Vaccine mandates and schools; AI as doctor

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Latest News
June 10, 2021


** Vaccine Mandates and Passports
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Hastings Event Finds Some Common Ground
This week, the latest event in the Hastings Conversations series explored vaccine mandates and so-called passports (ways of certifying that one has been vaccinated). These strategies are seen as a means of increasing Covid vaccination and achieving population-level immunity. Some experts recommend mandates, but many states have outlawed them, including prohibiting businesses from requiring vaccination certificates. “Should we support mandates and, if so, for whom and, if so, who should require them--your employer, schools, or state governments?” asked Hastings Center President Mildred Solomon. Panelists from across the political spectrum found common ground in support of employers, businesses, and schools requiring proof of vaccination. Where they differed was on whether the government should have a role and what that role should be. Panelists were Lawrence O. Gostin, a Hastings Center fellow and Georgetown University professor who works closely with the Biden administration; Walter Olson,
a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute; Amy Fairchild, Dean and Professor at Ohio State University whose work helped establish public health ethics; and Francesca Rossi, the Artificial Intelligence Ethics Global Leader at IBM, which has developed a vaccine pass for the State of New York. Watch the event ([link removed]) .


** Is "Dr. DPT-3" Coming to a Clinic Near You?
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Artificial intelligence natural language computer applications like OpenAI’s Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3) are becoming increasingly sophisticated, raising the possibility that they could assume a greater role in health care, including interacting with patients. But before “Dr. GPT-3” enters the clinic, the potential and pitfalls need thoughtful exploration, states a new article by Hastings Center research scholar Diane M. Korngiebel and Sean D. Mooney, chief research information officer at University of Washington Medicine. “There is compelling promise and serious hype in AI applications that generate natural language, they write in NPJ Digital Medicine. The article breaks down potential health care applications into three categories: unrealistic, realistic and feasible, and realistic but challenging. Read the article ([link removed]) .


** In the Media: Hastings Explores the "Underbelly" of Progress
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“Weighing the benefits and harms of health, scientific and technological advances has been the goal of Hastings since it was founded more than 50 years ago, when it was considered the world’s first bioethics research organization,” states a profile of The Hastings Center in last week’s Highlands Current. The article traced our work from the beginning, when organ transplantation and in vitro fertilization emerged to contemporary issues concerning human genome editing and Covid-19. In an interview, Hastings Center President Mildred Solomon said that humans are “infatuated and excited and exhilarated” in their pursuit of progress, which is good, but progress also “has an underbelly, which is sometimes we develop abilities that maybe aren’t in our best interest to execute.” Read the article ([link removed]) .



**
Upcoming Events
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"At the Crossroads of Ethics, Law, Medicine, and Anthropology." Hastings Center research scholar Nancy Berlinger will moderate a Massachusetts General Hospital ethics forum that explores our obligations to non-citizens at the southwest U.S. border through ethical, legal, medical, and anthropological lenses. June 23, 6 pm EST. ([link removed])

"Medical Interfaces with Emotion AI: Hermeneutical Injustice in Automated Pain Assessment." Hastings Center project manager and research assistant Isabel Bolo will speak at the CEPE/IACAP Joint Conference 2021: The Philosophy and Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. July 7, 6 am EST. ([link removed])

Learn More ([link removed])
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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