The Internet Ethics program--Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

AI is reshaping childhood in China Government support and tech companies’ drive for profit fuel a rush to integrate AI tools, from robot tutors to chatbots, in education and caretaking.

#AI adoption "in #education and tutoring has been especially fast, as the Chinese #government pushes to accelerate the country’s technological progress against the U.S., and with anxious #parents willing to try anything to help their children succeed": restofworld.org/2025/ai-chin... #ethics #tech

A lawsuit tries to block the Trump administration's efforts to merge personal data A class action lawsuit argues that the administration's efforts to combine databases of personal information on Americans violate privacy laws and the Constitution.

"Earlier this month, NPR reported that a number of Republican-led states had started to run their... state voter rolls through SAVE to check for noncitizens, and more than 33 million voters had been run through so far": npr.org/2025/09/30/n... #ethics #data #privacy #law #gov #elections

AI’s backyard: A map of the 21st-century gold rush Internet giants are extracting basic resources and grabbing land to build their new data centers in Mexico, Chile, and Spain. This is a look at the impacts of several projects by Microsoft, Amazon, an...

"The judge who halted #Google’s project last year ruled that neither the company nor the authorities took into account, in their initial assessment, the likely impact of the data center on Santiago’s central aquifer, amid... a severe #water crisis": english.elpais.com/technology/2... #ethics #tech

Wave of Phony News Quotes Affects Everyone—Including EFF Whether due to generative AI hallucinations or human sloppiness, the internet is increasingly rife with bogus news content—and you can count EFF among the victims. WinBuzzer published a story June 26 ...

"The Radio Television Digital News Association issued guidelines a few years ago for the use of #AI in #journalism, and... many outlets... have developed guidelines of their own. The Poynter Institute offers a template for developing such policies": eff.org/deeplinks/20... #ethics #tech #media

Meta won’t allow users to opt out of targeted ads based on AI chats US users stuck with AI ad targeting as EU users win more control over their feeds.

"Meta users who don't want to see targeted content and ads based on more revealing chats may want to alter their habits. Most #Meta users globally will be impacted by the update, which also applies to Meta wearables, like its '...smart glasses'": arstechnica.com/tech-policy/... #ethics #AI #privacy

AI-Generated “Workslop” Is Destroying Productivity Despite a surge in generative AI use across workplaces, most companies are seeing little measurable ROI. One possible reason is because AI tools are being used to produce “workslop”—content that appea...

"The insidious effect of workslop is that it shifts the burden of the work downstream, requiring the receiver to interpret, correct, or redo the work. In other words, it transfers the effort from creator to receiver": hbr.org/2025/09/ai-g... #ethics #AI #tech

California issues historic fine over lawyer’s ChatGPT fabrications The court of appeals issued an historic fine after 21 of 23 quotes in the lawyer's opening brief were fake. Courts want more AI regulations.

California's Judicial Council "two weeks ago issued guidelines requiring judges and court staff to either ban generative #AI or adopt a generative AI use policy by Dec. 15": calmatters.org/economy/tech... #ethics #law #courts #tech

Apple removes ICEBlock, won’t allow apps that report locations of ICE agents Apple nixes tracking apps after Trump admin claimed they put ICE agents at risk.

"ICEBlock, which reportedly had over 1 million downloads, allowed people to report sightings of ICE officers and view reported ICE sightings within a five-mile radius": arstechnica.com/tech-policy/... #ethics #internet #tech #business #gov #Apple

Google Calls ICE Agents a Vulnerable Group, Removes ICE-Spotting App ‘Red Dot’ The move comes as Apple removed ICEBlock after direct pressure from U.S. Department of Justice officials and signals a broader crackdown on ICE-spotting apps.

"#Google Calls ICE Agents a Vulnerable Group, Removes ICE-Spotting App ‘Red Dot’": 404media.co/google-calls... #ethics #internet #business #gov #privacy #security

This. ⬇️ In my view, teaching critical AI literacy is absolutely central to helping students and others to navigate the current technology landscape. This will enable people to make an informed decision *whether* to use #AI, not only *how* to use it, based on practical, ethical and other factors.

Using #AI well requires a certain level of AI literacy. AI #ethics literacy is a part of AI literacy: scu.edu/ethics/focus... #education #highered #tech #SiliconValley

#ethics #law #socialmedia #gov #contentmoderation #business #tech

#ethics #law #socialmedia #gov #contentmoderation #business #tech

Using #AI well requires a certain level of AI literacy. AI #ethics literacy is a part of AI literacy: scu.edu/ethics/focus... #education #highered #tech #SiliconValley

Class-action suit claims Otter AI secretly records private work conversations The suit claims the popular service may be recording and processing millions of users' private conversations without consent.

"[U]sers have complained about #Otter joining meetings automatically when the service is linked to workplace calendars and recording chats without consent": npr.org/2025/08/15/g... #law #internet #AI #tech #business #privacy

Data centers consume massive amounts of water – companies rarely tell the public exactly how much In 2024, one data center in Iowa consumed 1 billion gallons of water, enough to supply all the state’s residences with water for five days.

"The Great Lakes are an important, binational resource that more than 40 million people depend on for their drinking #water and supports a US$6 trillion regional economy. #Data centers... may deplete local groundwater aquifers": theconversation.com/data-centers... #ethics #AI #tech #gov

AI Is a Mass-Delusion Event Three years in, one of AI’s enduring impacts is to make people feel like they’re losing it.

"Sam Altman: 'I do guess that a lot of the world gets covered in data centers over time'": aol.com/ai-mass-delu... #ethics #AI #tech #sustainability #environment #climate

From 2020: "Unless we are willing to reassess and reform today’s #AI #research agenda, the field of artificial intelligence could become an antagonist in the fight against #climate change in the years ahead": forbes.com/sites/robtoe... #ethics #environment #business #highered #tech

California lawmakers wanted to get tough on data centers. Here's what survived Lawmakers were mostly thwarted this year in trying to crack down on data centers to protect water supplies and California electricity rates

"California lawmakers wanted to get tough [or just more information] on #data centers. Here’s what survived": calmatters.org/environment/... #ethics #law #AI #gov #tech #business #sustainability #environment #research

"We’re going further and further into resource consumption without actually seeing the cost; users aren’t seeing a bill, it’s free or almost free, and so... we don't really have a connection to the environmental impact": usatoday.com/story/money/... #ethics #AI #tech #environment

Chatbot Barbie for Christmas? AI companions and child welfare don't mix Use of popular AI "companions" pose dangers and risks for children and teens. But tech ethicists, child development experts and recent church pronouncements offer helpful guideposts for concerned pare...

On #AI and #Barbie--future and past: 2 links: ncronline.org/opinion/chat... and scu.edu/ethics/inter...
#ethics #tech #toys #chatbots #parenting #business #education

Amid the AI boom, California looks to address water use by massive data centers The AI-driven data center boom is adding strain on the West’s water. New legislation in California would require data centers to report how much water they use.

"We ask California residents to switch to artificial turf and display 'water conservation' stickers in public places, yet #data center #water use remains hidden": latimes.com/environment/... #ethics #law #gov #business #tech #sustainability #environment

Generative AI use and human agency artificial and natural intelligence, including politics, policy, ethics and security

"Generative #AI Use and Human Agency": "There are contexts in which it is immoral to use generative AI": joanna-bryson.blogspot.com/2025/02/gene... #ethics #tech

On Digital Dignity Day—And Beyond Recordings and related readings about dignity online

ICYMI: "On Digital Dignity Day—And Beyond: Resources for Addressing a Key Topic in #Internet #Ethics": scu.edu/ethics/inter... #AI #tech #education #highered

How Do We Protect Children in the Age of AI? | Stanford HAI Tools that enable teens to create deepfake nude images of each other are compromising child safety, and parents must get involved.

New report "finds that #schools caught unprepared for a #deepfake nude incident may misunderstand their legal obligations, and that a botched school response may exacerbate the victim’s suffering and undermine community trust": hai.stanford.edu/news/how-do-... #ethics #law #AI #education

Instagram Account Promotes Holocaust Denial T-Shirts to 400,000 Followers Meta decided to not ban the account and the vast majority of its racist posts even after 404 Media flagged them to the company.

"Last year, #Meta concluded an... agonizing charade about its Holocaust denial policy.... #Facebook moderators kept assessing [a meme] as not violating #Instagram policies. Users appealed this decision... The entire ordeal for removing [it] took four years": www.404media.co/instagram-ac... #ethics

My mom and Dr. DeepSeek In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.

One in six American adults said they used #chatbots at least once a month to find health-related information, according to a 2024 survey by #health #research firm KFF": restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat... #ethics #internet #tech #AI #business #healthcare

Therapists are secretly using ChatGPT. Clients are triggered. Some therapists are using AI during therapy sessions. They’re risking their clients’ trust and privacy in the process.

As in many other professions, generative #AI promises tantalizing efficiency gains, but its adoption risks compromising sensitive patient #data and undermining a relationship in which trust is paramount": technologyreview.com/2025/09/02/1... #ethics #law #tech #therapy #health #education

Time series of message count per day containing "ai ethics" in BlueSky - 2025 YTD - Sept 10, 2025

Network visualization of user to user message replies containing "ai ethics" in BlueSky - 2025 YTD - Sept 10, 2025

ai ethics influencers NodeXL
@hypervisible.blacksky.app
@cfiesler.bsky.social
@iethics.bsky.social
@technews-rt.bsky.social
@timnitgebru.bsky.social
@lutzfernandez.bsky.social
@disabilitystor1.bsky.social
@bookspotlight.bsky.social
@go4know.com
@futurism.bsky.social

app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrI...

"The legislation would also create CalCompute, a public cloud infrastructure that expands access to #AI resources for researchers, startups and public institutions."
#ethics #law #tech #gov #research