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The Urgent Call for Facial Recognition Laws in Australia - Balancing Security and Privacy

Controversy illuminates rise of facial recognition in private sector. The technology was used to bar an audience member from a New York City theater.

The story has become a flashpoint in the debate around facial recognition technology. While proponents say it has the ability to keep people safer, critics counter that there is little to support this idea, and warn that unchecked use of the technology could have untold consequences.

As the technological world advances rapidly, the use of AI in video surveillance devices is becoming increasingly apparent. In particular, public and private sectors are exploring the use of solutions utilising Automated Facial Recognition (AFR) to prevent crime and improve the safety of their facilities – but where are we now in the AFR debate?

Privacy and civil rights concerns have escalated, as the technology becomes easier to deploy and gains traction as a law enforcement tool.

What are the ethical issues of using facial recognition technology?
How to use facial recognition tools ethically.
Examples of ethical use of facial recognition technology.

Facial imaging and facial recognition technologies, now common in our daily lives, also are increasingly incorporated into health care processes, enabling touch-free appointment check-in, matching patients accurately, and assisting with the diagnosis of certain medical conditions.The use, sharing, and storage of facial data is expected to expand in coming years, yet little is documented about the perspectives of patients and participants regarding these uses.

Learn about the potential benefits of facial recognition technology in the workplace.

There is a concern that machines will soon replace human beings and make people obsolete.

Geoffrey Hinton said artificial intelligence systems could soon become smarter than humans and even develop a hunger for power.

BMJ Global Health article calls for halt to ‘development of self-improving artificial general intelligence’ until regulation in place.

If you want to know about the fascinating and fast-developing technologies of artificial intelligence, we cover everything from machine learning and general AI to neural networks.

Information page presenting advantages and disadvantages of AI from Towards Science Data webpage.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has always been a hot topic to discuss. Nowadays, every industry is implementing AI methodologies for automation. It helps them improve day-to-day business activities. However, there are both positive and negative sides of Artificial Intelligence. In this blog, we will discuss all these pros and cons of Artificial Intelligence in the real world.

This article look into the massive increase in the use of AI in our everyday lives, and algorithms that are constantly improving, what are the pros and cons of this powerful technology? Is it a force for good, for evil or somewhere in between?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is bestowing machines with degrees of human intelligence. The technology is accelerating exponentially; businesses are swiftly applying it; the stock market is struggling to separate hype from reality. This article gives three expert perspectives on AI’s prospects.

USA NBC News clip (6.30 minutes) on how AI can be used in health industry.

This paper examines the questions “What does it mean to be a surrogate mother?” and “What would be an appropriate perspective for a surrogate mother to have on her pregnancy?” In response to the objection that such contracts are alienating or dehumanising since they require women to suppress their evolving perspective on their pregnancies, liberal supporters of surrogate motherhood argue that the freedom to contract includes the freedom to enter a contract to bear a child for an infertile couple.

Clips that show different perspectives about surrogacy including those of an intended mother, and a surrogate's outlook.

Dr Herjeet Marway explores some of the ethical questions raised by surrogacy and what implications they may have for policy and law in this area.

Article looks at the concerns associated with surrogacy.

Story focussing on the negative side of surrogacy.

International surrogacy is not a level playing field. Would-be parents and practitioners need the information and the opportunity to grapple with ethical issues when considering surrogacy arrangements, or enabling or profiting from it.

Transgender athletes: Solution balances fairness, inclusion

‘Insane’: Outrage as transgender cyclist wins elite tour and $50k

Since the early 2010s, the issue of transgender athletes competing in sports has become increasingly prevalent. There are a variety of opinions on whether or not transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in sports.

Laurel Hubbard is set to become the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics. For some, having trans athletes compete is the beginning of the end of fair sports. For others it’s a welcome sign of diversity.

We must ensure fair representation while accounting for biological advantages and disadvantages.

CBS News article looking at transgender athletes.

Increasingly visible participation by transgender people in athletic competition has resulted in efforts to include transgender women in the women’s categories while addressing possible advantage they might have from exposure to typically male levels of testosterone.

Following a two-year consultation process with more than 250 athletes and concerned stakeholders, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today released its new “IOC Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations”.Through this Framework, the IOC seeks to promote a safe and welcoming environment for everyone involved in elite-level competition, consistent with the principles enshrined in the Olympic Charter. The Framework also acknowledges the central role that eligibility criteria play in ensuring fairness, particularly in high-level organised sport in the women’s category.

The testosterone-centered policies used at the Olympics aren’t just about elite sports. They trickle down to even the recreational and youth levels, and end up policing who gets to be a woman in women’s sports—and in society at large.

Information page on Euthanasia from School of Medicine at University of Missouri.

Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide refer to a deliberate action taken with the intention of ending a life to relieve persistent pain. Euthanasia is only legal in a select few countries and U.S. States.
Article from Medical News Today.

The question of a physician’s involvement in aid in dying (or “assisted suicide”) is being debated across the country. This article adopts no one position because its authors hold contrasting views. It aims instead to articulate the strongest arguments in favor of aid in dying and the strongest arguments opposed. It also addresses relevant terminology and reviews the history of its legalization in the United States.

Blog. List of advantages and disadvantages of Euthanasia.

Information page from Australian Care Alliance organisation detailing the incidents of euthanasia in Victoria, Australia.

Survey results from The Australia Institute about attitudes to voluntary assisted dying (VAD).

What are the reasons, forms of reasoning, and rhetoric that people use in their support for or opposition to physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, and the introduction of “voluntary assisted dying” (VAD) legislation that would legalise these practices? While numerous polls estimate public attitudes to such practices and legislation, there is little interrogation of why people think the way they do.

Harvard researchers and others share their views on the issues involved in gene editing.

Advancements in science and technology have enabled the possibility of human genetic cloning and engineering. In contemporary society, these biological technologies are controversial.

Most of the ethical discussions related to genome editing center around human germline because editing changes made in the germline would be passed down to future generations.

How does the Jewish tradition relate to the modern phenomenon of genetic engineering?

List of advantages and disadvantages of genetic engineering.

This article looks at the definition of genetic engineering, what genetic engineering in humans is, and how it can affect our lives. What are the pros and cons of genetic engineering. What is the importance of genetic engineering in humans life. It discusses ethical and safety considerations and regulations.

Polling on defence and security issues in Australia and Taiwan.

Differences over Taiwan’s status have fueled rising tensions between the island and the mainland. Taiwan has the potential to be a flash point in U.S.-China relations.

According to Pew Research Center closer Taiwan-U.S. relations are largely welcomed, especially economically.

BBC News information page on Taiwan and China's relationship.

Seven experts' analyses/opinion of the situation in Taiwan.

The Guardian newspaper article. Joe Biden has again said US forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, in his most explicit statement so far on the issue.

Article from the The Diplomat. Western publics appear to have little appetite for direct involvement in a future Taiwan Strait crisis.

Article from The Guardian.The prevailing mood among Washington insiders is to fight if China attempts to conquer Taiwan. That would be a mistake.

Article from Asia Society. Policy Brief by the Task Force on US-China Policy. This policy brief argues that despite rising tensions, it is both essential and possible to avoid war in the Taiwan Strait. None of the three governments wants war. But to avoid war, all three governments must avoid steps that force the other side to launch a military conflict.

Queensland Government information page on childcare immunisation requirements.

Experts are asked about the law around requiring vaccination and if it is ethical for employers to impose such a mandate.

Information page from USA government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Information page from Victorian government Better Health website.

Information page from USA Mayo Clinic website.

Synthesising evidence on the long-term vaccine effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines (BNT162b2 [Pfizer–BioNTech], mRNA-1273 [Moderna], ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 [AZD1222; Oxford–AstraZeneca], and Ad26.COV2.S [Janssen]) against infections, hospitalisations, and mortality is crucial to making evidence-based pandemic policy decisions.

This article provides a brief summary of the recent evidence on the benefits of vaccines, and discusses the policy implications of these findings.

Information page from Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Channel 9, Today Show, 5 minute clip. Dr Kerryn Phelps is calling for more research into COVID-19 vaccines after she says she experienced a vaccine injury.

There are many pros and cons to the practice of animal testing. Unfortunately, neither seem to fully tip the scale to a side that pleases everyone – including the general public, government and scientists.

Animal testing – taken here to mean the use of animals in research for the purpose of furthering human concerns such as drug efficacy and the safety of products such as cosmetics – is an endeavor fraught with controversy and difficult ethical arguments. Animal experimentation has clear and undeniable benefits to humankind; for example, the development of drugs to combat deadly diseases. At the same time, some types of testing subject animals to cruel and inhumane procedures, offsetting, in the eyes of animal-testing opponents, any benefits of animal testing to humans.

What Are the Disadvantages of Animal Testing? PETA Blows the Lid off Laboratory Cruelty.

Blog. List of advantages and disadvantages on animal testing.

List of advantages and disadvantages for animal testing.

Information page from Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care on the use of animal for cosmetic testing.