A patient's AI medical journey, dementia narratives, vaccine confusion
Latest News
October 2, 2025
Special Report: Living with Dementia To improve lives, we need to change how we think and talk about dementia in aging societies
Dementia raises some of the most profound questions in bioethics and humanities: What does it mean to be a person? How does someone find meaning in life while facing progressive deterioration? How do narratives shape the experience of living with dementia, for better or worse? To improve the lives of people living with dementia and their caregivers, all of us need to pay attention to how we imagine and talk about this increasingly common condition, concludes a new Hastings Center special report. Read Living with Dementia: Learning from Cultural Narratives of Aging Societies.
Follow a Patient's Medical AI Journey New from Hastings on the Hill
The Hastings Center for Bioethics has released an interactive tool to help policymakers, patients, and providers understand the ways that AI is being used in medicine—from making a diagnosis to evaluating insurance claims—and navigate the ethical questions that emerge along the way. The new tool, a Patient’s Journey with Medical AI, follows an imaginary patient through five interactions with medical AI and offers insights into the ethical issues that emerge in each. Learn more and follow a Patient's Journey with Medical AI.
Why the New Patchwork of Vaccine Standards is Harmful New in Hastings Bioethics Forum
“For more than half a century, Americans could rely on a unified, science-based system for vaccine recommendations,” write Richard Hughes and Lawrence Gostin in Hastings Bioethics Forum. But the politicization of science in our federal government has led to a patchwork of state and regional recommendations. This “vaccine federalism” is harmful to our health and further erodes trust in science. Read “When Science Splinters: Vaccine Federalism and the Erosion of National Standards.”
How will AI Affect Trust and the Future of Bioethics? Listen to podcast with Vardit Ravitsky
In a wide-ranging conversation on the “Research Ethics Reimagined” podcast, Ravitsky discusses the rapid implementation of AI in healthcare and biomedical research, strategies for combatting misinformation, and maintaining organizational values during our challenging political times. The podcast is produced by PRIM&R, which works to ensure the highest ethical standards in research. Ravitsky will be a keynote speaker at PRIM&R’s annual conference next month. Listen to the podcast.
Ethics of AI in Science and Healthcare. Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky will be a panelist at this Endpoints AI Day conference. October 14.
Building Trust: AI Governance and Ethics in Medicine and Health. The National Academy of Medicine's annual conference will include Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky as a panelist. October 20.
PRIM&R Annual Conference. Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky will deliver the keynote address. November 7.
Healthcare Leadership Symposium. Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky will participate in a fireside chat with the president of SUNY Downstate. November 12.
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.
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