise patience toward others who make errors." is particularly noteworthy to see in an oath. Thoughts?

"...security practitioners often forget there are real human beings on the receiving end of cybercrime, and the emotional and mental toll of being a victim can be huge"

🎃 This Friday the 13th, don't let cyber threats spook you! Choose treats over tricks by diving into Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Stay informed, stay secure! #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth #SecureOurWorld #StaySafeOnline #FridayThe13th 🕷️"

wizer-training.com/kids #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth

Psychological safety is key to changing attitudes. Feeling psychologically safe can make people more open-minded, increase introspection, and decrease defensive processing. It can lead to attitude change, even without any attempt at persuasion  frontiersin.org/articles/10.33…

Thoughts on how this affects computing? #GenAI

Data fraud is often framed as a victimless crime--or else the perpetrators frame themselves as the victim. But the true victims are often graduate students who struggle to replicate a prominent study, face professional ostracism, and their only recourse is to leave the field or become a whistleblower. The @NewYorker has a fantastic article today revealing how the fraud from Dan Ariely and Francesa Gino's research was originally identified by @ZoeZiani and shared with @DataColada newyorker.com/magazine/2023/… I encourage people to read this article to see what happens when a grad student is skeptical about the strength of a paper. Her career was completely derailed and she was pressured not to criticize flimsy research. She had to report it anonymously and @datacolada had to do the labor of investigating and stick their necks out (and get sued). This is such a broken system and a lot of people are implicated in perpetuating the problem.

There is a lot of false speculation about what drives scientific fraud. Misconduct policies, academic culture and career stage are linked to scientific fraud, not gender or publication pressure. To fix science, we need to target the actual problem! journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…

A fun thing about academia is that it’s really difficult to take a sick day if it falls on a day you teach. Which means I’m getting ready to go teach all afternoon while struggling with a really bad migraine that I’m barely keeping in check. Good times.

Just one more day until #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth! Are you ready to embrace a safer digital future? #StaySafeOnline Learn more: hubs.la/Q023t2wV0

As we rely on smartphones for online activity, you should understand how your phone number can be exposed on the web. Your phone number might have leaked in a data breach, or even been revealed on social media. Learn how to safeguard your privacy here: hubs.la/Q022qQXD0

Are you committed to online safety? Show your dedication to promoting a safer, more secure and more trusted Internet by registering to become a Cybersecurity Awareness Month Champion: hubs.la/Q022zDw-0

It's getting more difficult to study social media — for everything from election information to natural disaster and public health communications. TikTok's new research program could help, but the terms of service limit academic work. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Amidst the recent talk about Luddites, tech folk & business people aren’t worried new Luddites want to smash machines, they’re worried new Luddites think regular people deserve a say when it comes to the technologies that impact them (which is what the original Luddites wanted).