COVID-19 Fatigue? Don’t Let Your Ethics Guard Down; Esquire, July 28, 2020

Esquire; COVID-19 Fatigue? Don’t Let Your Ethics Guard Down

"But now is not the time to give in or to cut corners professionally. No, now is the time for a quick run-through of a lawyer’s ethical obligations to clients during these challenging times.

The legal profession’s ethical rules do not contain exceptions for pandemics."

Study: Only 18% of data science students are learning about AI ethics; TNW, July 3, 2020

Thomas Macaulay, TNW; Study: Only 18% of data science students are learning about AI ethics

The neglect of AI ethics extends from universities to industry

"At least we can rely on universities to teach the next generation of computer scientists to make. Right? Apparently not, according to a new survey of 2,360 data science students, academics, and professionals by software firm Anaconda.

Only 15% of instructors and professors said they’re teaching AI ethics, and just 18% of students indicated they’re learning about the subject.

Notably, the worryingly low figures aren’t due to a lack of interest. Nearly half of respondents said the social impacts of bias or privacy were the “biggest problem to tackle in the AI/ML arena today.” But those concerns clearly aren’t reflected in their curricula."

15 Ethical Crises In Technology That Have Industry Leaders Concerned; Forbes Technology Council, July 9, 2020

Forbes Technology Council; 15 Ethical Crises In Technology That Have Industry Leaders Concerned

"Growing technologies such as artificial intelligence have incredible potential. However, they also can come with ethical concerns, such as privacy violations and data safety. These issues must be addressed before people can safely implement emerging technologies in their daily lives.

As industry leaders, the members of Forbes Technology Council keep a close eye on issues impacting the field. Below, they share 15 ethical crises they’re concerned about and what can be done to remedy them."

Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation; The New York Times, July 30, 2020

John Lewis, The New York Times; 

Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation

Though I am gone, I urge you to
answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe.

Mr. Lewis, the civil rights leader who died on July 17, wrote this essay shortly before his death, to be published upon the day of his funeral.

"Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.

Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it."

How to Inoculate Your Team Against Conspiracy Theories; Harvard Business Review, July 30, 2020

Cynthia Wang, 

Jennifer Whitson, 

Tanya Menon, 

Joongseo Kim and 

Brian D. Webster

, Harvard Business Review; How to Inoculate Your Team Against Conspiracy Theories

"Why does this loss of control make conspiracy theories so appealing? Research shows that when people experience loss of control, they tend to search for illusory patterns in their environment. These patterns are appealing because they reduce the environment’s randomness, uncertainty, and disorder — even if the certainty they offer is both ludicrous and unpleasant (such as governments or tech companies plotting to infect the world).

Luckily, it’s possible to inoculate yourself — and others — from susceptibility to these dangerous conspiracy theories. Our work shows that how people think about control determines their vulnerability to these theories. Specifically, we found that individuals with a “promotion-focused” mindset (i.e., those who tend to focus on achieving their goals and aspirations) are more resistant to conspiracy theories than those with a “prevention-focused” mindset (i.e., those who focus on protecting what they already have), because the promotion focus on shaping their own futures involves a greater sense of control."

An Ethics Guide for Tech Gets Rewritten With Workers in Mind; Wired, July 15, 2020

Arielle Pardes, Wired; An Ethics Guide for Tech Gets Rewritten With Workers in Mind

The Ethical Explorer Pack is designed to help Silicon Valley's rank and file—not just CEOs—steer products away from harmful directions.

"Now, the Omidyar Network has a new tool kit, designed to get tech workers talking about the way their products shape society, democracy, and more. The Ethical Explorer Pack, as it’s called, covers many of the same topics and ideas as EthicalOS, but with added guidance on how workers can bring these issues up on their teams—whether to identify red flags early on, to brainstorm solutions to potential problems, or to set boundaries around things like data control, surveillance, or disinformation. The kit, which comes as a free digital download or a physical deck of cards, provides exercises, activities, and prompts that can be used alone or with a group to guide conversations...

The Ethical Explorer Pack might introduce some employees to questions they’d never considered. For others, the prompts might reinforce ideas they were too nervous to bring up. “People can feel like the joy-kill, the person getting in the way of the cool innovation,” says Drinkwater. The kit includes some sample language for making the case to managers and colleagues. That might not be enough to get buy-in when an ethical concern stands at odds with a business’s bottom line, or when a marginalized worker is the only one speaking up. Still, the tool kit encourages workers to make their point in the parlance of Silicon Valley. Slowing down to think through future consequences isn't any different than slowing down to debug code. It might even save startups from a headache, or something bigger, down the road."

Link to Omidyar Network's Ethical Explorer Pack

The Ethics of Reopening; Inside Higher Ed, July 21, 2020

Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, Inside Higher Ed; The Ethics of Reopening

"Pandemics rightly invite the language of science and best practice when it comes to the choices we make. If you listen, however, there’s another conversation of right and wrong and assignments of “Who is responsible?” It’s the language of ethics and morality, and, in that vein, I’ve been ruminating on the ethics of colleges and universities reopening for the fall term. Here’s a baker’s dozen."

How 'John Lewis: Good Trouble' serves as a warning; CNN, July 4, 2020

Brandon Tensley, CNN; How 'John Lewis: Good Trouble' serves as a warning

""I tell friends and family, colleagues and especially young people that when you see something that's not right or fair, you have to do something, you have to speak up, you have to get in the way," as Lewis put it in 2018."

Complaint Faults Museum Director for Hanging His In-Law’s El Greco; The New York Times, July 15, 2020

Graham Bowley, The New York Times; Complaint Faults Museum Director for Hanging His In-Law’s El Greco

A whistle-blower accusation argues that conflict-of-interest rules to prevent self-dealing have been skirted at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

"“It’s a common practice for American museums to engage collectors and patrons asking them to loan paintings,” he said in an interview.

But his answers have failed to satisfy the museum employees who filed the complaint at a time when other concerns, including ones about Mr. Salort-Pons’s management style and about DIA’s treatment of its Black employees, are roiling the institute.

They say that a lack of transparency surrounding the artwork cloaked a situation that could financially benefit the director and his family, since a painting’s exhibition in the institute could burnish its value. 

Some ethics experts, too, said he probably didn’t go far enough in disclosing his family’s interest.

“A museum official (or close relative) who loans an object to the museum for display then sells it after exhibition would likely earn an enhanced price for the object,” said Greg Stevens, director of the Institute of Museum Ethics at Seton Hall University. “And it would also cause the appearance of impropriety to arise — namely, that the museum used its prestige, resources, and reach to enrich the official.”"

How to protect algorithms as intellectual property; CSO, July 13, 2020

Stacy Collett, CSO; How to protect algorithms as intellectual property

Algorithms can now be considered trade secrets or even patent-worthy. Prevent them from being stolen by taking these security steps.

"Intellectual property theft has become a top concern of global enterprises. As of February 2020, the FBI had about 1,000 investigations involving China alone for attempted theft of US-based technology spanning just about every industry. It’s not just nation-states who look to steal IP; competitors, employees and partners are often culprits, too.

Security teams routinely take steps to protect intellectual property like software, engineering designs, and marketing plans. But how do you protect IP when it's an algorithm and not a document or database? Proprietary analytics are becoming an important differentiator as companies implement digital transformation projects. Luckily, laws are changing to include algorithms among the IP that can be legally protected."

“Keep on Pushing” Celebrating the life and career of E. J. Josey; American Libraries, June 27, 2020

Phil Morehart , American Libraries; “Keep on Pushing”

Celebrating the life and career of E. J. Josey

[Kip Currier: Uplifting article about the late E.J. Josey, Professor Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences and indefatigable champion for full inclusion of Black Americans during the tumultuous 1960's Civil Rights era and beyond. Dr. Josey was a consummate challenger of barriers to equality. His life and this article inform one of several capstone essays that graduate students in my inaugural LIS 2040: The Information Professional in Communities course are writing this month:

Reflection Essay 1: Breaking Down Barriers to Access by Communities

1. Barriers to information and resources are prevalent and persistent for many kinds of analog and digital communities. Read this 6/27/20 American Libraries article, “Keep On Pushing”: Celebrating the life and career of E.J. Josey. (see https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/keep-on-pushing/). The late E.J. Josey was a professor at Pitt’s School of Library and Information Sciences and was a “transformative force and leader” whose entire life was about breaking down barriers:

At the 1964 ALA Annual Conference in St. Louis, Josey “did something extraordinary” by putting forth a resolution to prevent the Association from working with Southern state library chapters that refused membership to Black librarians. “All hell broke loose,” said [Prof. Renate] Chancellor, quoting Josey, but the resolution passed.” https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/keep-on-pushing/

In a 750 – 1,000 word essay, identify and discuss at least one barrier that information professionals face in promoting access to information and resources for at least one specific community. Talk about at least one tangible strategy that you, as an information professional, can use to help to break down barriers and promote more access to information and resources for the community you identify. Cite at least one scholarly source in your essay.

Kip Currier (c) 2020]

[Excerpt]

"The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) honored the legacy of a trailblazing librarian—and celebrated its own 50th anniversary—at a live-streamed event at ALA Virtual June 26.

“E. J. Josey’s 1964 Charge: ‘Keep on Pushing’” charted the life of E. J. Josey (1924–2009), librarian, educator, author, activist, founding member of BCALA, and 1984–1985 American Library Association (ALA) president...

The session was moderated by Anthony Dunbar, librarian, sociology professor, and equity-diversity-inclusion consultant at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois. He began by asking speaker Renate Chancellor—associate professor in the Department of Library and Information Science at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and author of E. J. Josey: Transformational Leader of the Modern Library Profession (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020)—to briefly encapsulate Josey before they moved into the breadth of his work.

“He was a transformative force and leader,” Chancellor said. “A lot of younger librarians may not be aware of his contributions to the profession.”...

1964 was a pivotal year for Josey, Black librarians, and civil rights, Chancellor said. At the 1964 ALA Annual Conference in St. Louis, Josey “did something extraordinary” by putting forth a resolution to prevent the Association from working with Southern state library chapters that refused membership to Black librarians. “All hell broke loose,” said Chancellor, quoting Josey, but the resolution passed.

“Josey was so passionate about equal rights and equality,” Chancellor said, describing how those issues drove much of his life’s work, from working with the student chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People while employed at Savannah (Ga.) State College; cofounding BCALA in 1970; and eventually becoming ALA president in 1983. One of Josey’s strengths, Chancellor said, was his ability to see the bigger picture."

LSU Renames Library; Schools Across the Nation Take Similar Steps To Address Racist Past; Library Journal, July 2, 2020

Lisa Peet , Library Journal; LSU Renames Library; Schools Across the Nation Take Similar Steps To Address Racist Past

"As calls for accountability are amplified across the country, many institutions are starting by addressing their racist history—many of which involved naming rights for funders or founders. Recently the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University (LSU) unanimously voted to remove the name of former university president Troy H. Middleton, whose 1961 correspondence stated his wish to keep the school segregated, from the LSU Library.

Members of the LSU community—particularly Black students—have long taken issue with the fact that their library was named for a man who would have preferred to exclude Black students from sports and school functions, Dean of Libraries Stanley Wilder told LJ. “This is not simply a knee-jerk reaction to the recent troubled times that we've been going through,” he noted. But “this time it happened in the context of a cultural moment where the LSU community was able to listen and act.”

Middleton’s papers are preserved in the LSU archives—among them, a letter he wrote to former University of Texas Chancellor Harry Ransom. At the time, the University of Texas was facing widespread legal and internal pressure to desegregate its dormitories, and Ransom had written to leaders at several other Southern schools to ask them how they handled integration.

Middleton wrote back: “Though we did not like it, we accepted Negroes as students.” But LSU did not allow Black and white students to room together, he said. “We keep them in a given area and do not permit indiscriminate occupancy.”

He went on to write, “Our Negro students have made no attempt to attend social functions, participate in athletic contests, go in the swimming pool, etc. If they did, we would, for example, discontinue the operation of the swimming pool.” If a Black student asked to participate in school athletics, Middleton concluded, “I think I could find a good excuse why he would not participate. To be specific—L.S.U. does not favor whites and Negroes participating together on athletic teams.” LSU’s varsity football team did not have a Black member until the early 1970s.

The library, which opened in fall 1959, was named for Middleton after his death in 1979."

I study the Internet’s flaws. The pandemic reminded me of its joys.; The Washington Post, May 14, 2020

Josephine Wolff, The Washington Post; I study the Internet’s flaws. The pandemic reminded me of its joys.

"I feel unexpectedly affectionate toward the Internet, almost weepy at times about the sheer accomplishment of the people who designed and built it — an accomplishment that’s more valuable than ever right now.

Technology, in short, is a source of tremendous solace at the moment, and not just because it’s my only line of communication to my parents, my grandparents, the brother whose Netflix account I’m using on a daily basis, my friends and my students — not to mention every company I’ve ever bought a pair of shoes from that suddenly feels the need to inform me via email, at some length, about its response to the coronavirus. Yes, part of what makes me emotional about the Internet is that it connects me to the people I’m feeling emotional about right now. But it’s also my awe about the technological resilience and range of systems that make those connections possible."

Library seeks community's help to document COVID-19 changes to daily life; University of North Georgia, May 21, 2020

Clark Leonard, University of North Georgia; Library seeks community's help to document COVID-19 changes to daily life

"Joy Bolt, dean of libraries at UNG, said part of the impetus for the project came when she and Allison Galloup, special collection and digital initiatives librarian, sought documents related to the 1918 flu pandemic.

"We were both somewhat surprised to find little in our collection on the subject," Bolt said. "This is one reason why we thought it was important for us to collect information about the experiences of our Northeast Georgia community for future scholars and researchers. It will be there when people want to look back on this time and see how things were for so many of us."

To submit your story, use the library's collection form and upload your file or email it to archives@ung.edu.

Galloup knows many people will wonder if their items are needed or worth sending. She has a simple message.

"Nothing is too mundane to share. We cannot do this without the community's help. While there may be similarities in all of our stories, each person's experience and perspective is unique," Galloup said. "We're asking you to share whatever you'd like, in whatever format you'd like. Those who would like to participate can submit videos, voice recordings, scans, photographs, or text documents.""

Smithsonian’s Leader Says ‘Museums Have a Social Justice Role to Play’; The New York Times, July 2, 2020

David Gelles, The New York Times; Smithsonian’s Leader Says ‘Museums Have a Social Justice Role to Play’

Lonnie Bunch, who oversees a host of museums and libraries, says the role of cultural institutions is to make people “feel comfortable with nuance and complexity.”

"In your memoir, you recalled when President Trump visited the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. And you shared this detail that the president didn’t want to see anything “difficult.” I feel like that story is emblematic of this broader tendency in American culture where many people, again, simply don’t want to confront the reality of some of the things that have happened in this country. How do we get people to engage with these difficult chapters in our history, especially when the legacy of some of these incidents is still very much with us today?

Americans in some ways want to romanticize history. They want selective history. As the great John Hope Franklin used to say, you need to use African-American history as a corrective, to help people understand the fullness, the complexity, the nuance of their history. I know that’s hard. I remember receiving a letter once that said, “Don’t you understand that America’s greatest strength is its ability to forget?” And there’s something powerful about that. But people are now thirsty to understand history. I hear people all the time saying, “I didn’t know about Juneteenth. Help me understand about the Tulsa riots.”

History often teaches us to embrace ambiguity, to understand there aren’t simple answers to complex questions, and Americans tend to like simple answers to complex questions. So the challenge is to use history to help the public feel comfortable with nuance and complexity."