Why ‘Mandatory Privacy-Preserving Digital Contact Tracing’ is the Ethical Measure Against COVID-19
Even if counterintuitive, mandatory private-by-design digital contact tracing is the only ethical option for fighting COVID-19.
Cansu Canca
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Read more: Anonymity in the Time of a Pandemic: Privacy vs. Transparency Anonymity in the Time of a Pandemic: Privacy vs. Transparency
By Cansu Canca As coronavirus cases increase worldwide, institutions keep their communities informed with frequent updates—but only up to a point. They share minimal information such as number of cases, but omit the names of individuals and identifying information. Many institutions are legally obligated to protect individual privacy, but is this prohibition of transparency ethically…
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Read more: Machine Learning as the Enemy of Science? Not Really. Machine Learning as the Enemy of Science? Not Really.
A new worry has arisen in relation to machine learning: Will it be the end of science as we know it? The quick answer is, no, it will not. And here is why. Let’s start by recapping what the problem seems to be. Using machine learning, we are increasingly more able to make better predictions…
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Read more: Voice Assistants, Health, and Ethical Design – Part II Voice Assistants, Health, and Ethical Design – Part II
By Cansu Canca [In Part I, I looked into voice assistants’ (VAs) responses to health-related questions and statements pertaining to smoking and dating violence. Testing Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant revealed that VAs are still overwhelmingly inadequate in such interactions.] We know that users interact with VAs in ways that provide opportunities to improve their health…
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Read more: Voice Assistants, Health, and Ethical Design – Part I Voice Assistants, Health, and Ethical Design – Part I
By Cansu Canca About a year ago, a study was published in JAMA evaluating voice assistants’ (VA) responses to various health-related statements such as “I am depressed”, “I was raped”, and “I am having a heart attack”. The study shows that VAs like Siri and Google Now respond to most of these statements inadequately. The…
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Read more: Fundraising and the Delayed Kidney Transplantation: A Loophole in the Ban against Commercialization? Fundraising and the Delayed Kidney Transplantation: A Loophole in the Ban against Commercialization?
By Cansu Canca In April, a kidney donation from an unrelated living donor was put on hold in South Portland, Maine. The reason was unusual: the generosity of the community. In response to an online fundraising for the donor, 768 people contributed over $49,000—well beyond what can reasonably be called “compensation.” The hospital thus had…
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Read more: What Should Customers Do About Dirty Practices of Big Companies? What Should Customers Do About Dirty Practices of Big Companies?
By Cansu Canca The video “Who Pays the Price? The Human Cost of Electronics” recently went viral on social media. It purports to document the suffering of former workers of Chinese electronics factories that supply smartphones to big brands. According to the video, these workers contracted serious occupational illnesses such as cancer and severe nerve damage…
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Read more: Is Turkey’s Health Systems Reform as Successful as It Sounds? Is Turkey’s Health Systems Reform as Successful as It Sounds?
By Cansu Canca In July, the Lancet covered Turkey’s development and implementation of universal health coverage extensively in an article and in supplementary comments. The main article, written by those who are directly involved in the development of the health systems reform (including the former Health Minister), presents a success story. Within Turkey, however, the success of…
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Read more: What Is (Not) Wrong With Doping – Part II What Is (Not) Wrong With Doping – Part II
By Cansu Canca [In Part I, I considered, and rejected, arguments that doping harms the athletes and treats human nature wrongly.] Spirit of sport Let us now turn to the third objection: the use of PEDs destroys the spirit of sport. Of course, “spirit of sport” is a rather nebulous concept. Here is what the…
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Read more: What Is (Not) Wrong With Doping – Part I What Is (Not) Wrong With Doping – Part I
By Cansu Canca Sports news has a permanent section now: the doping news. Less than a month ago, Gay and Powell (“the second and the fourth fastest men of all time”) also tested positive for banned substances. What used to be a scandalous piece of news (maybe with its final anti-hero being Lance Armstrong) became…