Each day, messages from Nigerian princes, peddlers of wonder drugs and promoters of can’t-miss investments choke email inboxes. Improvements to spam filters only seem to inspire new techniques to break through the protections. Now, the arms race between spam blockers and spam senders is about to escalate with the emergence of a new weapon: generative […] … learn more→
AI-generated spam may soon be flooding your inbox – and it will be personalized to be especially persuasive
A major review has recommended more independence for decisions about research funding in Australia
Education Minister Jason Clare has just released a highly anticipated review into how research is funded in Australia. This is the review of the federal legislation underpinning the Australian Research Council (ARC). The ARC is the independent body that funds non-medical university research in Australia. So it has a hugely important role in the careers of academics. This review […] … learn more→
Childism: how discrimination against children plays out in law
Some acts are only considered criminal if they are committed by someone aged under 18. This doesn’t just include things such as drinking alcohol. In some US states, for example, it is illegal for children to run away from home or even to repeatedly disobey parental authority. This behaviour is called incorrigibility. If a child is decided to […] … learn more→
Why don’t we take comics seriously?
Despite its indisputable importance in popular culture, the comic does not enjoy a similar status in the Spanish-speaking world as it does in other countries. Among other reasons, this may be due to the very origin of the modern comic in the daily press, much weaker than in the United States, and which linked the comic to […] … learn more→
Empathy can be taught at school – and it can lead to more creative thinking
Most people think that empathy – the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes – is fixed, but it’s not. Empathy can be taught. Research has shown that reading can help children develop empathy. Through reading, children can experience the situations of others that are very different to their own, and reflect on that experience. Further […] … learn more→
Dutch government to expand euthanasia law to include children aged one to 12 – an ethicist’s view
Ernst Kuipers, the Dutch health minister, recently announced that regulations were being modified to allow doctors to actively end the lives of children aged one to 12 years who were terminally ill and suffering unbearably. Previously, assisted dying was an option in the Netherlands in rare cases in younger children (under one year) and in some older […] … learn more→
Minors learn and contribute when they participate in municipal decisions
People need to be part of our community, to be accepted and recognized by the group, to have a support network, to have our interests and opinions valued, and to be able to define our life realities with others. It is what is known as the right to social participation, but not all people have this […] … learn more→
AI has social consequences, but who pays the price? Tech companies’ problem with ‘ethical debt’
As public concern about the ethical and social implications of artificial intelligence keeps growing, it might seem like it’s time to slow down. But inside tech companies themselves, the sentiment is quite the opposite. As Big Tech’s AI race heats up, it would be an “absolutely fatal error in this moment to worry about things […] … learn more→
Ofsted inspections cause teachers stress and aren’t backed up by strong evidence – things could be done differently
The school inspectorate in England, Ofsted, has faced criticism recently following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry. According to her family, Perry’s death was a “direct result” of the pressure resulting from the Ofsted inspection process which resulted in her school being judged as “inadequate”. This has sparked debate about whether the current Ofsted framework should be […] … learn more→
The ethics of care as a basis for the coeducational curriculum
Care is an essential right to sustain life. All people need it to have a decent life. In Spain, more than 75% of the people who provide care to dependent people are women . In the rest of the world the proportions are similar . In a social and cultural context based on inequality, care is understood as women’s work. In addition, it […] … learn more→