Ambivalence Over AI: We Are All Prometheus Now

February 22, 2024 by Nicholas B. Dirks Revolts against science are often deeply irrational, as we witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic, with political polarization around lifesaving vaccines and critical public health measures. But public distrust of science has too often been enabled through its manipulation by corporate interests, including big tobacco and oil, as well as by the dangers associated with its use in war. … Continue reading Ambivalence Over AI: We Are All Prometheus Now

Institutional Ethics Committees Move Too Slowly, Critics Say

February 26, 2024 by Christina Szalinski On May 25, 2023, surgeons split open 39-year-old Jake Seliger’s chin and jaw bone and excised his entire tongue in an effort to remove a fast growing squamous cell carcinoma. They then removed some quadricep muscle, fat, and skin to create a flap in his mouth that acts as an incapacitated substitute, a journey Seliger has been documenting in … Continue reading Institutional Ethics Committees Move Too Slowly, Critics Say

Are Evidence-Based Medicine and Public Health Incompatible?

February 21, 2024 by Michael Schulson It’s a familiar pandemic story: In September 2020, Angela McLean and John Edmunds found themselves sitting in the same Zoom meeting, listening to a discussion they didn’t like. At some point during the meeting, McLean — professor of mathematical biology at the Oxford University, dame commander of the Order of the British Empire, fellow of the Royal Society of London, … Continue reading Are Evidence-Based Medicine and Public Health Incompatible?