Kaylee Tseng, Author at Viterbi Conversations in Ethics

Fall 2023 Weekly News Profile

FTC Dispute Helps to Explain Rising Medical Device Costs

The FTC recently challenged over 100 patents in the FDA’s Orange Book, a guide that lists drug products, patents, and viable generics. A patent in the Orange Book for pharmaceutical companies delays competitors from entering the market because of infringement risks. However, the FTC found several instances of medical device patents listed in the Orange Book that overstep the Book’s purpose. These improper patents are artificially extending monopolies to pharmaceutical companies. This adds to the rising costs of inhalers and EpiPens, which come at the consumer’s expense.

Fall 2023 Weekly News Profile

Nobel Prize in Medicine Winner Demonstrates the Roadblocks of Academic Innovation

Kaylee Tseng November 1, 2023 Diversity Medicine Research

This week, the recipients of the Nobel Prize in Medicine were recognized for their contributions to mRNA vaccine technology. However, their research was historically brushed off by colleagues, publications, and grant institutions before the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, Dr. Katalin Karikó was demoted from a tenure-track position and eventually forced to retire from her university. Her struggle for recognition reflects the roadblocks to innovation in academia that are amplified by limited funding and biases.

Fall 2023 Weekly News Profile

How the WGA Strike Could Accelerate AI Regulation

Kaylee Tseng September 11, 2023 Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning

As the WGA and SAG-AFTRA continue to strike, AI has become a significant sticking point for studios and unions. For writers, AI text generation could exacerbate existing low wages and enable studios to hire fewer writers. For actors, AI greatly accelerates digital duplicate technology, jeopardizing actors’ rights to their own image and potentially lowering their rehire rate. Both of these instances have unclear legal or corporate guidelines, especially in the United States. However, a strike resolution may set a new precedent for AI regulation in creative industries.

Summer 2023 Weekly News Profile

Why the Microsoft vs. Sony “Console War” May Be a One-Sided Battle

Kaylee Tseng July 25, 2023 Antitrust Tech Video Games

As Microsoft inches closer to finalizing its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the console war between the Xbox and PlayStation systems continues. Although Microsoft has already conceded the Call of Duty franchise to Sony, it is unclear how the acquisition may tip the scales. Microsoft’s position as a global software powerhouse brings into question whether they even need to win the console war to survive.

Summer 2023 Weekly News Profile

Burners in Hot Water: The Struggle Over Household Gas Appliances

Kaylee Tseng June 27, 2023 Climate Change Fossil Fuels Health

Recent studies link gas appliances to severe adverse personal health and climate effects, with many consumers considering switching to electric or induction alternatives. However, others, including some politicians and industries, are resistant to legislation that would limit or ban gas stoves. New York announced that it will implement a gas stove ban in 2026, while the House of Representatives passed a bill prohibiting such bans on a federal level. This legislative back-and-forth will likely continue, and it parallels other attempts to transition away from fossil fuel technologies.

Summer 2023 Weekly News Profile

Neuralink Gains First-In-Human Approval as BCIs Advance Rapidly

Kaylee Tseng May 30, 2023 Biomedical Enhancement Brain-Computer Interfaces Clinical Testing Neuralink

Elon Musk’s Neuralink has received FDA approval for first-in-human studies of their brain-computer interface implant. This approval comes after multiple controversies surrounding their preclinical treatment of animal subjects. BCI technology has several concerns, including invasive surgeries, adverse effects, and implant obsolescence. While the general public will not have access to BCIs for enhancement any time soon, it is crucial to consider the impact and regulation of this technology for patients that it could greatly benefit.

Spring 2023 Weekly News Profile

Abortion Pill Rulings Leave the FDA in Political Crossfire

Kaylee Tseng April 17, 2023 Abortion Healthcare Pharmaceutical

This month, FDA approval of mifepristone, a key drug used for medication abortion, has been the subject of several federal rulings. Representatives of the FDA and private drug companies have spoken out against the motion to overrule FDA approval, citing extensive safety data. Depending on the decision from the Supreme Court, these rulings could set a new precedent allowing federal courts to overturn FDA approval.

Spring 2023 Weekly News Profile

Advancements in Superconductors: New Hopes or False Promises?

Kaylee Tseng March 15, 2023 Electrical Engineering Energy Materials Science

A new publication in Nature reported the development of a near-ambient superconductor, a material without electrical resistance. Traditionally, materials only display superconductivity at low temperatures (-123 °C) or high pressure (>990,000 atm). The introduction of a superconductive material that operates at ambient temperatures and lower pressure could introduce faster and more energy-efficient technologies. However, a lack of rare resources and scrutiny of initial data may prevent this technology from reaching its full potential.

Spring 2023 Weekly News Profile

Martin Shkreli Returns as Drug Prices Continue to Rise

Kaylee Tseng February 13, 2023 Bioengineering Drug Discovery Pharmaceutical

Martin Shkreli became the internet’s most hated man in 2015 for hiking the price of life-saving medicine and mocking his online critics. Last month, Shkreli returned to the headlines when he started a new drug discovery company. As the FTC cracks down on Shkreli’s business, drug prices continue to rise.

Spring 2023 Weekly News Profile

New AI, New Problems: ChatGPT in the Classroom

Kaylee Tseng January 17, 2023 Artificial Intelligence Computer Science Education

The introduction of OpenAI’s AI text generator ChatGPT late last year has amplified the conversation surrounding AI use in classrooms. Aside from issues of dataset bias, OpenAI must also contend with critics who question whether ChatGPT is being used for academic assignments. Plagiarism software must now accelerate development in order to identify ChatGPT’s human-like responses.

Podcast

Grand Challenges Special Issue

Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

Redefining Societal Progress for Engineers

Natasha Singh March 29, 2023

Dr. Erin Cech’s critique of the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges focuses heavily on the pitfalls of technological determinism. This paper supports Cech’s argument through a discussion of current examples of the consequences of technological determinism, such as the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements, medication accessibility, and facial recognition technology. Though the consequences of a zealous engineering mentality are commonplace in our society, there are also current examples of tech companies neglecting to develop technology due to its possible negative consequences.

Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

How the Technical Sciences and the Social Sciences Should Go Hand-in-Hand

Charles Liu March 29, 2023

The fourteen Grand Challenges presented by the National Academy of Engineers (NAE) fail to involve ethics as a part of the solution to these issues. Traditionally, engineers have kept their work separate from its societal implications. Engineers and their non-technical counterparts have an obligation to view all technical solutions under the moral lens of ethicists and futurists. Going forward, engineers must be aware of their limits and work with experts outside of their fields to develop solutions that will be cognizant of society as a whole.

Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

The Lies We Tell to Inspire: Responding to the Engineering Double Standard

Shub Gaur March 29, 2023

The National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges are critiqued by Dr. Erin Cech for what she describes as a double standard in engineering. Though Cech rightly discusses a lack of accountability and acknowledgement within the profession, her argument lacks nuance. The Grand Challenges were ultimately a promotional tool meant to inspire the next generation of engineers, yet Cech holds them to a standard of being professional rules and guidelines. This paper will discuss the distinctions that Cech’s argument lacks, including placing an unreasonable amount of responsibility on engineers and overstating their influence.

Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

The Grand Challenges: Authorial Particularism and a Lost Opportunity for an Equitable Society

Huzaifa Aslam March 29, 2023

The fourteen Grand Challenges were developed by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in an effort to expose future generations to the wide range of innovation and technology that they could one day take part in. As detailed by the Challenges’ creators, the list includes challenges that are most significant to our current world. Dr. Erin Cech’s critique of the Grand Challenges is that a lack of diversity in the panel of engineering experts led to a lack of oversight into issues that are actually pertinent to developing nations. Cech’s argument that the Grand Challenges are a missed opportunity for social justice holds validity, but her mischaracterization of the lack of diversity requires further consideration.

Weekly News Profile

Fall 2024 Featured Weekly News Profile

Digital Doppelgangers: The Ethical Minefield of AI-Powered Digital Twins

Mo Jiang December 10, 2024

Microsoft’s Azure recently introduced AI-powered digital twins that can independently make medical decisions. The technology raises serious concerns over AI’s role in healthcare due to challenges in model confidence and real-time data integration. In healthcare, studies have shown that digital twins can improve cardiac surgery decisions, despite the risk of undermining clinicians’ judgment. Security challenges are significant and current counter-measures have flaws. The future of digital twins hinges on balancing innovation with regulation, ensuring they augment rather than replace medical expertise.

Fall 2024 Weekly News Profile

Uranus Isn’t Actually That Weird: New Research Suggests Potential for Life on the Distant Planet

Rachel Pak November 23, 2024

When Voyager 2 became the first and only mission to fly by Uranus in 1986, the data collected by the probe defined the way astronomers understood the ice giant for the next 40 years. However, a new study published suggests Voyager 2 just happened to zoom by the distant planet on a particularly weird day. These findings mean it might be easier for future missions to search for oceans beneath the surface of Uranus’ moons. This study reminds us that not only are we constantly making new discoveries, but that discoveries we considered facts are ever changing.

Fall 2024 Weekly News Profile

Plan B turned Plan A: Geoengineering To Resolve Climate Change?

Mary Karapetyan November 9, 2024

Geoengineering is considered a potential solution to mitigate the increasingly severe impacts of climate change. However, due to scientific and ethical concerns, it is critical to approach geoengineering techniques with caution. As a result, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) has unveiled a new ethical framework to help promote responsible and sustainable scientific research.

Fall 2024 Weekly News Profile

The Stars We Can No Longer See: The Impediment of Satellite Mega Constellations on Astronomical Research

Mo Jiang November 1, 2024

The launch of thousands of new private satellites for global internet coverage has led to unprecedented levels of light pollution and radio interference levels. Astronomers worldwide report increasing difficulty researching while satellite companies expand their networks. Space debris also makes launching scientific satellites and space operations for research purposes more challenging. This situation highlights the growing tension between expanding global internet access to underserved communities and preserving humanity’s ability to conduct astronomical research, prompting calls for reformed international space policies.

Fall 2024 Weekly News Profile

Fighting Hurricane Misinformation: Meteorologists Make the Climate Connection Amidst Storm of Lies

Rachel Pak October 21, 2024

The warnings preceding Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Martin were more accurate than ever before due to advances in forecasting methodology and technology. However, meteorologists have never faced such intense skepticism, hatred, and conspiracy-minded pushback. Many have been accused of steering the hurricanes, and others have faced threats of violence online. These false claims have been viewed more than 160 million times in the days following the hurricanes, and have even been pushed by government officials. However, in an effort to fight these false narratives, government authorities, civil society organizations, and meteorologists are now pushing back on disaster-related misinformation.

Viterbi Conversations in Ethics

Author: Kaylee Tseng

FTC Dispute Helps to Explain Rising Medical Device Costs

Nobel Prize in Medicine Winner Demonstrates the Roadblocks of Academic Innovation

How the WGA Strike Could Accelerate AI Regulation

Why the Microsoft vs. Sony “Console War” May Be a One-Sided Battle

Burners in Hot Water: The Struggle Over Household Gas Appliances

Neuralink Gains First-In-Human Approval as BCIs Advance Rapidly

Abortion Pill Rulings Leave the FDA in Political Crossfire

Advancements in Superconductors: New Hopes or False Promises?

Martin Shkreli Returns as Drug Prices Continue to Rise

New AI, New Problems: ChatGPT in the Classroom

Ethical Challenges in AI: From Mobile Apps to Self-Driving Cars

Bridging the Gap: Addressing Access Inequities in Emerging Healthcare Technologies

Redefining Societal Progress for Engineers

How the Technical Sciences and the Social Sciences Should Go Hand-in-Hand

The Lies We Tell to Inspire: Responding to the Engineering Double Standard

The Grand Challenges: Authorial Particularism and a Lost Opportunity for an Equitable Society

Digital Doppelgangers: The Ethical Minefield of AI-Powered Digital Twins

Uranus Isn’t Actually That Weird: New Research Suggests Potential for Life on the Distant Planet

Plan B turned Plan A: Geoengineering To Resolve Climate Change?

The Stars We Can No Longer See: The Impediment of Satellite Mega Constellations on Astronomical Research

Fighting Hurricane Misinformation: Meteorologists Make the Climate Connection Amidst Storm of Lies