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The Global Landscape of AI Ethics Guidelines
As AI technology develops rapidly, it is widely recognized that ethical guidelines are required for safe and fair implementation in society. But is it possible to agree on what is 'ethical AI'? A detailed analysis of 84 AI ethics reports around the world, from national and international organizations, companies and institutes, explores this question, finding a convergence around core principles but substantial divergence on practical implementation.
Memo to Italy's President: Your Researchers Need You
The collapse of Italy's coalition government has left researchers vulnerable. The president should use his moral authority with party leaders to make sure that promises of increased funding are kept.
Make Science PhDs More Than Just a Training Path for Academia
Science PhD programmes cater almost exclusively to students bound for academia, but they don't have to.
Financing Open-Access Publication After 2024
Co-chairs of the implementation task force of the international research-funder consortium cOAlition S clarify their position with regard to financially supporting the important transition to full open access after 2024.
Committees with Implicit Biases Promote Fewer Women when They Do Not Believe Gender Bias Exists
Committees with Implicit Biases Promote Fewer Women when They Do Not Believe Gender Bias Exists
In a nationwide competition for elite research positions, committees that hold strong implicit gender biases and doubt that women face external barriers to their success are observed to promote fewer women.
Peer Reviewers Need a Code of Conduct Too
Journals and editorial boards must accept their responsibility to guide positive reviewer behaviour and constructive feedback.
Geologist's Sacking Prompts Outcry
Researchers say that Irina Artemieva's dismissal from the University of Copenhagen runs counter to international academic standards.
Brazil's Budget Cuts Threaten More Than 80,000 Science Scholarships
If the country's main science-funding agency doesn't get more cash soon, young researchers will stop getting paid.
Discrepancy in Scientific Authority and Media Visibility of Climate Change Scientists and Contrarians
Discrepancy in Scientific Authority and Media Visibility of Climate Change Scientists and Contrarians
The role of climate change (CC) contrarians is neglected in climate change communication studies. Here the authors used a data-driven approach to identify CC contrarians and CC scientists and found that CC scientists have much higher citation impact than those for contrarians but lower media visibility.
Hundreds of Extreme Self-citing Scientists Revealed in New Database
Some highly cited academics seem to be heavy self-promoters - but researchers warn against policing self-citation.
Trump Administration Weakens Endangered Species Act
Changes to the United States' landmark conservation law make it easier to strip threatened species of the strongest protections.
Chemists Make First-ever Ring of Pure Carbon
Long after most chemists had given up trying, a team of researchers has synthesized the first ring-shaped molecule of pure carbon — a circle of 18 atoms.
Communicating Science to Policymakers: Six Strategies for Success
Communicating Science to Policymakers: Six Strategies for Success
Scientists can improve how they inform politicians and other policymakers on how to make decisions.
Key Concepts for Making Informed Choices
Teach people to think critically about claims and comparisons - they will make better decisions.
Scientists Must Rise Above Politics - and Restate Their Value to Society
Scholars globally are feeling the heat from politicians. They should take inspiration from scientists in the 1950s who raised the alarm over nuclear weapons.
Eat Less Meat: UN Climate Change Report Calls for Change to Human Diet
The report on global land use and agriculture from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change comes amid accelerating deforestation in the Amazon.
Unethical Work Must Be Filtered out or Flagged
Researchers need guidance on how to handle published work whose ethics have been questioned.
Three Pitfalls to Avoid in Machine Learning
As scientists from myriad fields rush to perform algorithmic analyses, Google's Patrick Riley calls for clear standards in research and reporting.
What Boris Johnson's Leadership Could Mean for Science
The next UK prime minister is a controversial character - and his stance on Brexit concerns researchers.
Meet the Ebola Researchers Testing Drugs and Vaccines in a War Zone
Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has interrupted clinical trials and forced scientists to change how they immunize people.
An Innovative Way to Publish
The research community needs to find ways to reward study design and methodology as much as the final result. A publishing format called Registered Reports offers a means of addressing this challenge.
What Not to Do in Graduate School
Six limiting maxims PhD students should avoid.
Royal Society President Stands Up for Chinese Scientists in the United States
Royal Society President Stands Up for Chinese Scientists in the United States
We scientists must stand up for openness and fairness. Discriminating against someone because of their ethnicity, turning down a collaboration or refusing a visa for a conference on the grounds of nationality, or simply making someone feel unwelcome because they are an immigrant - these are all morally objectionable and practically counterproductive. Such behaviour must cease.
Depression Researchers Rethink Popular Mouse Swim Tests
Animal-rights group's campaign to end forced-swim tests comes amid debate over whether method is overused.
The Plan to Mine the World's Research Papers
A giant data store quietly being built in India could free vast quantities of science for computer analysis - but is it legal?
How I Lost My Identity - and Embraced a New One
It was tough for Lia Paola Zambetti to leave the bench after dreaming for more than a decade of becoming a scientist, and reaching her goal. But now she enjoys her work's broader impact.
NASA Changes How It Divvies Up Telescope Time to Reduce Gender Bias
The switch to double-blind peer review will affect roughly 650 scientists working on projects worth an estimated US$55 million.
'Psychological Fear': MIT Scientists of Chinese Origin Protest Toxic US Climate
'Psychological Fear': MIT Scientists of Chinese Origin Protest Toxic US Climate
Researchers describe how a government crackdown on foreign influence is affecting them following a statement of support from their university.
Singapore Joins the Rise of Research Integrity Networks
Global effort to combat research misconduct gathers pace.