Media Mentions

OSV News reports, "Recent calls from several artificial intelligence leaders for a slowdown in the technology’s development are worth heeding — and the Church is already helping to shape the discussion around AI concerns."

“The people who are closest to the technology are most aware of what it is capable of. And therefore, their judgment should be very respected when it comes to their opinion on this subject,” said Brian Patrick Green, director of technology ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and a member of the Vatican working group on AI ethics.

Green also said, “we should remember is that God is out there in the world. He’s working with us right now, with individual people on earth doing concrete things to try to make the world a better place.”

Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by OSV News.

Stanford University removed a promotional photo that had been digitally altered to replace a male Hispanic student with an AI-generated Black female student without disclosure, violating the University's AI policies.

Director of Journalism and Media Ethics, Subbu Vincent, weighs in on the ethical considerations relating to the incident. Vincent asks, "Who are the people who might get impacted by the actual decision? Do we have to take consent from the people in the picture?"

He also notes, "The fact that one of the subjects who was edited out actually felt that they had been erased or the intent of the use of the picture now has nothing to do with how it was intended to be used earlier, which is an ethical issue."

Subbu Vincent, director, journalism and media ethics, quoted by NBC Bay Area.

The stock market works because the public trusts in the ability for traders to make stock trades at the same time. The City of San Francisco is suing Truth Social for insider trading and creating a pay-to-play environment. The lawsuit claims that early access to Truth Social content from the President violates California's unfair competition law, NBC Bay Area reports.

Ann Skeet, interim executive director at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics says, "This is a situation where it's not just. It's not fair."  Skeet says, "It's providing access to information in uneven terms. The wealthy traders can have better information and take advantage of that in a way that harms the everyday investor."

Ann Skeet, Ethics Center interim executive director, quoted by NBC Bay Area.

Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, S.J., dean of the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, and Brian Patrick Green, director of technology ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, suggest embracing an idea promoted by Pope Francis: synodality–a consultative method characterized by active listening, inclusive dialogue and shared discernment.

Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” has captured the world’s attention in a way that almost no other papal document has. The most prominent moral authority on this topic to date, the pope offers a humanity-wide call to action on artificial intelligence and how it can best reflect “human participation in the divine act of creation.”

The essential question for an AI synod could be similarly simple, yet profound. For example: “AI should contribute to and support human flourishing. In what ways does it do so? In what ways does it not?” The fundamental question of course would be, like “Magnifica Humanitas” asks, what kind of future do we want to live in together?

 

Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, S.J., dean of the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, and Brian Patrick Green, director of technology ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, published by Religion News Service.

As smart glasses technology becomes more widespread, there are increased concerns and questions about consent. Can existing privacy laws can keep pace with technology that allows people to record almost invisibly?

London has already banned the use of the technology in courtrooms, and now that anti-smart glasses sentiment is spreading to local hospitality and entertainment venues.

“It makes it harder and harder to protect yourself by just looking around and screening for things,” Irina Raicu, director of the internet ethics program at Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, previously told CNN. “So, the whole notion of consent is kind of disintegrating.”

Irina Raicu, director, internet ethics, quoted by CNN.

The Arizona Republic reports, Arizona Senator Jake Hoffman has stepped back from a fourth investigation of Gov. Katie Hobbs and her ties to a state contractor after The Arizona Republic questioned Hoffman's work to help elect Rep. Andy Biggs, Hobbs' political opponent.

Hoffman's involvement has deepened conflict of interest questions related to the senator's political consulting work.

Hoffman's dual role raised a red flag and deserved more scrutiny so the public could be confident the investigation wasn't conducted for his own financial gain, according to Davina Hurt, director of government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

"These are substantial payments arriving days before the subpoenas were announced," Hurt said. "And that doesn't prove anything about the motive, again, but it makes the appearance problem hard to dismiss."

Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, quoted in an article by The Arizona Republic (paywall) and redistributed by The Fresno Bee and other outlets.

"The median rent in California was $747 a month in 2000. Today, it’s over $2,700. Even after adjusting for inflation, rent climbed 44% in real terms, while renter income grew just 11%. The cost of keeping a roof over your head has risen roughly four times faster than renter income," writes Davina Hurt, director, government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

For millions of Californians, that gap is the affordability crisis, says Hurt.

"The moment software starts treating it purely as an asset class to optimize, extracting the maximum a tenant will tolerate, renters lose ground they don’t get back," says Hurt.

Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, published by The Mercury News.

San José leaders are courting data centers even as residents organize against them, KQED reports.

“I think we’re in a full-on backlash against the buildout of the data centers, and not just in California, but in the country and really worldwide,” said Irina Raicu, the director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

Raicu told KQED she thinks holistic conversations about how data centers affect society need to be top priorities.

“None of this is just a force of nature. These are decisions made by human beings. Regulations can be passed. There can be a lot more money spent on making more sustainable technology. There could be delays put in place as to whether you deploy something at this kind of scale,” Raicu said. “All of that is just human decisions.”

Irina Raicu, director, internet ethics, quoted by KQED.