Media Mentions

Self-improving AI systems could accelerate beyond human oversight, prompting renewed calls for stronger safeguards.

Brian Green, director of technology ethics, explains the acceleration as, "Rather than humans programming AI, AI becomes powerful enough to program itself."

"It is very important to get recursive self-improvement right, otherwise it could spiral out of control and create new versions of itself that are not friendly," Green said.

But regarding the June 12 intervention by the Trump administration to suspend foreign access to Anthropic's Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, Green admitted that "in some ways, the restrictions might be too stringent in that even Anthropic's own non-U.S. citizen employees -- many of whom are from friendly nations like Canada, the U.K. and Germany -- are no longer allowed access."

That move signals "direct government interference with business activity, and should cause American businesses some concern about government overreach," said Green.

Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by Union of Catholic Asian News.

The Los Angeles Times reports, "The amplification of election misinformation by users who had money staked on the mayoral race adds a new twist to evolving scrutiny of prediction markets, and scholars say the ability to bet on elections broadly raises questions about whether the exchanges could alter how Americans engage in democracy."

“Elections are not a game,” said Davina Hurt, director of government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. “[If market] probabilities begin influencing donor decisions, media attention, the energy around [campaign] volunteers — at that point, markets aren’t just observing the election. They’re a part of it.”

Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, quoted by the Los Angeles Times.

“I have no idea what the origin of this interest is in AI, but I will say that I think he’s exactly the right person for this,” said Brian Green, director, technology ethics, who called the Pope “the man of this moment.”

“The fact that Pope Leo has come along and made this the cornerstone, the most important thing for his pontificate, I think, is extraordinarily foresightful. I think the Holy Spirit is involved here as far as I'm concerned.”

Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by National Catholic Register.

Utlizing the legal practice of behested payments, Oakland Mayor, Barbara Lee has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from nonprofits, developers, contractors, and a union to pay for community events, police recruitment, office staffing, and other civic initiatives.

Officials must report to state or local political watchdogs when they raise money this way.

“The more authority public officials have over contracts and personnel and budgets, it becomes more ethically sensitive,” Hurt said. “And when you’re soliciting money from interested parties, even for civic and city purposes, there’s care that needs to be taken.”

Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, quoted by The Oaklandside.

Hollister City Manager Ana Cortez used her own private recruiting firm to recruit a Human Resources and IT director and while Cortez argues there is no conflict because her firm provided these services pro bono, the act has drawn criticism from at least one community member and raised questions about whether it represents a conflict of interest.

Ethics Center's Director of Government Ethics Davina Hurt said that Cortez using her personal firm has less oversight and accountability because she has control of both recruiting and hiring.

“There’s just no guardrails in this recruitment process because of her business involvement,” says Hurt.

The issue is more about whether the city has a hiring policy that places ethical boundaries that can be applied no matter who is in charge.

Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, quoted by BenitoLink.

KQED reports that California lawmakers tried to address the water issue last year through legislation, but California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the proposed measure. New bills mandating disclosures about water use and planning are in progress.

“We have this huge build out, and we have very little data,” said Irina Raicu, who directs the Internet Ethics program at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

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

Vicki Schmidt, the Kansas insurance commissioner and a pharmacist by trade, is running to be governor. Schmidt is facing scrutiny over campaign contributions she received from interested parties prior to a key regulatory decision. The act is raising ethical questions about a potential influence campaign.

“When it comes to ethics, it’s always about public trust and the appearance of independence — making sure there is not an appearance of impropriety,” said Davina Hurt, director of government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

“Ethics exists because trust is fragile and in instances just like this, they have to maintain public confidence that these decisions are being made on policies of public interest and not on donor relationships,” Hurt said.

Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, quoted by The Kansas City Star.

Artificial intelligence may imitate the miracle of human life, but it cannot replace it. Brian Patrick Green, director of technology ethics talks to Decode39 about the conviction that lies at the heart of Magnifica Humanitas, the Pope Leo XIV encyclical.

Green says, "Most technology companies are at least aware that if they behave in ways considered too unethical, they will eventually pay a financial price for it, and therefore they try — in most cases — to respect some fundamental moral obligations. Some companies are far more attentive to ethics than others. But, as Christopher Olah observed in his remarks, we cannot leave everything in the hands of technology companies. All of us must work to ensure that technology is necessarily ethical — otherwise it will not be."

Brian Green, director, technology ethics, interviewed by Decode 39.