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Navigating a Polluted Information Ecosystem
Fake news, misinformation, and disinformation have become bywords for problematic online content. But these labels provide little understanding of the ways people create and share information. A new series from Issues explores how to navigate and improve today’s information ecosystems.
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In response to essays published in Issues, our readers weigh in on critical topics in policy related to science, technology, and society.
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Summer 2023
What happens when innovation slips the bounds and intent of its makers? Many experts worry that the result could be destabilization and mayhem. This is perfectly reasonable for intelligence and defense innovation that deals in powerful, potentially dangerous technologies. And in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which people died because of bad information about vaccines and misuse of inappropriate drugs, a security lens on health seems warranted. But there are other ways to consider what happens when innovation moves outside the confines of its creators. We might stand the question on its head: How could a program be appropriated by groups of people, scaled, and used to accomplish things that surpass creators’ intentions and wildest hopes? What might be possible when the walls around the church of innovation come down?
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The Camouflaged Metaphysics of Embryos
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“The Complexity of Technology’s Consequences Is Going Up Exponentially, But Our Wisdom and Awareness Are Not.”
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Centering Societal Concerns at NSF
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