Join our webinar on climate resilience. New partnership. Dementia care
Latest News
February 6, 2025
Building Climate Change Resilience in the Caribbean Register for webinar.
Caribbean basin countries are experiencing some of the most destabilizing impacts of climate change—entire villages destroyed, increases in health harms. These countries contributed little to global climate change and yet they must build resilience to survive, much less flourish. What are the tradeoffs of adapting to warmer environments versus abandoning low-lying locales? What are the responsibilities of policymakers in the region and abroad? These are among the questions that will be discussed in a Hastings webinar on Thursday, February 13, at noon EST. Learn more and register.
New Partnership Supports Early-Career Scholars Focus is on implications of genomics research.
The Hastings Center and the Center for ELSI Resources and Analysis (CERA) have forged a new partnership to support career development for students who are interested in ethical, legal, and social implications research of genomics. A major component of this partnership is the selection of a CERA Fellow from among The Hastings Center Sadler Scholars, doctoral students interested in bioethics research careers. The inaugural CERA Fellow is Kimberlyn Ellis, who is completing her doctorate in human genetics at Vanderbilt University. Read more.
These Settings Aren't Real. But for Dementia Patients, What Is? Nancy Berlinger quoted in New York Times.
Fake shops and diners, nurseries with dolls, and robot cats are increasingly common features of residential and respite care facilities for people with dementia. Are these features harmless, beneficial, or deceptive? Absent options to repair the cognitive deterioration characteristic of dementia, caregivers can “try to meet people where they are and say: ‘What gives comfort? What reduces stress? What brings pleasure?’” said Hastings Center senior research scholar Nancy Berlinger in an interview with The New York Times. “We should be thinking about this all the time.” Read the article.
AI Poses Harms and Potential Benefits for Disabled People Promising strategies proposed for building disability-specific AI models.
“Relative to other groups for whom the risk of bias in artificial intelligence (AI) has been identified, little attention has been given to the potential harms, and distinct benefits, that AI models could bring about for disabled people,” write Hastings Center Fellow Joel Michael Reynolds and co-authors in Nature Medicine. They assess how concerns about bias should be addressed and benefits achieved, including by “building disability-specific AI models trained on relevant health data.” Read the article.
Building Climate Change Resilience in the Caribbean. A Hastings Center webinar, February 13.
Current and Emerging Prenatal Testing Technologies: Bioethical Implications. Presentation by Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Centre for Bioethics 10th Anniversary Celebration. February 21.
Binocular Vision: A Metaphor to Help Comprehend Persons. A talk by Hastings Center senior research scholar Erik Parens. Georgetown University. February 25.
What Do We Have in Common? Thinking Together About Good Lives for Older Adults and Caregivers in Aging Societies. Presentation by Hastings Center senior research scholar Nancy Berlinger at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Centre for Bioethics 10th Anniversary Celebration. March 3.
The Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Research: Challenges and Emerging Guidance. Panel discussion with Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky. March 5, 2025.
The Hastings Center seeks to ensure responsible health and science policy and practice. We work to secure the wisest possible use of emerging technologies and fair, compassionate, and just health care for people across their lifespan.
We strongly value your privacy and would never sell, give, or otherwise share your information. Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
