Weekly News Profile Archives - Page 17 of 18 - Viterbi Conversations in Ethics

Spring 2019 Weekly News Profile

Grateful Patient Programs: Doctors as Caregivers and Fundraisers

3/8/2019 Profiled article P. Galewitz, “Hospitals Are Asking Their Own Patients to Donate Money”, Jan. 28, 2019. [Online] The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/24/business/hospitals-asking-patients-donate-money.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FEthics…

Spring 2019 Weekly News Profile

Problems with CRISPR: Unintended Brain Enhancement on China’s Gene-edited Twins

VCE March 1, 2019 Biomedical Engineering CRISPR Genetic Engineering Medicine

3/1/2019 Profiled article A. Regalado, “China’s CRISPR twins might have had their brains inadvertently enhanced”, Feb. 21, 2019. [Online] MIT Technology Review. Available at: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612997/the-crispr-twins-had-their-brains-altered/ [Accessed 24…

Spring 2019 Weekly News Profile

A Relationship Between Injuries and the Development of ALS

VCE February 22, 2019 ALS Lou Gehrig's Disease Spinal Cord Injury

2/22/2019 Profiled Article ScienceDaily. (2019). Can a nerve injury trigger ALS?. [online] Available at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190220112208.htm [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019]. Summary As background, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS,…

Spring 2019 Weekly News Profile

The Need for 5G Cellular Service

VCE February 15, 2019 5G Network Autonomous Vehicles Road Safety

2/15/2019 Profiled article Part 1:A. Shah, “The Critical Need for 5G Cellular Service,” February 2019. [Online] ASME. Available at: https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/technology-and-society/we-need-5g-cellular-service [Accessed 14 Feb. 2019]. Part 2:A. Shah,…

Spring 2019 Weekly News Profile

Clean Meat or Lab Meat

VCE February 8, 2019 Bioengineering Cultured Meat Genetic Engineering Lab Meat

2/8/2019 Profiled article W. Johnson, A. Maynard, and S. Kirshenbaum. “Burgers grown in a lab are heading to your plate. Will you bite?” The Washington…

Spring 2019 Weekly News Profile

Broadening FBI Databases with Your At-Home DNA Tests

VCE February 1, 2019 DNA Forensics Genealogy

2/1/2019 Profiled article S. Hernandez, “One Of The Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working With The FBI”, Buzzfeednews.com, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/family-tree-dna-fbi-investigative-genealogy-privacy. [Accessed: 01- Feb-…

Spring 2019 Weekly News Profile

Can AI Replace Doctors? Someone Asked Them

VCE January 25, 2019 Artificial Intelligence Biomedical Engineering Computer Science Health

1/25/2019 Profile article M. Scudellari, “AI Won’t Replace Us, Docs Say”, Dec. 20, 2018. [Online] IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News. Available at: https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/ethics/ai-wont-replace-us-docs-say [Accessed 24…

Fall 2018 Weekly News Profile

Conflict between Machine Learning and Societal Values

VCE November 16, 2018

11/16/2018 Profiled article Moses, L. (2018). Is Your Algorithm Dangerous? – IEEE Technology and Society. [online] IEEE Technology and Society. Available at: http://technologyandsociety.org/is-your-algorithm-dangerous/ [Accessed 15 Nov. 2018].…

Fall 2018 Weekly News Profile

Oversight Over Environmental Gene Editing

VCE November 9, 2018 Environment Gene Editing Global Governance

11/9/2018 Profiled article K. Dennehy, “Editing nature: A call for careful oversight of environmental gene editing: Interdisciplinary team urges creation of coordinating global body.”, sciencedaily.com,…

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

Featured Summer 2024 Weekly News Profile

Life and Morality: The Ethical Debate of Normothermic Regional Perfusion in Organ Transplants

Mary Karapetyan July 23, 2024

Organ donations and transplants are responsible for saving the lives of thousands of people per year. However, these procedures come with numerous complications, including ischemia-reperfusion, which can lead to transplant failure. A new method called normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) is gaining more attention for its potential to reduce some of these complications compared to more traditional methods. Despite its potential, NRP is sparking ethical debates among the medical community.

Summer 2024 Weekly News Profile

Chandra X-ray Observatory: A Stellar Legacy at Risk

Mo Jiang July 18, 2024

NASA has shocked the scientific community with its proposition to decommission the Chandra X-ray Observatory. This has sparked a heated debate about the ethics of shutting down such a crucial scientific instrument. Given Chandra’s groundbreaking discoveries, historical significance, and potential for future research, many have come together to reverse the decision and preserve this invaluable asset for current and future generations of scientists and space enthusiasts.

Featured Summer 2024 Weekly News Profile

Is VAR Ruining Football?

Janessi Diaz July 1, 2024

VAR technology was adapted to make calls made by referees more accurate. For better or worse it has changed the way soccer is played. The 2024 Euros have been riddled with examples of how VAR is hurting soccer.

Summer 2024 Weekly News Profile

Smartphone Addiction on the Rise: Are Flip Phones Making a Comeback?

Mary Karapetyan June 24, 2024

Smartphone addiction has become a significant concern, leading to a growing need for a “digital detox.” Social media, streaming services, and mobile games are primary contributors to increased screen time among smartphone users. Carefully curated algorithms drive users to spend countless hours on these applications, triggering dopamine releases and potentially leading to addiction. To address this concern, more people are opting to switch to a classic flip phone as a way to reduce their screen time and break the cycle of smartphone addiction.

Summer 2024 Weekly News Profile

Spraying the Bay: A Controversy

Janessi Diaz May 27, 2024

Geoengineers at the University of Washington may have discovered a way to lower regional temperatures through the use of artificial marine cloud brightening (MCB). The team settled down in Alemade, California to start test runs of their project in early April. However, a lack of transparency on their part may get their research shut down.

Viterbi Conversations in Ethics

Category: Weekly News Profile

Grateful Patient Programs: Doctors as Caregivers and Fundraisers

Problems with CRISPR: Unintended Brain Enhancement on China’s Gene-edited Twins

A Relationship Between Injuries and the Development of ALS

The Need for 5G Cellular Service

Clean Meat or Lab Meat

Broadening FBI Databases with Your At-Home DNA Tests

Can AI Replace Doctors? Someone Asked Them

Conflict between Machine Learning and Societal Values

Oversight Over Environmental Gene Editing

Facial Recognition

Space and Mars Colonization

Infrastructure

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

Life and Morality: The Ethical Debate of Normothermic Regional Perfusion in Organ Transplants

Chandra X-ray Observatory: A Stellar Legacy at Risk

Is VAR Ruining Football?

Smartphone Addiction on the Rise: Are Flip Phones Making a Comeback?

Spraying the Bay: A Controversy