What drives society’s understanding of right and wrong? In this thought-provoking talk, futurist Juan Enriquez offers a historical outlook on what humanity once deemed acceptable — from human sacrifice and public executions to slavery and eating meat — and makes a surprising case that exponential advances in technology leads to more ethical behavior.

The problems of corporate concentration and privacy on the Internet are inextricably linked. A new regime of interoperability can revitalize competition in the space, encourage innovation, and give users more agency over their data; it may also create new risks to user privacy and data security. This paper considers those risks and argues that they are outweighed by the benefits. New interoperability, done correctly, will not just foster competition, it can be a net benefit for user privacy rights.

Secondary use of patient health data can be a boon for medical research and development, but only if researchers can cultivate patient trust in the system.

The State of AI Ethics Report (January 2021) captures the most relevant developments in AI Ethics since October of 2020.

But how do Americans feel about data privacy? According to Pew Research, they do not trust governments and companies to do the right thing with data. A 2019 survey found 81% of people feel they have very little or no control over data collected by companies, while 84% felt the same about government.

A Nature survey shows many scientists expect the virus that causes COVID-19 to become endemic, but it could pose less danger over time.

The City of Helsinki has adopted MyData principles as it attempts to become the most functional digital city on the planet through proactive digital services.

The report is looking at how data and technology are shaping the future of vulnerability, particularly through new forms of inequality, intrusion and insecurity. It calls for civil society, technologists and leaders across sectors and community to come together to develop and promote ‘humanity first’ approaches to frontier technologies.

I sat down with Kaliya Young and Lucy Yang, directors of CCI, an open community, which brings together more than 300 technologists, academics and healthcare professionals from more than 100 organizations. CCI recently joined Linux Foundation Public Health (LFPH) to make a difference in a space that demands technological innovation and efficacy.