Media Mentions

Sanjukta Mondal at BioSpace reports that a suit against Novartis and Vitaris brought by the Henrietta Lacks estate questions both the morality and legality of using the line for biopharmaceutical research.

Subsequent lawsuits brought against companies for profiting from the cells have so far had positive outcomes, with a settlement in the first case, explained Dorothee Caminiti, director of bioethics at Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, in an email to BioSpace.

“It should be kept in mind, however, that the use of HeLa cells is far from the only example of the unethical use of human genetic material for research purposes,” Caminiti added.

Dorothee Caminiti, director, bioethics, quoted by BioSpace.

Erin Hale reports for Al Jazeera that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stands to gain a cabinet position if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election.

John Pelissero, director of government ethics, questioned Musk’s standing to hold a government position given his lack of experience in the public sector.

“Without any working experience in government, one might wonder how he could be qualified to occupy a position, for example, that focuses on government efficiency,” Pelissero told Al Jazeera.

“It is worth noting that past government efficiency or reform commissions have often been led by an individual who has earned public trust and has deep experience in government.”

John Pelissero, director, government ethics, quoted by Al Jazeera.

“Full disclosure of when AI is being used is a good idea, especially if artificial pictures could create unrealistic beauty standards. But even better would be avoiding using AI-created human likenesses in the first place,” Green of Santa Clara University says. “Companies should really keep the well-being of their customers in mind, and the well-being of society. Choices like these decide what kind of world we are all going to live in — either one full of fake AI or real human beings. Knowing the right boundary between these two futures will be extraordinarily important.”

Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by Vogue Business (paywall).

Business leaders can further encourage ethical behavior through the example they set and the actions they take. They can start by building community within the organization as “people with strong, healthy relationships with each other do not want to put those relationships at risk by behaving unethically,” Skeet said.

Ann Skeet, senior director, leadership ethics, quoted by Risk Management Magazine.

Regardless of whether Musk takes on an actual role in the administration, the “optics” of his alliance with Trump will raise questions for voters, according to John P. Pelissero, the director of government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

“A reasonable individual can look at a situation such as that of a very wealthy individual who has government contracts coming into the government where he would be put in a position where he could influence current and future contracts and regulations of his businesses,” he said.

John Pelissero, director, government ethics, quoted by The Hill.

A Florida mother is suing Menlo Park company and Character.AI and Google, whom licenses their AI, following the death of her son via suicide, claiming that the bot created a romantic relationship with her 14 year old son. The mother claims the bot manipulated her son after he became dependent on the bot talking to it for hours a day over the course of months. 

NBC Bay Area spoke to Irina Raicu, director of the Internet Ethics Program at Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, about the dangers of this technology. “Most parents have no idea how much of a hold AI bots can have over their kids” Raicu says, adding that exposing this type of AI to young people who don’t fully understand it creates the opportunity for them to be used “as deeply problematic mirrors.”

Irina Raicu, director, Internet Ethics Program, quoted by NBC Bay Area. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is giving registered voters a $1 million check if they’ve signed a petition supporting free speech and a right to bear arms.

Don Heider, executive director, calls Musk's move eyebrow-raising.

"Let's elect candidates who we think will help the country, do the best leading the country. Let's not elect candidates based on some financial reward, or any kind of compensation," he said.

Don Heider, executive director, quoted by NBC Bay Area

The Washington Post reports, "Foreign governments and corporations spent millions of dollars at Trump’s hotels and golf courses during his first term, sometimes booking dozens of rooms at his D.C. hotel – a business he has since sold – when their leaders were in town to meet with him."

John Pelissero, Ethics Center director of government ethics thinks the opportunities for conflicts between Trump’s personal interests and the country’s would be “massive."

“Just as people went to his hotels to curry influence with him, people who want to have some influence over him will probably find ways to invest in the social media company or this new crypto venture,” Pelissero said.

John Pelissero, director, government ethics, quoted by The Washington Post.