- “Ethics rules,” eh? How can it be ethical to take someone’s blood or body tissues, use them in research, even patent them and make millions of dollars from them — all without the consent of the person being so used? The Obama administration had the chance to change this barbaric, anti-freedom, anti-privacy policy and decided not to.
- And how can it be ethical, moral, legal, or tolerable in a decent society to let this POS cop off while forcing tax slaves to pay millions for his cruel deeds?
- “Crowdsourcing Death.” Scott Greenwood ponders some of the more obscure, but inevitable, implications of driverless vehicles.
- Assange’s future in the aftermath of Manning’s sentence commutation.
- “Democrats in the Wilderness” — having no plan except to double down on everything that got them into their lovely mess in the first place.
- So if you need a reminder that human beings are good, after all (at least when they’re not in politics, bureaucracy, or law-forcing), watch this grizzled rancher save a frozen finch. (H/T M. for the smile)
The latest — apparently Assange will will give himself till May.
““It’s not going to be commuted [until] May. We can have many discussions to that point,” Assange said.”
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/01/19/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-says-hell-come-to-us-with-caveat.html
My main thought about self-driving cars is that I hope to never be a passenger in one. Probably, if I live long enough, the choice will become difficult, at best. As with so many other automotive innovations, this is likely to be foisted upon us. If anyone were to ask my opinion, I’d say that the prime directive of the software would be to protect the vehicle occupants. Beyond that, on the whole, I doubt that the cars’ systems will do any worse than people behind the wheel do now. I can easily imagine a future in which “special” people and vehicles are issued transponders so that self-driving cars prefer to avoid them in collision situations. And of course, someone will figure out how to crack that system.
But, since the world will end tomorrow at noon Eastern, I guess I won’t worry about it much. 😉
I must, you know, link to the Two year-old’s solution to the trolley car problem.
“If anyone were to ask my opinion, I’d say that the prime directive of the software would be to protect the vehicle occupants.”
Exactly. Why should anybody want to ride in, let alone pay for, a vehicle that was programmed to make some “for the greater good” decision? Human drivers may be imperfect in many ways, but at least nearly all of them have a healthy sense of self-preservation and a desire to protect their own families and companions. Screw the idea of paying $30k or whatever it’s going to be for a vehicle programmed to kill its owner and occupants as it — or a bunch of technocratic assholes — sees fit.
Love the toddler’s problem solving. Wouldn’t want to be part of it. But funny video.
“A Parting Shot at Personal Freedom” by Judge Napolitano http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/18/obama-authorized-destruction-of-liberty/
As I recall, HeLa cells, used in cancer research, have been around for decades and the woman who donated the originals never got a dime. HeLa is the first two letters of her first and last name.
I’d rather see a self driving car take a drunk dude home than than the drunk dude drive. Would I get in a self driving car? Yeah, I would. But I want it to follow the Three Laws of Robotics…I don’t want to become potted meat because of someone else’s idea of “the common good”.
It’s my belief that most people are essentially good. It’s just that good is quiet and doesn’t get noticed as much.
I have no issue with using “unapproved” tissue and blood samples for research, but I draw the line at patenting biological products derived from them.
That would be like “borrowing” someone else’s prize bull to service your herd. The law doesn’t allow that, why does it allow stealing human “output”?
“As I recall, HeLa cells, used in cancer research, have been around for decades and the woman who donated the originals never got a dime. HeLa is the first two letters of her first and last name.”
Yep. Henrietta Lacks, a poor black woman, died at 31 of a particularly virulent form of cancer probably caused by multiple STDs transmitted to her by her ever-unfaithful husband. Her disease cells were unusual in that they’re (relatively speaking) immortal and have changed the course of medical research. Rebecca Skloot’s book about Lacks (and her family and the decades of research done using her tissue) is terrific. A great read, though an appalling story.
Lacks can’t really be said to have donated her cells. They were taken and used without her knowledge or consent.
Shel — Thank you for the excellent, disgusting, must-read link.