Podcasts about policy program

On this episode, we speak to Dr Pablo P. Castello, currently a Research Fellow of the Animal Law and Policy Program at Harvard Law School. Pablo is an interdisciplinary political theorist whose work has appeared in such diverse locations as the American Political Science Review, Biological Conservation, and the feminist philosophy journal Hypatia. On this episode, however, we focus on his recent article 'The fabric of zoodemocracy: a systemic approach to deliberative zoodemocracy', which was published in the Critical Review in International Social and Political Philosophy, or CRISPP. Knowing Animals is proudly sponsored by the Animal Politics book series, published by Sydney University Press.

Keeli is the Water Policy Program Manager at Seminole County Government in Florida. In this episode we discussed her role in developing holistic water policies, current projects focusing on stakeholder engagement and internal water audits, and the challenges of limited staffing and funding.  Her career progression, emphasizing communication and collaboration skills honed through diverse experiences, including teaching and land management, was also highlighted, along with the importance of mentorship and proactive issue resolution. Give the show a listen and remember to thank your local Public Works Professionals.

As President Donald Trump embarks on a second term, U.S. policy toward Iran stands at a crossroads. The Islamic Republic appears weaker and more isolated than ever, with its proxies severely damaged and domestic unrest threatening the regime’s stability. Yet, Tehran remains dangerously close to acquiring a nuclear weapon and has deepened its ties with Russia and China. Should Trump revive the “maximum pressure” strategy, pursue a more comprehensive nuclear agreement, or back an Israeli strike to prevent Iran from going nuclear? This webinar will explore the strategic choices ahead and their implications for the future of U.S. policy in the Middle East.Featuring: Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign RelationsBrian Katulis, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy, Middle East InstituteModerator: Prof. Jamil Jaffer, Founder & Director, National Security Institute; Assistant Professor of Law & Director, National Security Law & Policy Program at the Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

Tara Sklar, Faculty Director, Health Law & Policy Program, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, and Kathryn Huber, MD, Kaiser Permanente, discuss the prevalence of cognitive impairments as the U.S. population ages and the implications this has for the future of digital health care. They cover the legal and regulatory landscape and issues related to privacy, informed consent, coordination of care, and reimbursement. Tara and Kathryn recently wrote an article for AHLA's Journal of Health and Life Sciences Law on this topic.To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s policies have been key to keeping our country's people and environment healthy and safe. The agency's Office of Policy has been hard at work with some new updates though, taking new steps to strengthen climate adaptation, resilience, and emission reductions. Office of Policy Associate Administrator Vicki Arroyo walks us through these updates, as well as how her and her family's first-hand experiences with environmental disasters have informed how she approaches her work. Vicki Arroyo is the associate administrator of EPA's Office of Policy. She also oversaw environmental justice work at the agency from January 2021 to September 2022. She has served as the executive director of the Georgetown Climate Center and was also a professor at Georgetown Law and director of the Environmental Law and Policy Program. Earlier in her career, she created and directed the Louisiana Department of Quality's policy office. More Links and Information Check out more Fors Marsh Media Connect or partner with Fors Marsh Explore more of the Office of Policy's work Learn more about EPA's climate adaptation planning 

Immigration continues to be a key issues in the run up to the 2024 election year. Polling suggests immigration is ranked as one of the most pressing topics among voters across the nation. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden announced several executive actions designed to clamp down on immigration. If the number of crossings surges, the new order will prevent migrants from seeking asylum. The policy is similar to moves made during the Trump administration, which were successfully challenged in court. The ACLU has already vowed to challenge Biden's actions, as well. Among all of the rhetoric, what is the reality on the ground, at the U.S.-Mexico border and here in Maryland? Marielena Hincapié joins us to discuss the latest. For more than 20 years, she worked at the National Immigration Law Center, serving as its Executive Director from 2008-2022. She is a Distinguished Immigration Fellow and Visiting Scholar in Cornell University's Immigration Law and Policy Program.Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

Joining us on Well Said is Dr. Maria Carney, Chief of the Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine in the Department of Medicine for Long Island Jewish Medical Center and North Shore University Hospital and Adam Kahn, Adjunct Professor with the Master's in Health Law and Policy Program at University and a Senior Fellow for the Gitenstein Institute for Health Law and Policy at Hofstra University. They will be helping us unpack the complex topic of Advanced Directives; or written statements of a person’s wishes regarding medical treatment, often including a living will, made to ensure those wishes are carried out should the person be unable to communicate them to a doctor.

Over the past two years, a series of regional conflicts has resulted in diplomatic tensions and increased conflict. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has raised concerns about the future of Europe's diplomatic landscape. Additionally, renewed conflict in the Middle East, particularly following the October 7th terror attack, has led to questions about the future of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the threat posed by Iran, and the stability of relations between the West and the Arab world. Furthermore, China's persistent aggression towards Taiwan has heightened concerns about the potential for conflict in the Pacific region.This panel will examine how the US can effectively prioritize its engagement in these regions. Panelists will offer perspectives on whether greater attention should be given to Asia, Europe, or the Middle East, and how to address the specific challenges in each region.Featuring: Michael Allen, Managing Director, Beacon Global Strategies LLCMark Dubowitz, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Defense of Democracies Prof. Julian Ku, Interim Dean, Maurice A. Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law & Faculty Director of International Programs, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra UniversityModerator: Jamil N. Jaffer, Adjunct Professor, NSI Founder, and Director, National Security Law & Policy Program, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

The NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program will soon become the NYU Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy (CMEP), our future secured by a generous $6,000,000 endowment. The CMEP Endowment Fund was established in May 2024 with a $5,000,000 gift from The Navigation Fund and a $1,000,000 gift from Polaris Ventures. We now welcome contributions from other supporters too, with deep gratitude to our founding supporters. Since our launch in Fall 2022, the NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program has stood at the forefront of academic inquiry into the nature and intrinsic value of nonhuman minds. CMEP will continue this work, seeking to advance understanding of the consciousness, sentience, sapience, moral status, legal status, and political status of animals and AI systems via research, outreach, and field building in science, philosophy, and policy. You can read the press release about the endowment here. Thanks to everyone who [...] --- First published: May 31st, 2024 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/eu5ykCAKLtPTyb8eM/announcing-a-usd6-000-000-endowment-for-nyu-mind-ethics-and --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Announcing a $6,000,000 endowment for NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy, published by Sofia Fogel on June 1, 2024 on The Effective Altruism Forum. The NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program will soon become the NYU Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy (CMEP), our future secured by a generous $6,000,000 endowment. The CMEP Endowment Fund was established in May 2024 with a $5,000,000 gift from The Navigation Fund and a $1,000,000 gift from Polaris Ventures. We now welcome contributions from other supporters too, with deep gratitude to our founding supporters. Since our launch in Fall 2022, the NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program has stood at the forefront of academic inquiry into the nature and intrinsic value of nonhuman minds. CMEP will continue this work, seeking to advance understanding of the consciousness, sentience, sapience, moral status, legal status, and political status of animals and AI systems via research, outreach, and field building in science, philosophy, and policy. You can read the press release about the endowment here. Thanks to everyone who has engaged with our work so far, and please stay tuned for more announcements in the summer and fall! Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org

The last ten years have witnessed rapid advances in the science of animal cognition and behavior. Striking results have hinted at surprisingly rich inner lives in a wide range of animals, driving renewed debate about animal consciousness. To highlight these advances, the NYU Mind, Ethics and Policy Program and NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program co-hosted a conference on the emerging science of animal consciousness on Friday April 19 at New York University. This conference also served as the launch event for The New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness. This short statement, signed by leading scientists who research a wide range of taxa, holds that all vertebrates (including reptiles, amphibians, and fishes) and many invertebrates (including cephalopod mollusks, decapod crustaceans, and insects) have a realistic chance of being conscious, and that their welfare merits consideration. We now welcome signatures from others as well. If you have relevant [...] --- First published: April 21st, 2024 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/Pqkf5N7LkHfd7rRBf/announcing-the-new-york-declaration-on-animal-consciousness --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Writing about my job on Open Philanthropy's Global Aid Policy program + related career opportunities, published by Sam Anschell on April 13, 2024 on The Effective Altruism Forum. Last year I wrote this post on my first year at Open Philanthropy as an entry-level operations generalist. ~9 months ago I switched teams to work on Open Philanthropy's Global Aid Policy program, and I want to write about my experience in the new role for a few reasons: Aid policy wasn't an area I was familiar with before working on this program at Open Philanthropy, and I still don't see much written about aid policy in EA spaces these days. I appreciate when people write about their jobs. I think it's a great way to learn about a field or function and consider whether I could be a good fit. Now is an exciting time to get involved in aid advocacy and policy! Probably Good just updated their cause area page for impactful aid policy and advocacy careers, and Open Philanthropy is hiring for our Global Aid Policy team. This post is divided into two broad sections Background on the field of aid policy My experience working on aid policy at Open Philanthropy What is aid policy? Aid policy is a broad term that refers to the field working on the size of a country's foreign assistance budget, where this budget is spent (both programmatically and geographically), and any related legislation that guides the impact of this budget. What is the theory of change behind working on aid policy? Per OECD, DAC countries gave 211 billion dollars in grant-equivalent official development assistance (ODA) in 2022. That's approximately 279 times the total that GiveWell, Open Philanthropy, and EA funds directed to be disbursed in 2022[1]. Global ODA supports projects across a variety of sectors such as global health, humanitarian efforts (refugee support, natural disaster support, etc.), climate, education, agriculture, water & sanitation, and infrastructure (roads, hospitals, power, etc.). Each donor country has unique priorities that shape where its aid goes, which are informed by geopolitics, national values, historical precedent, and requests from recipient countries and the international community. My personal estimate is that the best interventions in an aid sector are 5+ times more effective than the average intervention, and that programs in certain sectors, like global health, increase recipient wellbeing by more than twice as much per dollar as the average sector. By working in government or at an organization that informs government, like a think tank or CSO engaged in advocacy, you may be able to grow the size and/or shift the allocation of a wealthy country's aid budget. As an example, Korea's aid agency, KOICA, has 379 employees and is set to disburse 3.93 billion dollars[2] in 2024, which comes out to a little over $10M per employee - almost triple the ratio of the Gates Foundation. It seems possible for a KOICA staff member to improve the effectiveness of millions of dollars per year in expectation - both by doing excellent work so that KOICA's existing programs run efficiently, and by presenting evidence to KOICA leadership on the value for money of new strategies. I don't think most aid programs avert as many DALYs per dollar as GiveWell's top charities, but I think they do a huge amount of good. It's rare for donor countries to contribute to GiveWell-recommended charities directly, but by working at or giving to organizations focused on aid policy, your resources may have sufficient leverage (in growing countries' contributions to cost-effective programs) that their overall impact is competitive with "traditional EA" direct service delivery (like buying bed nets). What drives differences in cost-effectiveness between aid programs? Three factors that influence how impactful a given aid project may ...

Read the full transcript here. How did we end up with factory farming? How many animals do we kill every year in factory farms? When we consider the rights of non-human living things, we tend to focus mainly on the animal kingdom, and in particular on relatively larger, more complex animals; but to what extent should insects, plants, fungi, and even single-celled organisms deserve our moral consideration? Do we know anything about what it's like (or not) to be an AI? To what extent is the perception of time linked to the speed at which one's brain processes information? What's the difference between consciousness and sentience? Should an organism be required to have consciousness and/or sentience before we'll give it our moral consideration? What evidence do we have that various organisms and/or AIs are conscious? What do we know about the evolutionary function of consciousness? What's the "rebugnant conclusion"? What might it mean to "harm" an AI? What can be done by the average person to move the needle on these issues? What should we say to people who think all of this is ridiculous? What is Humean constructivism? What do all of the above considerations imply about abortion? Do we (or any organisms or AIs) have free will? How likely is it that panpsychism is true?Jeff Sebo is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies; Affiliated Professor of Bioethics, Medical Ethics, Philosophy, and Law; Director of the Animal Studies M.A. Program; Director of the Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program; and Co-Director of the Wild Animal Welfare Program at New York University. He is the author of Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves (2022) and co-author of Chimpanzee Rights (2018) and Food, Animals, and the Environment (2018). He is also an executive committee member at the NYU Center for Environmental and Animal Protection, a board member at Minding Animals International, an advisory board member at the Insect Welfare Research Society, a senior research fellow at the Legal Priorities Project, and a mentor at Sentient Media. StaffSpencer Greenberg — Host / DirectorJosh Castle — ProducerRyan Kessler — Audio EngineerUri Bram — FactotumWeAmplify — TranscriptionistsAlexandria D. — Research and Special Projects AssistantMusicBroke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliatesClearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Since the late 1970s, Right to Farm Laws have been adopted by states across the US to limit nuisance lawsuits against farmers engaged in standard agricultural practices. But who really benefits from Right to Farm Laws? And what can be done to promote real agricultural, rural, and environmental justice? Empty Fields, Empty Promises: A State-By-State Guide to Understanding and Transforming the Right to Farm (UNC Press, 2023) offers valuable history and incisive commentary on these questions. Since their adoption, there has yet to be a comprehensive analysis of what Right to Farm laws do and who they benefit. This book offers the first national analysis and guide to these laws. It reveals that they generally benefit the largest operators, like processing plants, while traditional farmers benefit the least. Disfavored most of all are those seeking to defend their homes and environment against multinational corporations that use right-to-farm laws to strip neighboring owners of their property rights. Through what the book calls the "midburden," right-to-farm laws dispossess the many in favor of the few, paving the path to rural poverty. Empty Fields, Empty Promises summarizes every state's right-to-farm laws to help readers track and navigate their local and regional legal landscape. The book concludes by offering paths forward for a more distributed and democratic agrifood system that achieves agricultural, rural, and environmental justice. The book is available for purchase or for FREE as an Open Access eBook from the University of North Carolina Press. Loka Ashwood is associate professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky. Her work develops action-centered methodologies that help frontline communities overcome environmental injustices and strengthen democracy. She is the author of For-Profit Democracy: Why the Government Is Losing the Trust of Rural America (2018) and co-author of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology (6th Edition, 2020). Aimee Imlay is assistant professor of sociology at Mississippi State University. Lindsay Kuehn is a public defender in Ramsey County, Minnesota, and a staff attorney with the Farmers' Legal Action Group. Allen Franco is an assistant federal public defender for the districts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Danielle Diamond is a visiting fellow at the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law and Policy Program at Harvard Law School. Garrett Broad is Associate Professor of Communication Studies in Rowan University's Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts, where he also serves as Provost's Fellow in the Catalysts for Sustainability Initiative. His research and teaching explore the connections between contemporary social movements, food systems, and digital media technology. He is the author of More Than Just Food: Food Justice and Community Change, as well as a variety of articles on food's relationship to environmental sustainability, economic equity, and the health of humans and nonhuman animals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Since the late 1970s, Right to Farm Laws have been adopted by states across the US to limit nuisance lawsuits against farmers engaged in standard agricultural practices. But who really benefits from Right to Farm Laws? And what can be done to promote real agricultural, rural, and environmental justice? Empty Fields, Empty Promises: A State-By-State Guide to Understanding and Transforming the Right to Farm (UNC Press, 2023) offers valuable history and incisive commentary on these questions. Since their adoption, there has yet to be a comprehensive analysis of what Right to Farm laws do and who they benefit. This book offers the first national analysis and guide to these laws. It reveals that they generally benefit the largest operators, like processing plants, while traditional farmers benefit the least. Disfavored most of all are those seeking to defend their homes and environment against multinational corporations that use right-to-farm laws to strip neighboring owners of their property rights. Through what the book calls the "midburden," right-to-farm laws dispossess the many in favor of the few, paving the path to rural poverty. Empty Fields, Empty Promises summarizes every state's right-to-farm laws to help readers track and navigate their local and regional legal landscape. The book concludes by offering paths forward for a more distributed and democratic agrifood system that achieves agricultural, rural, and environmental justice. The book is available for purchase or for FREE as an Open Access eBook from the University of North Carolina Press. Loka Ashwood is associate professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky. Her work develops action-centered methodologies that help frontline communities overcome environmental injustices and strengthen democracy. She is the author of For-Profit Democracy: Why the Government Is Losing the Trust of Rural America (2018) and co-author of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology (6th Edition, 2020). Aimee Imlay is assistant professor of sociology at Mississippi State University. Lindsay Kuehn is a public defender in Ramsey County, Minnesota, and a staff attorney with the Farmers' Legal Action Group. Allen Franco is an assistant federal public defender for the districts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Danielle Diamond is a visiting fellow at the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law and Policy Program at Harvard Law School. Garrett Broad is Associate Professor of Communication Studies in Rowan University's Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts, where he also serves as Provost's Fellow in the Catalysts for Sustainability Initiative. His research and teaching explore the connections between contemporary social movements, food systems, and digital media technology. He is the author of More Than Just Food: Food Justice and Community Change, as well as a variety of articles on food's relationship to environmental sustainability, economic equity, and the health of humans and nonhuman animals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

Since the late 1970s, Right to Farm Laws have been adopted by states across the US to limit nuisance lawsuits against farmers engaged in standard agricultural practices. But who really benefits from Right to Farm Laws? And what can be done to promote real agricultural, rural, and environmental justice? Empty Fields, Empty Promises: A State-By-State Guide to Understanding and Transforming the Right to Farm (UNC Press, 2023) offers valuable history and incisive commentary on these questions. Since their adoption, there has yet to be a comprehensive analysis of what Right to Farm laws do and who they benefit. This book offers the first national analysis and guide to these laws. It reveals that they generally benefit the largest operators, like processing plants, while traditional farmers benefit the least. Disfavored most of all are those seeking to defend their homes and environment against multinational corporations that use right-to-farm laws to strip neighboring owners of their property rights. Through what the book calls the "midburden," right-to-farm laws dispossess the many in favor of the few, paving the path to rural poverty. Empty Fields, Empty Promises summarizes every state's right-to-farm laws to help readers track and navigate their local and regional legal landscape. The book concludes by offering paths forward for a more distributed and democratic agrifood system that achieves agricultural, rural, and environmental justice. The book is available for purchase or for FREE as an Open Access eBook from the University of North Carolina Press. Loka Ashwood is associate professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky. Her work develops action-centered methodologies that help frontline communities overcome environmental injustices and strengthen democracy. She is the author of For-Profit Democracy: Why the Government Is Losing the Trust of Rural America (2018) and co-author of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology (6th Edition, 2020). Aimee Imlay is assistant professor of sociology at Mississippi State University. Lindsay Kuehn is a public defender in Ramsey County, Minnesota, and a staff attorney with the Farmers' Legal Action Group. Allen Franco is an assistant federal public defender for the districts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Danielle Diamond is a visiting fellow at the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law and Policy Program at Harvard Law School. Garrett Broad is Associate Professor of Communication Studies in Rowan University's Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts, where he also serves as Provost's Fellow in the Catalysts for Sustainability Initiative. His research and teaching explore the connections between contemporary social movements, food systems, and digital media technology. He is the author of More Than Just Food: Food Justice and Community Change, as well as a variety of articles on food's relationship to environmental sustainability, economic equity, and the health of humans and nonhuman animals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/food

Since the late 1970s, Right to Farm Laws have been adopted by states across the US to limit nuisance lawsuits against farmers engaged in standard agricultural practices. But who really benefits from Right to Farm Laws? And what can be done to promote real agricultural, rural, and environmental justice? Empty Fields, Empty Promises: A State-By-State Guide to Understanding and Transforming the Right to Farm (UNC Press, 2023) offers valuable history and incisive commentary on these questions. Since their adoption, there has yet to be a comprehensive analysis of what Right to Farm laws do and who they benefit. This book offers the first national analysis and guide to these laws. It reveals that they generally benefit the largest operators, like processing plants, while traditional farmers benefit the least. Disfavored most of all are those seeking to defend their homes and environment against multinational corporations that use right-to-farm laws to strip neighboring owners of their property rights. Through what the book calls the "midburden," right-to-farm laws dispossess the many in favor of the few, paving the path to rural poverty. Empty Fields, Empty Promises summarizes every state's right-to-farm laws to help readers track and navigate their local and regional legal landscape. The book concludes by offering paths forward for a more distributed and democratic agrifood system that achieves agricultural, rural, and environmental justice. The book is available for purchase or for FREE as an Open Access eBook from the University of North Carolina Press. Loka Ashwood is associate professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky. Her work develops action-centered methodologies that help frontline communities overcome environmental injustices and strengthen democracy. She is the author of For-Profit Democracy: Why the Government Is Losing the Trust of Rural America (2018) and co-author of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology (6th Edition, 2020). Aimee Imlay is assistant professor of sociology at Mississippi State University. Lindsay Kuehn is a public defender in Ramsey County, Minnesota, and a staff attorney with the Farmers' Legal Action Group. Allen Franco is an assistant federal public defender for the districts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Danielle Diamond is a visiting fellow at the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law and Policy Program at Harvard Law School. Garrett Broad is Associate Professor of Communication Studies in Rowan University's Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts, where he also serves as Provost's Fellow in the Catalysts for Sustainability Initiative. His research and teaching explore the connections between contemporary social movements, food systems, and digital media technology. He is the author of More Than Just Food: Food Justice and Community Change, as well as a variety of articles on food's relationship to environmental sustainability, economic equity, and the health of humans and nonhuman animals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

Since the late 1970s, Right to Farm Laws have been adopted by states across the US to limit nuisance lawsuits against farmers engaged in standard agricultural practices. But who really benefits from Right to Farm Laws? And what can be done to promote real agricultural, rural, and environmental justice? Empty Fields, Empty Promises: A State-By-State Guide to Understanding and Transforming the Right to Farm (UNC Press, 2023) offers valuable history and incisive commentary on these questions. Since their adoption, there has yet to be a comprehensive analysis of what Right to Farm laws do and who they benefit. This book offers the first national analysis and guide to these laws. It reveals that they generally benefit the largest operators, like processing plants, while traditional farmers benefit the least. Disfavored most of all are those seeking to defend their homes and environment against multinational corporations that use right-to-farm laws to strip neighboring owners of their property rights. Through what the book calls the "midburden," right-to-farm laws dispossess the many in favor of the few, paving the path to rural poverty. Empty Fields, Empty Promises summarizes every state's right-to-farm laws to help readers track and navigate their local and regional legal landscape. The book concludes by offering paths forward for a more distributed and democratic agrifood system that achieves agricultural, rural, and environmental justice. The book is available for purchase or for FREE as an Open Access eBook from the University of North Carolina Press. Loka Ashwood is associate professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky. Her work develops action-centered methodologies that help frontline communities overcome environmental injustices and strengthen democracy. She is the author of For-Profit Democracy: Why the Government Is Losing the Trust of Rural America (2018) and co-author of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology (6th Edition, 2020). Aimee Imlay is assistant professor of sociology at Mississippi State University. Lindsay Kuehn is a public defender in Ramsey County, Minnesota, and a staff attorney with the Farmers' Legal Action Group. Allen Franco is an assistant federal public defender for the districts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Danielle Diamond is a visiting fellow at the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law and Policy Program at Harvard Law School. Garrett Broad is Associate Professor of Communication Studies in Rowan University's Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts, where he also serves as Provost's Fellow in the Catalysts for Sustainability Initiative. His research and teaching explore the connections between contemporary social movements, food systems, and digital media technology. He is the author of More Than Just Food: Food Justice and Community Change, as well as a variety of articles on food's relationship to environmental sustainability, economic equity, and the health of humans and nonhuman animals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/economics

Since the late 1970s, Right to Farm Laws have been adopted by states across the US to limit nuisance lawsuits against farmers engaged in standard agricultural practices. But who really benefits from Right to Farm Laws? And what can be done to promote real agricultural, rural, and environmental justice? Empty Fields, Empty Promises: A State-By-State Guide to Understanding and Transforming the Right to Farm (UNC Press, 2023) offers valuable history and incisive commentary on these questions. Since their adoption, there has yet to be a comprehensive analysis of what Right to Farm laws do and who they benefit. This book offers the first national analysis and guide to these laws. It reveals that they generally benefit the largest operators, like processing plants, while traditional farmers benefit the least. Disfavored most of all are those seeking to defend their homes and environment against multinational corporations that use right-to-farm laws to strip neighboring owners of their property rights. Through what the book calls the "midburden," right-to-farm laws dispossess the many in favor of the few, paving the path to rural poverty. Empty Fields, Empty Promises summarizes every state's right-to-farm laws to help readers track and navigate their local and regional legal landscape. The book concludes by offering paths forward for a more distributed and democratic agrifood system that achieves agricultural, rural, and environmental justice. The book is available for purchase or for FREE as an Open Access eBook from the University of North Carolina Press. Loka Ashwood is associate professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky. Her work develops action-centered methodologies that help frontline communities overcome environmental injustices and strengthen democracy. She is the author of For-Profit Democracy: Why the Government Is Losing the Trust of Rural America (2018) and co-author of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology (6th Edition, 2020). Aimee Imlay is assistant professor of sociology at Mississippi State University. Lindsay Kuehn is a public defender in Ramsey County, Minnesota, and a staff attorney with the Farmers' Legal Action Group. Allen Franco is an assistant federal public defender for the districts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Danielle Diamond is a visiting fellow at the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law and Policy Program at Harvard Law School. Garrett Broad is Associate Professor of Communication Studies in Rowan University's Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts, where he also serves as Provost's Fellow in the Catalysts for Sustainability Initiative. His research and teaching explore the connections between contemporary social movements, food systems, and digital media technology. He is the author of More Than Just Food: Food Justice and Community Change, as well as a variety of articles on food's relationship to environmental sustainability, economic equity, and the health of humans and nonhuman animals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law

Since the late 1970s, Right to Farm Laws have been adopted by states across the US to limit nuisance lawsuits against farmers engaged in standard agricultural practices. But who really benefits from Right to Farm Laws? And what can be done to promote real agricultural, rural, and environmental justice? Empty Fields, Empty Promises: A State-By-State Guide to Understanding and Transforming the Right to Farm (UNC Press, 2023) offers valuable history and incisive commentary on these questions. Since their adoption, there has yet to be a comprehensive analysis of what Right to Farm laws do and who they benefit. This book offers the first national analysis and guide to these laws. It reveals that they generally benefit the largest operators, like processing plants, while traditional farmers benefit the least. Disfavored most of all are those seeking to defend their homes and environment against multinational corporations that use right-to-farm laws to strip neighboring owners of their property rights. Through what the book calls the "midburden," right-to-farm laws dispossess the many in favor of the few, paving the path to rural poverty. Empty Fields, Empty Promises summarizes every state's right-to-farm laws to help readers track and navigate their local and regional legal landscape. The book concludes by offering paths forward for a more distributed and democratic agrifood system that achieves agricultural, rural, and environmental justice. The book is available for purchase or for FREE as an Open Access eBook from the University of North Carolina Press. Loka Ashwood is associate professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky. Her work develops action-centered methodologies that help frontline communities overcome environmental injustices and strengthen democracy. She is the author of For-Profit Democracy: Why the Government Is Losing the Trust of Rural America (2018) and co-author of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology (6th Edition, 2020). Aimee Imlay is assistant professor of sociology at Mississippi State University. Lindsay Kuehn is a public defender in Ramsey County, Minnesota, and a staff attorney with the Farmers' Legal Action Group. Allen Franco is an assistant federal public defender for the districts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Danielle Diamond is a visiting fellow at the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law and Policy Program at Harvard Law School. Garrett Broad is Associate Professor of Communication Studies in Rowan University's Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts, where he also serves as Provost's Fellow in the Catalysts for Sustainability Initiative. His research and teaching explore the connections between contemporary social movements, food systems, and digital media technology. He is the author of More Than Just Food: Food Justice and Community Change, as well as a variety of articles on food's relationship to environmental sustainability, economic equity, and the health of humans and nonhuman animals.

Julia Gelatt joins Mike to talk about the United States' antiquated immigration system in the digital age.

How do we find out how air pollution is affecting us at our own county and state level? Dr. Laura Gladson has been a researcher with the Health, Environment, and Policy Program at the NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management since 2014. On this podcast, we discuss the Health of the Air report, which shows how many people are affected in each state and county by air pollution in excess of recommended ATS standards. We also discuss separating out the toll of wildfire smoke exposure and how it affects communities, and what can be done to decrease the toll. To Do-  1- Go to the Health of the Air report to see how impacted your state or county is by air pollution. There is a list by each state at the end of the report. Contact your representatives at every level to see what can be done. Listen to last month's episode “Clean Air and Climate Advocacy for Busy People” to learn how to get started.  2- Check the report to see how impacted your state or county is is by wildland fire smoke, and make a plan for protection. Listen to the “Our Health in Wildfire Season” episode to learn more about how to do that. You can also learn more about controlled burns and protecting your home from wildfire in the “Fighting Fire with Fire episode.” 3- You can learn more about ozone from Dr. Nassikas in the “True Cost of Ozone” episode from last season and more about PM2.5 from a host of episodes, including the “What's in a Standard” episode with Dan Costa from Season 2 and “What's burning” episode with Dr. Goobie from Season three.  4- To learn more about personal tools with regards to air pollution, learn more about the Air Quality Index in the “What's in an Index” episode. 5- Consider a donation to the American Thoracic Society, which funds excellent research like that behind the Health of the Air Report and also advocates for clean air and healthier air quality standards. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit blog post for more information, or go to airhealthourhealth.org. Follow and comment on Facebook page and Instagram.  Record a question or comment on the podcast site or send an e-mail via the website.  Photo by Photoholgic on Unsplash --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/airhealthourhealth/message

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: #173 - Digital minds, and how to avoid sleepwalking into a major moral catastrophe (Jeff Sebo on the 80,000 Hours Podcast), published by 80000 Hours on November 29, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum. We just published an interview: Jeff Sebo on digital minds, and how to avoid sleepwalking into a major moral catastrophe. Listen on Spotify or click through for other audio options, the transcript, and related links. Below are the episode summary and some key excerpts. Episode summary We do have a tendency to anthropomorphise nonhumans - which means attributing human characteristics to them, even when they lack those characteristics. But we also have a tendency towards anthropodenial - which involves denying that nonhumans have human characteristics, even when they have them. And those tendencies are both strong, and they can both be triggered by different types of systems. So which one is stronger, which one is more probable, is again going to be contextual. But when we then consider that we, right now, are building societies and governments and economies that depend on the objectification, exploitation, and extermination of nonhumans, that - plus our speciesism, plus a lot of other biases and forms of ignorance that we have - gives us a strong incentive to err on the side of anthropodenial instead of anthropomorphism. Jeff Sebo In today's episode, host Luisa Rodriguez interviews Jeff Sebo - director of the Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program at NYU - about preparing for a world with digital minds. They cover: The non-negligible chance that AI systems will be sentient by 2030 What AI systems might want and need, and how that might affect our moral concepts What happens when beings can copy themselves? Are they one person or multiple people? Does the original own the copy or does the copy have its own rights? Do copies get the right to vote? What kind of legal and political status should AI systems have? Legal personhood? Political citizenship? What happens when minds can be connected? If two minds are connected, and one does something illegal, is it possible to punish one but not the other? The repugnant conclusion and the rebugnant conclusion The experience of trying to build the field of AI welfare What improv comedy can teach us about doing good in the world And plenty more. Producer and editor: Keiran Harris Audio Engineering Lead: Ben Cordell Technical editing: Dominic Armstrong and Milo McGuire Additional content editing: Katy Moore and Luisa Rodriguez Transcriptions: Katy Moore Highlights When to extend moral consideration to AI systems Jeff Sebo: The general case for extending moral consideration to AI systems is that they might be conscious or sentient or agential or otherwise significant. And if they might have those features, then we should extend them at least some moral consideration in the spirit of caution and humility. So the standard should not be, "Do they definitely matter?" and it should also not be, "Do they probably matter?" It should be, "Is there a reasonable, non-negligible chance that they matter, given the information available?" And once we clarify that that is the bar for moral inclusion, then it becomes much less obvious that AI systems will not be passing that bar anytime soon. Luisa Rodriguez: Yeah, I feel kind of confused about how to think about that bar, where I think you're using the term "non-negligible chance." I'm curious: What is a negligible chance? Where is the line? At what point is something non-negligible? Jeff Sebo: Yeah, this is a perfectly reasonable question. This is somewhat of a term of art in philosophy and decision theory. And we might not be able to very precisely or reliably say exactly where the threshold is between non-negligible risks and negligible risks - but what we can say, as a starting point, is that a risk...

"We do have a tendency to anthropomorphise nonhumans — which means attributing human characteristics to them, even when they lack those characteristics. But we also have a tendency towards anthropodenial — which involves denying that nonhumans have human characteristics, even when they have them. And those tendencies are both strong, and they can both be triggered by different types of systems. So which one is stronger, which one is more probable, is again going to be contextual. "But when we then consider that we, right now, are building societies and governments and economies that depend on the objectification, exploitation, and extermination of nonhumans, that — plus our speciesism, plus a lot of other biases and forms of ignorance that we have — gives us a strong incentive to err on the side of anthropodenial instead of anthropomorphism." — Jeff SeboIn today's episode, host Luisa Rodriguez interviews Jeff Sebo — director of the Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program at NYU — about preparing for a world with digital minds.Links to learn more, summary, and full transcript.They cover:The non-negligible chance that AI systems will be sentient by 2030What AI systems might want and need, and how that might affect our moral conceptsWhat happens when beings can copy themselves? Are they one person or multiple people? Does the original own the copy or does the copy have its own rights? Do copies get the right to vote?What kind of legal and political status should AI systems have? Legal personhood? Political citizenship?What happens when minds can be connected? If two minds are connected, and one does something illegal, is it possible to punish one but not the other?The repugnant conclusion and the rebugnant conclusionThe experience of trying to build the field of AI welfareWhat improv comedy can teach us about doing good in the worldAnd plenty more.Producer and editor: Keiran HarrisAudio Engineering Lead: Ben CordellTechnical editing: Dominic Armstrong and Milo McGuireAdditional content editing: Katy Moore and Luisa RodriguezTranscriptions: Katy Moore

Guest AJ Grotto is the William J. Perry International Security Fellow and founding director of the Program on Geopolitics, Technology and Governance at the Stanford Policy Center and Stanford University. Grotto has served in the National Cybersecurity Council under two successive presidents and brings decades of knowledge in international relations, policy and risk both to his students and to clients in his private sector consulting work. Grotto tells us about the current state of international cyber risk and response, gives his tips for students just getting started in international policy and why a suspicious-looking email took him away from the law profession and into the security space. 0:00 - National security cyber issues4:04 - How AJ Grotto got into cybersecurity7:10 - Grotto's work in the National Security Council10:25 - Skills used in the National Security Council14:35 - Working at Sagewood 17:00 - Global trends in cybersecurity19:00 - Economies down; cyber crime up? 20:17 - Cyber risk work at Stanford23:10 - Cybersecurity students at Stanford29:46 - How to take Grotto's class at Stanford31:25 - Federal Zero Trust directives34:49 - What to research for national security work38:09 - Important global cybersecurity topics40:06 - Learn more about Grotto, Stanford international policy41:07 - Outro   – Get your FREE cybersecurity training resources: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/free– View Cyber Work Podcast transcripts and additional episodes: https://www.infosecinstitute.com/podcastAbout InfosecInfosec's mission is to put people at the center of cybersecurity. We help IT and security professionals advance their careers with skills development and certifications while empowering all employees with security awareness and phishing training to stay cyber-safe at work and home. More than 70% of the Fortune 500 have relied on Infosec Skills to develop their security talent, and more than 5 million learners worldwide are more cyber-resilient from Infosec IQ's security awareness training. Learn more at infosecinstitute.com.

Preaching for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Marielena Hincapié offers a reflection on immigration in light of the Gospel: "Let us advocate for just and compassionate immigration policies at the federal, state and local levels that respect the dignity of every human being. Our roles as educators, scholars, advocates, and followers of Christ call us to engage in thoughtful dialogue and actively work towards a society that upholds the rights and well-being of all, especially the most vulnerable." Marielena Hincapié is a Distinguished Immigration Fellow and Visiting Scholar at Cornell University's Immigration Law and Policy Program.Marielena immigrated as a child from Medellín, Colombia, to Central Falls, Rhode Island and grew up as the youngest in a family of 10 children. She earned her juris doctor degree from Northeastern University School of Law. Visit https://www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/10292023 to learn more about Marielena, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.

We finish our exploration of trust theory in this episode with a conversation about what the future of trust research might look like and how we might think about applying these theorizations in our daily lives. Our guest scholar is Dr. Joe Hamm, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Environmental Science at Michigan State University. Joe's program of research lies at the nexus of governance and the public, where he investigates what trust is, how best to appropriately measure it, and its connection to "outcomes" like cooperation and compliance. Joe works closely with a variety of governance organizations, including police agencies, court systems, natural resource authorities, public health departments, and a variety of other state and federal entities, with the overarching goal of contributing to a cross-boundary social science of trust. Joe serves as Graduate Program Director for the MSU Environmental Science and Policy Program; Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Trust Research; and on the editorial boards of Psychology, Public Policy, and Law and Law and Human Behavior. Professor Hamm's portfolio of work on trust is large and varied, but these publications provide a useful introduction to his scholarship addressing the topic: Hamm, J. A., Trinkner, R., & Carr, J. D. (2017). Fair process, trust, and cooperation: Moving toward an integrated framework of police legitimacy. Criminal justice and behavior, 44(9), 1183-1212. Hamm, J. A., Smidt, C., & Mayer, R. C. (2019). Understanding the psychological nature and mechanisms of political trust. PloS one, 14(5), e0215835. PytlikZillig, L. M., Hamm, J. A., Shockley, E., Herian, M. N., Neal, T. M., Kimbrough, C. D., ... & Bornstein, B. H. (2016). The dimensionality of trust-relevant constructs in four institutional domains: Results from confirmatory factor analyses. Journal of Trust Research, 6(2), 111-150.  The Social Science for Public Good Podcast is a project of the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance and VT Publishing intended to make social science theories accessible and available to individuals and organizations seeking to promote social change. Music: Purple-planet.com

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Panel discussion on AI consciousness with Rob Long and Jeff Sebo, published by Aaron Bergman on September 10, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum. Intro Recent 80k guest and philosopher specializing in AI consciousness Rob Long (@rgb) recently participated in a panel discussion on his paper "Consciousness in Artificial Intelligence: Insights from the Science of Consciousness" (pdf) with co-authors Patrick Butlin, Yoshua Bengio, and Grace Lindsay and moderator Jeff Sebo (@jeffsebo). You can watch it on Youtube (below), watch/listen as a podcast on Spotify , or read the transcript below. Paper abstract Whether current or near-term AI systems could be conscious is a topic of scientific interest and increasing public concern. This report argues for, and exemplifies, a rigorous and empirically grounded approach to AI consciousness: assessing existing AI systems in detail, in light of our best-supported neuroscientific theories of consciousness. We survey several prominent scientific theories of consciousness, including recurrent processing theory, global workspace theory, higher-order theories, predictive processing, and attention schema theory. From these theories we derive "indicator properties" of consciousness, elucidated in computational terms that allow us to assess AI systems for these properties. We use these indicator properties to assess several recent AI systems, and we discuss how future systems might implement them. Our analysis suggests that no current AI systems are conscious, but also suggests that there are no obvious technical barriers to building AI systems which satisfy these indicators. Youtube description This event took place on Tuesday September 5, 2023 and was hosted by the NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program. About the event This panel discussion featured four authors from the recently released and widely discussed AI consciousness report. This report argues for, and exemplifies, a rigorous and empirically grounded approach to AI consciousness: assessing existing AI systems in detail, in light of the best-supported neuroscientific theories of consciousness. The paper surveys several prominent scientific theories of consciousness, including recurrent processing theory, global workspace theory, higher-order theories, predictive processing, and attention schema theory. From these theories the authors derive "indicator properties" of consciousness, elucidated in computational terms that allow them to assess AI systems for these properties. They use these indicator properties to assess several recent AI systems, and discuss how future systems might implement them. In this event, the authors summarized the report, offered perspectives from philosophy, cognitive science, and computer science, and responded to questions and comments. About the panelists Patrick Butlin is a philosopher of mind and cognitive science and a Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford. His current research is on consciousness, agency and other mental capacities and attributes in AI. Robert Long is a Research Affiliate at the Center for AI Safety. He recently completed his PhD in philosophy at New York University, during which he also worked as a Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute. He works on issues related to possible AI consciousness and sentience. Yoshua Bengio is recognized worldwide as one of the leading experts in artificial intelligence, known for his conceptual and engineering breakthroughs in artificial neural networks and deep learning. He is a Full Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research at Université de Montréal and the Founder and Scientific Director of Mila - Quebec AI Institute, one of the world's largest academic institutes in deep learning. He is also the Scientific Direc...

During a recent Summit co-hosted by Food Tank and Niman Ranch, speakers gathered to discuss the role that everyone can play to support independent family farmers, the changing meat sector, and the opportunities we can build through food. This week's episode of “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” features two discussions from the event. First, hear why a strong relationship between chefs and food producers is so important to building a sustainable food system. Then, dive into a policy discussion as experts unpack the recent decision to uphold Proposition 12 and protect animal welfare. Speakers include Gustavo Arellano, Columnist, Los Angeles Times; Helena Bottemiller Evich, Founder, FoodFix; Jamey Fader, Chef, Marczyk Fine Foods; Chris Green, Executive Director, Harvard University's Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law & Policy Program; Julia Jordan, SeniorSustainability Director, Compass Group North America; Jo Lerma-Lopez, Chef, Luna Mexican Kitchen; Pushkar Marathe, Chef, Ela Curry Kitchen and Stage; Chris Oliviero, General Manager, Niman Ranch; and Michael Showers, Chef, High West. While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” wherever you consume your podcasts.

An eye-opening discussion as Lee Kelso delves into the intricate world of zoonotic diseases with Anne Linder, Associate Director of Policy and Research at the Brooks McCormick Animal Law and Policy Program at Harvard Law School. We explore the surprising reality that the US food supply, while generally safe, poses a unique health threat due to zoonotic diseases – illnesses that jump from animals to humans.    Learn more:   https://animal.law.harvard.edu/news-article/animal-markets-and-zoonotic-disease/#:~:text=The%20immense%20and%20increasing%20scale,health%20checks%20or%20disease%20testingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you try to keep up with animal-related legislation but sometimes find yourself wondering what it all means? This week we get some answers regarding the hugely important EATS Act and the effort to eradicate state animal welfare laws from Chris Green, Executive Director of the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law.   ABOUT OUR GUEST…

In Sackett, the Court clarified one of the longest-standing environmental law challenges: defining “waters of the United States.” The Court unanimously rejected the “significant nexus” test for jurisdiction and adopted the “relatively permanent waters” test from the plurality decision in the 2006 case, Rapanos v. United States. Also in Sackett, a 5-4 majority narrowed the definition of adjacent wetlands significantly.Watch or listen to a recording of this panel as they discuss the Court's decision, how it might impact the Biden EPA's recently adopted regulation, and the future of the Clean Water Act. Featuring:Moderator: Hon. Thomas Griffith, Fmr. Judge, US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit; Special Counsel, Hunton Andrews Kurth Deidre Duncan, Partner & Environmental Practice Group Leader, Hunton Andrews KurthTom Ward, Vice President for Litigation, National Association of Home BuildersSambhav Sankar, Senior Vice President of Programs, EarthjusticeProfessor William W. Buzbee, Director, Environmental Law & Policy Program, Georgetown Law

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Principles for AI Welfare Research, published by jeffsebo on June 19, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum. Tl;dr: This post, which is part of the EA Strategy Fortnight series, summarizes some of my current views about the importance of AI welfare, priorities for AI welfare research, and principles for AI welfare research. 1. Introduction As humans start to take seriously the prospect of AI consciousness, sentience, and sapience, we also need to take seriously the prospect of AI welfare. That is, we need to take seriously the prospect that AI systems can have positive or negative states like pleasure, pain, happiness, and suffering, and that if they do, then these states can be good or bad for them. A world that includes the prospect of AI welfare is a world that requires the development of AI welfare research. Researchers need to examine whether and to what extent AI systems might have the capacity for welfare. And to the extent that they might, researchers need to examine what might be good or bad for AI systems and what follows for our actions and policies. The bad news is that AI welfare research will be difficult. Many researchers are likely to be skeptical of this topic at first. And even insofar as we take the topic seriously, it will be difficult for us to know what, if anything, it might be like to be an AI system. After all, the only mind that we can directly access is our own, and so our ability to study other minds is limited at best. The good news is that we have a head start. Researchers have spent the past half century making steady progress in animal welfare research. And while there are many potentially relevant differences between animals and AI systems, there are also many potentially relevant similarities – enough for it to be useful for us to look to animal welfare research for guidance. In Fall 2022, we launched the NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program, which examines the nature and intrinsic value of nonhuman minds, with special focus on invertebrates and AI systems. In this post, I summarize some of my current views about the importance of AI welfare, priorities for AI welfare research, and principles for AI welfare research. I want to emphasize that this post discusses these issues in a selective and general way. A comprehensive treatment of these issues would need to address many more topics in much more detail. But I hope that this discussion can be a useful starting point for researchers who want to think more deeply about what might be good or bad for AI systems in the future. I also want to emphasize that this post expresses my current, tentative views about this topic. It might not reflect the views of other people at the NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program or of other experts in effective altruism, global priorities research, and other relevant research, advocacy, or policy communities. It might not even reflect my own views a year from now. Finally, I want to emphasize that AI welfare is only one of many topics that merit more attention right now. Many other topics merit more attention too, and this post makes no specific claims about relative priorities. I simply wish to claim that AI welfare research should be among our priorities, and to suggest how we can study and promote AI welfare in a productive way. 2. Why AI welfare matters We can use the standard EA scale-neglectedness-tractability framework to see why AI welfare matters. The general idea is that there could be many more digital minds than biological minds in the future, humanity is currently considering digital minds much less than biological minds, and humanity might be able to take steps to treat both kinds of minds well. First, AI welfare is potentially an extremely large-scale issue. In the same way that the invertebrate population is much larger than the vertebrate p...

Tl;dr: This post, which is part of the EA Strategy Fortnight series, summarizes some of my current views about the importance of AI welfare, research priorities for AI welfare research, and principles for AI welfare research.1. IntroductionAs humans start to take seriously the prospect of AI consciousness, sentience, and sapience, we also need to take seriously the prospect of AI welfare. That is, we need to take seriously the prospect that AI systems can have positive or negative states like pleasure, pain, happiness, and suffering, and that if they do, then these states can be good or bad for them.A world that includes the prospect of AI welfare is a world that requires the development of AI welfare research. Researchers need to examine whether and to what extent AI systems might have the capacity for welfare. And to the extent that they might, researchers need to examine what might be good or bad for AI systems and what follows for our actions and policies.The bad news is that AI welfare research will be difficult. Many researchers are likely to be skeptical of this topic at first. And even insofar as we take the topic seriously, it will be difficult for us to know what, if anything, it might be like to be an AI system. After all, the only mind that we can directly access is our own, and so our ability to study other minds is limited at best.The good news is that we have a head start. Researchers have spent the past half century making steady progress in animal welfare research. And while there are many potentially relevant differences between animals and AI systems, there are also many potentially relevant similarities – enough for it to be useful for us to look to animal welfare research for guidance.In Fall 2022, we launched the NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program, which examines the nature and intrinsic value of nonhuman minds, with special focus on invertebrates and AI systems. In this post, I summarize some of my current views about the importance of AI welfare, priorities for AI welfare research, and principles for AI welfare research.I want to emphasize that this post discusses these issues in a selective and general way. A comprehensive treatment of these issues would need to address many more topics in much more detail. But I hope that this discussion can be a useful starting point for researchers who want to think more deeply about what might be good or bad for AI systems in the future.I also want to emphasize that this post expresses my current, tentative views about this topic. It might not reflect the views of other people at the NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program or of other experts in effective altruism, global priorities research, and other relevant research, advocacy, or policy communities. It might not even reflect my own views a year from now.Finally, I want to emphasize that AI welfare is only one of many topics that merit more attention right now. Many other topics merit [...]--- First published: June 19th, 2023 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/SZJBE3fuk2majqwJQ/principles-for-ai-welfare-research --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. Share feedback on this narration.

Following concerns about the information collected by and influence of the immensely popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, debates have sprung up: should TikTok be banned?Some contend that TikTok poses a tangible and imminent threat to the United States' national security, and that as such it should be banned immediately. Others assert it is a valuable and important platform for free speech, and that a full ban would violate citizens' rights. These contrasting positions raise some important questions: is TikTok a threat to national security, and if so how should that be handled? Does TikTok's “Project Texas,” which would purportedly have U.S. TikTok user data stored by a U.S. company suffice? Can one simply place restrictions on its use for individuals who deal with sensitive data (government employees, military members, etc.) or does the threat require a full ban? Additionally, who can/ should implement those restrictions? For a ban to be effective does it need to be national, or can states act effectively to restrict or ban TikTok themselves? Featuring:Jamil N. Jaffer, Adjunct Professor, NSI Founder, and Director, National Security Law & Policy Program, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason UniversityWill Duffield, Policy Analyst, Cato Institute[Moderator] Jennifer Huddleston, Technology Policy Research Fellow, Cato InstituteVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.*******As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

Repast welcomes University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law Professor Andrea Freeman to discuss her recent article, “Food Oppression in a Pandemic,” published in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics.  Professor Freeman wrote this article while participating in the Health Justice: Engaging Critical Perspectives Initiative, and presented it at a convening at UCLA in October 2022 co-sponsored by UCLA's Health Law and Policy Program, in partnership with ChangeLab Solutions, the Institute for Healing Justice and Equity, and the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine Here, Professor Freeman talks about her theory of food oppression, the racism inherent in the U.S.'s pandemic response, and a possible road forward.  In the podcast, as in all of her work, she emphasizes that racial justice is an aspect of food justice and is a part of every piece of food policy. Andrea Freeman is Professor of Law at the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law, and will be joining Southwestern Law School in fall 2023. Michael T. Roberts is the Executive Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy at UCLA Law. Diana Winters is the Deputy Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy at UCLA Law. You can find Professor Freeman's article, “Food Oppression in a Pandemic” here. [If you cannot access, please contact Diana Winters.] You can find other articles published as part of the Health Justice Initiative here, and a link to the Health Justice Initiative webpage is here. A link to the webpage for Bite Back 2030, a youth-led UK-based campaign mentioned by Professor Freeman is here. 

The announcement that the Taiwan President will visit the United States in early April has brought renewed attention to the potential conflict between the US and China over Taiwan. Additionally, some experts assert that the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has further intensified the need for the US and China to prepare for a possible military confrontation.Despite this perceived urgency, much of the discourse surrounding a Taiwan conflict focuses on the security concerns motivating both powers and the geopolitical fallout that would occur as a result. Our panel of defense and national security law experts will go beyond this analysis to examine the specific scenarios that could trigger conflict and the strategies that the US might deploy to protect its interests. Join us for a comprehensive discussion on one of the most pressing security challenges of our time.Featuring:-- Col. Mark Cancian, (USMCR, ret.) Senior Adviser, International Security Program, CSIS -- Prof. Julian Ku, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Faculty Director of International Programs, and Maurice A. Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University-- Moderator: Prof. Jamil Jaffer, Adjunct Professor, NSI Founder, and Director, National Security Law & Policy Program, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

Kirtana (Keer-tha-na) Kalavapudi (she/her) wears many hats: Lawyer, Yoga Practitioner, Parent, Partner, Public Policy Advocate, Runner, and Earl Grey Aficionado (the more Bergamot, the better).  Kirtana's professional experience includes serving the public at Social Security Administration and internships at the George Washington University, Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program, Equip for Equality, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, and Walgreen Co.  Kirtana's academic experience includes a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, a Master of Public Health in Health Policy from the George Washington University, and Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Notre Dame of Maryland University.  Kirtana currently lives in Maryland with her partner, spouse, and Husky pup.  She enjoys training for and running in local races, facilitating yoga classes to foster a greater sense of connection in her community, and traveling around the world.  Kirtana also serves as the Co-Executive Editor for the National Association of Women Lawyers' Women Lawyers Journal. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/freeman-means-business/support

As Indonesia, Somalia, Niger, and Mauritania may be next to join the Abraham Accords, what interests unify these countries on Accord agreement? What will be the impact of Saudi Arabia’s alignment with Iran? What are the balance of power dynamics for the Iran-concerned Accord countries of Israel, Bahrain, UAE? What binds signatories to the Accords as regional political pressures mount? Discussants will assess the impact of the normalization of relationships they have evolved in the two and a half years since Accords were negotiated. Cultural shifts are already reported after two years of active Accords with Hebrew frequently spoken on the streets of Dubai. Trade has flourished. Flights and overflights are routine. But the United States’ role has shifted for a variety of reasons. Is America’s leadership critical to salutary Accord developments? Featuring: David P. Goldman, President, Macrostrategy LLC Hon. Brian Hook, Founder, Latitude, LLC Prof. Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies & Director of the Institute for Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, Princeton University Moderator: Prof. Jamil Jaffer, Adjunct Professor, NSI Founder, and Director, National Security Law & Policy Program, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University --- To register, please click the link above.

We tell you about a proposal to make some improvements to Wisconsin's biking trails. We learn about the Justice Fellows Policy Program for formerly incarcerated people. We help you plan a trip to Cave of the Mounds in Wandering Wisconsin. We learn about the first Irish people to come to Milwaukee. Bubbler Talk explores a mysterious set of numbers and dates inlaid in the sidewalk outside of the Mitchell Park Domes.

This episode features an engaging discussion about current public health education as well as what public health education will look like as our world continues evolving. Haley and Sophie are joined by Rebecca Wurtz, MD, MPH, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Director of Executive Public Health Administration & Policy Program, and one of the faculty that helped found this podcast! Thank you to all of our listeners for joining us on another season of the Perspectives podcast! It has been a pleasure learning with all of you. --S & H Resources: Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dORqHTsW9YFRr0i-MpnQ25AIguwUdtaks3ieLTUKchM/edit?usp=sharing UMN Master of Public Health Program: https://www.sph.umn.edu/academics/degrees-programs/mph/ UMN Undergraduate Public Health Major: https://cehsp.d.umn.edu/departments-centers/departments/applied-human-sciences/programs/public-health/public-health-major

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Animal Welfare - 6 Months in 6 Minutes, published by Zoe Williams on February 8, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum. In August 2022, I started making summaries of the top EA and LW forum posts each week. This post collates together the key themes I've seen within top-rated animal welfare posts since then. (Note a lot of good work is happening outside what's posted on the forum too! This post doesn't try to cover that work.) If you're interested in staying up to date on a more regular basis, consider subscribing to the Weekly EA & LW Forum Summaries, or to the Animal Advocacy Biweekly Digest. Forum announcements here and here. And for a great overview of the good the community is doing in this space, I highly recommend reading Big Wins for Farm Animals This Decade by Lewis Bollard. Key Takeaways A multi-proxy method has been suggested as a better option than neuron counts for estimating the moral weights of different species, with a first stab completed by Rethink Priorities based on empirical and philosophical research. There is an increasing focus on small animal welfare eg. fish, crustaceans and insects. This is particularly relevant for interventions which may cause substitution effects (consumers moving from one form of animal product to another). Wild animal welfare is becoming a more established cause area, with recent launches including WildAnimalSuffering.org and the NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program. Several major policy wins were achieved, including the first FDA approval of cultivated meat, and an EU announcement that it would put forward a proposal to end the systematic killing of male chicks. Themes Cross-Species Comparisons Moving beyond neuron counts Big strides have been made in modeling cross-species welfare comparisons. Rethink Priorities published the Moral Weight Project Sequence (led by Bob Fischer), which tackles philosophical and empirical questions related to the relative welfare capacities of 11 different farmed animals. This included looking at the evidence for 90 different hedonic and cognitive proxies in those animals, discussing why we shouldn't just use neuron counts, and publishing a model of relative differences in the possible intensities of these animals' pleasure and pains (relative to humans). You can see the results below - they suggest using these as the best-available placeholders until further research can be completed, and noting the translation from intensity of experience (welfare range) into ‘moral weight' is dependent on several philosophical assumptions: Other work in this area has included: The launching of the NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program, which will conduct and support foundational research about the nature and intrinsic value of nonhuman minds, including biological and artificial minds. There will be a special focus on invertebrates and AIs. The Shrimp Welfare Project (founded 2021) released research on using biological markers to measure the welfare of shrimp, and prioritize the practices causing the worst harms. MHR points out the issues with using neuron counts extend to the practical as well as the philosophical - the only publicly-available empirical reports of fish neuron counts sample exclusively from very small species (

Dr Jeff Sebo is a Clinical Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at New York University, where he is also an affiliated professor in Bioethics, Medical Ethics, Philosophy, and Law, as well as the director of the Animal Studies MA Program and the Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program. He's also co-director of the university's Wild Animal Welfare Program. He sits on the executive committee of the New York University Center for Environmental and Animal Protection, and is part of the advisory board for the Animals in Context book series at New York University Press. He is also the author or co-author of a number of books about animals; today, we discuss his most recent book, which is Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves: Why Animals Matter for Pandemics, Climate Change, and other Catastrophes. It was published by Oxford University Press in 2022. This episode is brought to you by the Animal Publics book series at Sydney University Press and the Australasian Animal Studies Association, which you can (and should!) join today.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Announcing the Launch of the NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program, published by Sofia Fogel on January 9, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum. We are thrilled to announce the launch of the NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program later this month! The NYU Wild Animal Welfare (WAW) program aims to advance understanding about what wild animals are like, how humans and wild animals interact, and how humans can improve our interactions with wild animals at scale. We pursue this goal through foundational research in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, as well as through outreach to academics, advocates, policymakers, and the general public. The team includes Becca Franks and Jeff Sebo as co-directors, me (Sofia) as coordinator, and Arthur Caplan, Lucius Caviola, Kyle Ferguson, Jennifer Jacquet, Dale Jamieson, Colin Jerolmack, Sonali McDermid, Danielle Spiegel-Feld, Christine Webb, and others as faculty affiliates. The program will launch on January 27, 2023 with a roundtable discussion titled "How can humans improve our interactions with wild animals at scale?" The panel will include program directors Becca Franks and Jeff Sebo and program affiliates Christine Webb, Colin Jerolmack, and Dale Jamieson. The discussion will cover an array of topics including: Why does wild animal welfare matter more than ever? What are the most urgent and actionable issues confronting wild animals? How does wild animal welfare relate to conservation biology and other fields? We will also have plenty of time for discussion with the audience. We welcome you to join us in person or online. We will soon be announcing additional spring events as well as opportunities for early-career researchers. If you are interested in receiving occasional updates about our work and offerings, we encourage you to sign up for our email list. Please also feel free to contact us with other inquiries. This launch follows on the heels of our October 2022 launch of the NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program, which may also be of interest to readers of this post. Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org.

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a detailed report in September 2022 on the state of the U.S. Counterintelligence (CI) mission. Among other things, the report noted that the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), the nation's head agency for CI, does not have a clear mission and is limited in its authorities. The Committee further warned that NCSC's work is being hampered by bureaucracy and funding issues. The report also noted that foreign intelligence entities pose a more harmful threat to U.S. interests now than they have at any point in the past. We will discuss the report, its fallout, and the potential solutions to the problem with the former Director of NCSC, The Honorable William Evanina. Featuring: Jamil Jaffer, Adjunct Professor, NSI Founder, and Director, National Security Law & Policy Program, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason UniversityWilliam Evanina, CEO, The Evanina Group; Former Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center

Shawn discusses the Educational Leadership Policy doctoral program at Texas Tech University with cohort colleagues Carissa Duran and Chris McGilvery.Follow CarissaTwitter - @seejodeeFollow ChrisTwitter - @camcgilveryFollow Teacher Caucuswww.teachercaucus.comTwitter - @TeachersCaucusFacebook - @theteacherscaucusFollow Shawn & Rodney on TwitterShawn Sheehan - @SPSheehanRodney Robinson - @RodRobinsonRVAFollow and give us a rating on the app you use to listen to our show.

What Does HIPAA Actually Do? HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is name dropped a lot, but frequently misunderstood. Many are surprised to find that the “P” stands for portability, not privacy.  Misunderstandings about what's protected under the law go way deeper than its name. The law outlines protections only for health information shared between patients and health care providers. This means that any personal health data shared with someone who is not specifically mentioned in the law is not covered.  If a period tracking app shares personal health information with Facebook, that's not a violation of HIPAA. Neither is asking for someone's vaccination status.  Guest host Maddie Sofia talks with Tara Sklar, professor of health law and director of the Health Law & Policy Program at the University of Arizona, to explain what's actually covered under HIPAA.   “Research By Us And For Us”: How Medical Research Can Better Serve Trans Communities Trans medical care isn't new or experimental, and study after study has shown that transition-related procedures—such as hormone therapies and surgeries—are incredibly safe and effective. But most long-term studies on trans health focus on the first few years after transitioning, leaving unanswered questions about the years after. Similar to members of other marginalized groups, trans people have long been treated like “case studies,” rather than potential experts when it comes to scientific research. So while researchers have studied trans bodies for decades, they haven't always asked trans people what they need to know about their own bodies, such as: If I'm pursuing medical transition, how will my bone density change after years of taking estrogen? If I take testosterone, will I also need to get a hysterectomy? How will my hormonal and surgical options affect my fertility?  Now, a new wave of medical research—led by trans medical experts themselves—is trying to fill in those blanks and address the needs of trans communities. Guest host Maddie Sofia speaks with Dr. Asa Radix, the senior director of research and education at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, and Dallas Ducar, nurse practitioner and founding CEO of Transhealth Northampton. They talk about the state of research on trans health, and how studies can better address the needs of the trans and gender diverse communities.   Food Pantry Venison May Contain Lead Iowa requires warning labels about the possible presence of lead in shot-harvested venison. Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska do not. A walk-in freezer about two stories high sits in one corner of a warehouse owned by a food bank called Hawkeye Area Community Action Program Inc. in Hiawatha, Iowa. Chris Ackman, the food bank's communication manager, points to the shelving racks where any donated venison the organization receives is typically stored. Known as the Help Us Stop Hunger, or HUSH, program, the venison is donated by hunters from around the state, and Ackman says the two-pound tubes of ground meat go pretty quickly, lasting only a few months. “It's a pretty critical program, I think, because there are a lot of hunters in Iowa,” he said. “And, it's well enjoyed by a lot of families as well.” Similar programs around the country have been applauded as a way for hunters to do something they enjoy while also helping feed those in need. Iowa hunters donate around 3,500 deer a year through the program. From the hunters, the deer goes to a meat locker, where it's ground, packaged and shipped off to food pantries around the state. But before it hits the shelves, Iowa officials require a warning label on the venison package. The label reads: “Lead fragments may be found in processed venison. Children under 6 years and pregnant women are at the greatest risk from lead.” Then, in bold type, the label notes: “Iowa has not found cases of lead poisoning from lead in venison,” along with a number to call for more information. Iowa stands out among Midwestern states in requiring a label warning about the potential hazard of lead ammunition and the fragments it can leave behind in shot-harvested game meat like venison. Donated venison in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska come with no similar warning label. Read more at sciencefriday.com. Museum Exhibit Celebrates Queerness In Science Last year, the California Academy of Sciences debuted “New Science: The Academy Exhibit,” which celebrates 23 incredible LGBTQIA+ scientists. The folks in this exhibit are challenging the exclusionary practices that are all too common in scientific spaces, with the aim of creating a more inclusive and welcoming environment. It is a celebration of queerness in science. Guest host Maddie Sofia talks with the curator of this exhibit, Lauren Esposito, who is a curator of arachnology at the California Academy of Sciences and founder of 500 Queer Scientists, based in San Francisco. They discuss the exhibit, the importance of LGBTQIA+ representation in STEM, and, of course, arachnids. The exhibit is free and open to the public at the California Academy of Sciences, and it is also available online.   Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs at sciencefriday.com.      

On this episode I will be talking, once again, to Kelsey Eberly, who is now with Harvard Law School's Animals, Law and Policy Program, as well as with Dena Jones of the Animal Welfare Institute about the deeply troubling topic of chicken slaughter. Specifically, we will be discussing Animal Welfare Institute v Vilsack, a case involving the rather confusing landscape of… The post Animal Law Podcast #83: The Case of the Slaughtered Chickens appeared first on Our Hen House.

Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is the emeritus senior policy fellow at the AMS from 2000-2021. He founded and then directed the AMS Summer Policy Colloquium for 21 years. He was Director of the Policy Program from 2001-2013 and also served as AMS associate executive director.  From 1967 to 2000, he worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and antecedent agencies, including tenures as Deputy Chief Scientist and Acting Chief Scientist of NOAA, and eighteen months as Senior Scientist in the Office of the Secretary of Commerce.  Dr. Bill Hooke, welcome!