The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
@iethics.bsky.social
Irina Raicu behind the keyboard.
Pinned
When It’s About Power/Justice/Human Rights, It IS about Ethics
There is nothing about applied ethics that inherently leaves out social-political matters.
scu.edu
ICYMI: "When It’s About Power/Justice/Human Rights, It IS about [#tech and other] #Ethics": scu.edu/ethics/focus... #internet #law #AI
"We all agree that 'AI Alignment'— ... training AIs to behave in a way that aligns with our values...--has not been solved when it comes to current AI systems... We all agree that on the current trajectory, AIs will continue to be misaligned..." asteriskmag.substack.com/p/common-gro... #ethics #tech
Common Ground between AI 2027 & AI as Normal Technology
AI 2027 and AI as Normal Technology were both published in April of this year.
asteriskmag.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:25 PM
"We all agree that 'AI Alignment'— ... training AIs to behave in a way that aligns with our values...--has not been solved when it comes to current AI systems... We all agree that on the current trajectory, AIs will continue to be misaligned..." asteriskmag.substack.com/p/common-gro... #ethics #tech
"The growth in Section 702 targeting is likely an enduring trend. In April, the FISC approved a new Section 702 certification for counternarcotics, which flowed from RISAA’s expanded definition of foreign intelligence information": lawfaremedia.org/article/mum-... #ethics #law #privacy #gov #tech
Mum’s the Word on FISA Section 702 Reauthorization
Successful reforms from last year’s reauthorization may sell a clean extension in 2026.
lawfaremedia.org
November 13, 2025 at 10:21 PM
"Which 2025 #AI bills became #law in California?" techequity.us/2025/11/12/w... #ethics #policy #gov #business
Which 2025 AI bills became law in California? - TechEquity Collaborative
Of the 60+ AI bills introduced to the California legislature, which made it to the Governor's desk? Which became law? Find out now!
techequity.us
November 13, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
"Character. AI says its in-house tool will work to identify minors based on the nature of their interactions with the platform, as well as information gathered from shared accounts like email": futurism.com/artificial-i... #ethics #law #internet #tech #health #privacy #security
Character.AI Users in Full Meltdown After Minors Banned From Chats
The embattled chatbot company Character.AI is banning minors from its platform. Unsurprisingly, the site's users have a lot of thoughts.
futurism.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
"A small team armed with #opensource models and local #data can now build solutions once reserved for well-funded labs in the West... #AI can be tweaked for new regions, new dialects, or novel uses at low marginal cost": restofworld.org/2025/malawi-... #ethics #tech #nonprofit #language #WhatsApp
Malawi’s new farmhand: AI that speaks the local language
Ulangizi AI combines ChatGPT’s power with traditional know-how and government data to help crops — and families — flourish.
restofworld.org
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 PM
"A small team armed with #opensource models and local #data can now build solutions once reserved for well-funded labs in the West... #AI can be tweaked for new regions, new dialects, or novel uses at low marginal cost": restofworld.org/2025/malawi-... #ethics #tech #nonprofit #language #WhatsApp
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
"There have been many efforts over the years to train #AI systems in moral reasoning... The problem is that moral concepts are some of the most complex, subtle, context-sensitive, and culturally dependent of all human concepts": aiguide.substack.com/p/magical-th... #ethics #tech #media #research
Magical Thinking on AI
A Response to Thomas Friedman's Recent AI Columns in the New York Times
aiguide.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
"The suits claim that OpenAI 'knowingly released GPT-4o prematurely, despite internal warnings that the product was dangerously sycophantic and psychologically manipulative'": abcnews.go.com/US/lawsuit-a... #ethics #law #AI #chatbots #health #business #tech #research
Lawsuit alleges ChatGPT convinced user he could 'bend time,' leading to psychosis
A Wisconsin man with no previous diagnosis of mental illness is suing OpenAI and its CEO, claiming the firm's AI chatbot led him to be hospitalized for harmful delusions.
abcnews.go.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
The question isn’t "why does Signal use AWS?" It’s to look at the infrastructural requirements of any global, real-time, mass comms platform and ask how it is that we got to a place where there’s no realistic alternative to AWS and the other hyperscalers. 3/
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
📣THREAD: It’s surprising to me that so many people were surprised to learn that Signal runs partly on AWS (something we can do because we use encryption to make sure no one but you–not AWS, not Signal, not anyone–can access your comms).
It’s also concerning. 1/
It’s also concerning. 1/
PSA: we're aware that Signal is down for some people. This appears to be related to a major AWS outage. Stand by.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
ICYMI: "A Guide to #AI #Ethics Literacy" (to which we keep adding new pieces): www.scu.edu/ethics/focus... #education #highered #tech
A Guide to AI Ethics Literacy
A growing list of AI ethics issues and links to relevant materials from the Ethics Center.
www.scu.edu
November 10, 2025 at 11:36 PM
ICYMI: "A Guide to #AI #Ethics Literacy" (to which we keep adding new pieces): www.scu.edu/ethics/focus... #education #highered #tech
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
"The pope seems to be taking it all in stride": sfstandard.com/2025/11/10/m... #ethics #interent #socialmedia #tech #AI #SiliconValley
Marc Andreessen v. the pope: VC starts meme-war with Leo XIV
The venture capitalist quickly deleted his social media posts mocking the pontiff’s call to build moral AI.
sfstandard.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:50 PM
"The pope seems to be taking it all in stride": sfstandard.com/2025/11/10/m... #ethics #interent #socialmedia #tech #AI #SiliconValley
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
ICYMI: "These human-AI relationships can progress more rapidly than human-human relationships... Such ‘accelerated’ comfort stems from both the perceived anonymity of computer systems and #AI companions’ deliberate non-judgemental #design": adalovelaceinstitute.org/blog/ai-comp... #ethics #tech
Friends for sale: the rise and risks of AI companions
What are the possible long-term effects of AI companions on individuals and society?
adalovelaceinstitute.org
November 11, 2025 at 9:50 PM
ICYMI: "These human-AI relationships can progress more rapidly than human-human relationships... Such ‘accelerated’ comfort stems from both the perceived anonymity of computer systems and #AI companions’ deliberate non-judgemental #design": adalovelaceinstitute.org/blog/ai-comp... #ethics #tech
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
"Republicans, Democrats now equally concerned about #AI in daily life, but views on regulation differ": pewresearch.org/short-reads/... #ethics #law #gov #tech
Republicans, Democrats now equally concerned about AI in daily life, but views on regulation differ
Overall, 44% of U.S. adults say they trust the U.S. a lot or some to regulate the use of AI effectively, while 47% have little to no trust in the U.S. to do this.
pewresearch.org
November 11, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
The plaintiff "started using the popular #AI #chatbot mostly for his job in cybersecurity, but... [began] engaging with it about an amateur theory... He says the chatbot convinced him he had discovered the idea, and that it was up to him to save the world" abcnews.go.com/US/lawsuit-a... #ethics #law
Lawsuit alleges ChatGPT convinced user he could 'bend time,' leading to psychosis
A Wisconsin man with no previous diagnosis of mental illness is suing OpenAI and its CEO, claiming the firm's AI chatbot led him to be hospitalized for harmful delusions.
abcnews.go.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:53 PM
The plaintiff "started using the popular #AI #chatbot mostly for his job in cybersecurity, but... [began] engaging with it about an amateur theory... He says the chatbot convinced him he had discovered the idea, and that it was up to him to save the world" abcnews.go.com/US/lawsuit-a... #ethics #law
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
"The provision, tucked into a measure to fund the legislative branch, appears to immediately allow for eight GOP senators to sue over their phone records being seized in the course of the investigation by Jack Smith ... into the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
Spending Bill Would Pave Way for Senators to Sue Over Phone Searches
Republicans have voiced outrage that Jack Smith looked at G.O.P. lawmakers’ phone records surrounding the Jan. 6 attack. Legislation to reopen the government would allow them to sue for $500,000 each.
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
PSA: tips to protect yourself from scams on Signal.
Every major comms platform has to contend w phishing, impersonation, & scams. Sadly.
Signal is major, and as we've grown we've heard about more of these attacks--scammy people pretending to be something or someone to trick and abuse others. 1/
Every major comms platform has to contend w phishing, impersonation, & scams. Sadly.
Signal is major, and as we've grown we've heard about more of these attacks--scammy people pretending to be something or someone to trick and abuse others. 1/
November 11, 2025 at 6:13 PM
PSA: tips to protect yourself from scams on Signal.
Every major comms platform has to contend w phishing, impersonation, & scams. Sadly.
Signal is major, and as we've grown we've heard about more of these attacks--scammy people pretending to be something or someone to trick and abuse others. 1/
Every major comms platform has to contend w phishing, impersonation, & scams. Sadly.
Signal is major, and as we've grown we've heard about more of these attacks--scammy people pretending to be something or someone to trick and abuse others. 1/
"The provision, tucked into a measure to fund the legislative branch, appears to immediately allow for eight GOP senators to sue over their phone records being seized in the course of the investigation by Jack Smith ... into the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
Spending Bill Would Pave Way for Senators to Sue Over Phone Searches
Republicans have voiced outrage that Jack Smith looked at G.O.P. lawmakers’ phone records surrounding the Jan. 6 attack. Legislation to reopen the government would allow them to sue for $500,000 each.
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:00 PM
The plaintiff "started using the popular #AI #chatbot mostly for his job in cybersecurity, but... [began] engaging with it about an amateur theory... He says the chatbot convinced him he had discovered the idea, and that it was up to him to save the world" abcnews.go.com/US/lawsuit-a... #ethics #law
Lawsuit alleges ChatGPT convinced user he could 'bend time,' leading to psychosis
A Wisconsin man with no previous diagnosis of mental illness is suing OpenAI and its CEO, claiming the firm's AI chatbot led him to be hospitalized for harmful delusions.
abcnews.go.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:53 PM
The plaintiff "started using the popular #AI #chatbot mostly for his job in cybersecurity, but... [began] engaging with it about an amateur theory... He says the chatbot convinced him he had discovered the idea, and that it was up to him to save the world" abcnews.go.com/US/lawsuit-a... #ethics #law
"Republicans, Democrats now equally concerned about #AI in daily life, but views on regulation differ": pewresearch.org/short-reads/... #ethics #law #gov #tech
Republicans, Democrats now equally concerned about AI in daily life, but views on regulation differ
Overall, 44% of U.S. adults say they trust the U.S. a lot or some to regulate the use of AI effectively, while 47% have little to no trust in the U.S. to do this.
pewresearch.org
November 11, 2025 at 9:51 PM
ICYMI: "These human-AI relationships can progress more rapidly than human-human relationships... Such ‘accelerated’ comfort stems from both the perceived anonymity of computer systems and #AI companions’ deliberate non-judgemental #design": adalovelaceinstitute.org/blog/ai-comp... #ethics #tech
Friends for sale: the rise and risks of AI companions
What are the possible long-term effects of AI companions on individuals and society?
adalovelaceinstitute.org
November 11, 2025 at 9:50 PM
ICYMI: "These human-AI relationships can progress more rapidly than human-human relationships... Such ‘accelerated’ comfort stems from both the perceived anonymity of computer systems and #AI companions’ deliberate non-judgemental #design": adalovelaceinstitute.org/blog/ai-comp... #ethics #tech
"The pope seems to be taking it all in stride": sfstandard.com/2025/11/10/m... #ethics #interent #socialmedia #tech #AI #SiliconValley
Marc Andreessen v. the pope: VC starts meme-war with Leo XIV
The venture capitalist quickly deleted his social media posts mocking the pontiff’s call to build moral AI.
sfstandard.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:50 PM
"The pope seems to be taking it all in stride": sfstandard.com/2025/11/10/m... #ethics #interent #socialmedia #tech #AI #SiliconValley
Reposted by The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
Take a look at this compact page to browse and contemplate AI & ethics concerning accuracy, education, human connection and perception of friendship, data leakage, privacy, labor, energy and environment etc. (Markkula Center for Applied Ethics)
Take a look!
#philosophy #AI #appliedethics #ethics
Take a look!
#philosophy #AI #appliedethics #ethics
ICYMI: "A Guide to #AI #Ethics Literacy" (to which we keep adding new pieces): www.scu.edu/ethics/focus... #education #highered #tech
A Guide to AI Ethics Literacy
A growing list of AI ethics issues and links to relevant materials from the Ethics Center.
www.scu.edu
November 11, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Take a look at this compact page to browse and contemplate AI & ethics concerning accuracy, education, human connection and perception of friendship, data leakage, privacy, labor, energy and environment etc. (Markkula Center for Applied Ethics)
Take a look!
#philosophy #AI #appliedethics #ethics
Take a look!
#philosophy #AI #appliedethics #ethics
ICYMI: "A Guide to #AI #Ethics Literacy" (to which we keep adding new pieces): www.scu.edu/ethics/focus... #education #highered #tech
A Guide to AI Ethics Literacy
A growing list of AI ethics issues and links to relevant materials from the Ethics Center.
www.scu.edu
November 10, 2025 at 11:36 PM
ICYMI: "A Guide to #AI #Ethics Literacy" (to which we keep adding new pieces): www.scu.edu/ethics/focus... #education #highered #tech
📣THREAD: It’s surprising to me that so many people were surprised to learn that Signal runs partly on AWS (something we can do because we use encryption to make sure no one but you–not AWS, not Signal, not anyone–can access your comms).
It’s also concerning. 1/
It’s also concerning. 1/
PSA: we're aware that Signal is down for some people. This appears to be related to a major AWS outage. Stand by.
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 PM
The question isn’t "why does Signal use AWS?" It’s to look at the infrastructural requirements of any global, real-time, mass comms platform and ask how it is that we got to a place where there’s no realistic alternative to AWS and the other hyperscalers. 3/
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 PM