The increasingly pervasive role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our societies is radically changing the way that social interaction takes place within all fields of knowledge. The obvious ...opportunities in terms of accuracy, speed and originality of research are accompanied by questions about the possible risks and the consequent responsibilities involved in such a disruptive technology. In recent years, this twofold aspect has led to an increase in analyses of the ethical and political implications of AI. As a result, there has been a proliferation of documents that seek to define the strategic objectives of AI together with the ethical precautions required for its acceptable development and deployment. Although the number of documents is certainly significant, doubts remain as to whether they can effectively play a role in safeguarding democratic decision-making processes. Indeed, a common feature of the national strategies and ethical guidelines published in recent years is that they only timidly address how to integrate civil society into the selection of AI objectives. Although scholars are increasingly advocating the necessity to include civil society, it remains unclear which modalities should be selected. If both national strategies and ethics guidelines appear to be neglecting the necessary role of a democratic scrutiny for identifying challenges, objectives, strategies and the appropriate regulatory measures that such a disruptive technology should undergo, the question is then, what measures can we advocate that are able to overcome such limitations? Considering the necessity to operate holistically with AI as a social object, what theoretical framework can we adopt in order to implement a model of governance? What conceptual methodology shall we develop that is able to offer fruitful insights to governance of AI? Drawing on the insights of classical pragmatist scholars, we propose a framework of democratic experimentation based on the method of social inquiry. In this article, we first summarize some of the main points of discussion around the potential societal, ethical and political issues of AI systems. We then identify the main answers and solutions by analyzing current national strategies and ethics guidelines. After showing the theoretical and practical limits of these approaches, we outline an alternative proposal that can help strengthening the active role of society in the discussion about the role and extent of AI systems.
Abstract
Many researchers experiment with participatory settings to increase public engagement in research and innovation (R&I). Because of their temporary nature, it often remains unclear how such ...participatory experiments can contribute to structural change. This paper empirically explores options for bridging this gap. It analyzes how participants can be supported to act as institutional entrepreneurs to actively promote public engagement in R&I. To draw lessons, we analyze empirical material gathered on nineteen Social Labs which were set up to promote the uptake of Responsible Research and Innovation in a European R&I funding program (Horizon 2020). Involvement of motivated participants, insight in their institutional context, and specific methods and management choices that enhance a sense of agency are identified as essential for organizing change. These findings and the resulting framework of interventions may prove valuable for further (action) research into the institutionalization of public engagement in R&I.
The controversies that have developed in recent years in the field of education and training around program and competency-based approaches are not without reminiscent of those which are at the ...origin of a reflection on the question of methods to monitor, control, organize and shape innovation in science and technology "and led to the emergence of the notion of responsibility for innovation and research "(Pellé & Reber, 2015). This book is clearly part of this type of approach. Starting from a current state of play on the issues and controversies raised by curricular and competency-based approaches (Chapters 1 and 2), this book aims at presenting new theoretical frameworks, allowing to account for the processes implied by the implementation of these pedagogical innovations and, in particular, those which, at the very heart of the skills mobilized, promote a "responsibility" dimension. Based on a developmental approach to individual and collective competencies and their evaluation (Chapters 3, 4 and 5), it attempts to show how this approach can mobilize educational practices on strong societal issues, such as "sustainable development "(Chapter 5). Lastly, it aims to provide theoretical and practical benchmarks to help engage educational teams and institutions in these innovative and responsible approaches by providing a coherent framework for doing so (Chapters 6, 7 and 8).
The following chapter will provide an assessment of the scientific and democratic relevance of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). It will adopt a pragmatist perspective to evaluate the ...challenges of science and democracy, and the relevance of RRI in addressing them. The chapter is structured as follows: I will first delineate the features and challenges arising from the relation between scientific investigations and democratic models. This appears to be necessary in order to understand what can be considered to be relevant for their development. In fact, as it will turn out, if science requires a broader integration of knowledge, democracy needs to improve its scientific and experimental nature, as suggested by John Dewey. I will then start the assessment of RRI by proposing a multi-level and integrative conception of responsibility, which offers a dynamic theoretical background. I will then provide an analysis of the six keys proposed by the European Commission as the main methodological tool to implement the principles embedded in the notion of RRI. By doing so, it will emerge that RRI, in its formulation through the keys, is highly scientifically and democratically relevant from a pragmatist perspective.
Of reality Vattimo, Gianni; Valgenti, Robert T
2016, 2016., 2016-03-15
eBook
A defense of the critical faculties that keep us from settling for the status quo. Drawing on Nietzsche and Heidegger, Vattimo develops a philosophy to combat the newest enemy of freedom and ...democracy: complacency toward reality. Resistance to reality becomes our best hope for countering the ongoing indifference to our fate.
International trade and investment in services are an increasingly important part of global commerce. Advances in information and telecommunication technologies have expanded the scope of services ...that can be traded cross-border. Many countries now allow foreign investment in newly privatized and competitive markets for key infrastructure services, such as energy, telecommunications, and transport. More and more people are travelling abroad to consume tourism, education, and medical services, and to supply services ranging from construction to software development. In fact, services are the fastest growing components of the global economy, and trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) in services have grown faster than in goods over the past decade and a half. International transactions, however, continue to be impeded by policy barriers, especially to foreign investment and the movement of service-providing individuals. Developing countries in particular are likely to benefit significantly from further domestic liberalization and the elimination of barriers to their exports. In many instances, income gains from a reduction in protection to services may be far greater than from trade liberalization in goods. In light of the increasing importance of international trade in services and the inclusion of services issues on the agendas of the multilateral, regional and bilateral trade negotiations, there is an obvious need to understand the economic implications of services trade and liberalization. A Handbook of International Trade in Services provides a comprehensive introduction to the subject, making it an essential reference for trade officials, policy advisors, analysts, academics, and students. Beginning with an overview on the key issues in trade in services and discussion of the GATS, the book then looks at trade negotiations in the service sector, the barriers to trade in services, and concludes by looking at a number of specific service sectors, such as financial services, e-commerce, health services, and the temporary movement of workers. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/economicsfinance/019923521X/toc.html Contributors to this volume - Rudolf Adlung, Trade in Services Division of the WTO Secretariat, World Trade Organization Jonathan D. Aronson, University of Southern California Chantal Blouin, Chercheure Principale, Commerce et Developpement, Ottawa, Canada Patricio Contreras, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Washington DC Brian Copeland, University of British Columbia Peter F. Cowhey, University of California, San Diego Barbara d'Andrea, International Trade Statistics Section, WTO Alan V. Deardorff, University of Michigan Philippa Dee, Australian National University Shantayanan Devarajan, Chief Economist, South Asia Region, World Bank Wendy Dobson, University of Toronto Nick Drager, Department of Ethics, Trade, Human Rights and Law, World Health Organization Roberto Echandi, Small Economy Trade & Investment Center (SETIC), Diplomatic Institute, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica Geza Feketekuty, Institute for Trade and Commercial Diplomacy David P. Fidler, Indiana University School of Law Christopher Findlay, University of Adelaide Carsten Fink, International Trade Team, World Bank Institute, World Bank Marc H. Juhel, Transport and Logistics Adviser, World Bank Joscelyn Magdeleine, International Trade Statistics Section, WTO Flavio Marega, Embassy of Brazil, Washington DC Aaditya Mattoo, International Trade Group, Development Research Group World Bank Andreas Maurer, International Trade Statistics Section, WTO Yann Marcus, International Trade Statistics Section, WTO Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Migration Policy Institute Carlos S. Primo Braga, International Trade Department, World Bank Thomas F. Rutherford, Ann Arbor, Michigan Pierre Sauve, London School of Economics and Political Science Richard Smith, University of East Anglia Sherry Stephenson, Department of Trade, Tourism and Competitiveness, Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI), Organization of American States (OAS) Robert M. Stern, University of Michigan David Tarr, Development Research Group, World Bank Yan Wang, Trade Team, World Bank Institute Obie Whichard, Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce L. Alan Winters, Development Research Group, World Bank Gianni Zanini, World Bank Institute, World Bank
Patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer have a poor prognosis. Sacituzumab govitecan is an antibody-drug conjugate composed of an antibody targeting the human trophoblast cell-surface ...antigen 2 (Trop-2), which is expressed in the majority of breast cancers, coupled to SN-38 (topoisomerase I inhibitor) through a proprietary hydrolyzable linker.
In this randomized, phase 3 trial, we evaluated sacituzumab govitecan as compared with single-agent chemotherapy of the physician's choice (eribulin, vinorelbine, capecitabine, or gemcitabine) in patients with relapsed or refractory metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. The primary end point was progression-free survival (as determined by blinded independent central review) among patients without brain metastases.
A total of 468 patients without brain metastases were randomly assigned to receive sacituzumab govitecan (235 patients) or chemotherapy (233 patients). The median age was 54 years; all the patients had previous use of taxanes. The median progression-free survival was 5.6 months (95% confidence interval CI, 4.3 to 6.3; 166 events) with sacituzumab govitecan and 1.7 months (95% CI, 1.5 to 2.6; 150 events) with chemotherapy (hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.32 to 0.52; P<0.001). The median overall survival was 12.1 months (95% CI, 10.7 to 14.0) with sacituzumab govitecan and 6.7 months (95% CI, 5.8 to 7.7) with chemotherapy (hazard ratio for death, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.38 to 0.59; P<0.001). The percentage of patients with an objective response was 35% with sacituzumab govitecan and 5% with chemotherapy. The incidences of key treatment-related adverse events of grade 3 or higher were neutropenia (51% with sacituzumab govitecan and 33% with chemotherapy), leukopenia (10% and 5%), diarrhea (10% and <1%), anemia (8% and 5%), and febrile neutropenia (6% and 2%). There were three deaths owing to adverse events in each group; no deaths were considered to be related to sacituzumab govitecan treatment.
Progression-free and overall survival were significantly longer with sacituzumab govitecan than with single-agent chemotherapy among patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Myelosuppression and diarrhea were more frequent with sacituzumab govitecan. (Funded by Immunomedics; ASCENT ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02574455; EudraCT number, 2017-003019-21.).
A variation of moving discontinuous Galerkin finite element method with interface condition enforcement (MDG-ICE) is developed for solving the compressible Euler equations. The MDG-ICE method, ...originating from the work of Corrigan et al. 1–4, is based on the space-time DG formulation, where both flow field and grid geometry are considered as independent variables and the conservation laws are enforced both on discrete elements and element interfaces. The element conservation laws are solved in the standard discontinuous solution space to determine conservative quantities, while the interface conservation is enforced using a variational formulation in a continuous space to determine discrete grid geometry. The resulting over-determined system of nonlinear equations arising from the MDG-ICE formulation can then be solved in a least-squares sense, leading to an unconstrained nonlinear least-squares problem that is regularized and solved by Levenberg-Marquardt method. A number of numerical experiments for both 1D unsteady and 2D steady state compressible flow problems are conducted to assess the accuracy and robustness of the MDG-ICE method. Numerical results obtained indicate that the MDG-ICE method is able to implicitly detect and track all types of discontinuities via interface conservation enforcement and satisfy the conservation law on both elements and interfaces via grid movement and grid management, demonstrating that an exponential rate of convergence for Sod and Lax-Harden shock tube problems can be achieved and highly accurate solutions without overheating to both double-rarefaction wave and Noh problems can be obtained.
•Develop a moving DG method with interface conservation enforcement.•Detect and fit all types of discontinuities implicitly by mesh movement.•Achieve an exponential order of convergence for discontinuous solutions.•Produce accurate solutions to Noh and 123 problems without overheating.
Abstract Objective(s) We conducted a meta-analysis of propensity score-matching (PSM) studies comparing long-term survival of patients receiving right internal thoracic artery (RITA) versus radial ...artery (RA) as a second arterial conduit for coronary artery bypass grafting. Methods A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science to identify relevant articles. Primary endpoint was long-term mortality. Secondary endpoints were operative mortality, incidence of sternal wound infection, and repeat revascularization. Binary events were pooled using the DerSimonian and Laird method. For time-to-event outcomes, estimates of log hazard ratio (HR) and standard errors obtained were combined using the generic inverse-variance method. Results A total of 8 PSM studies were finally selected including 15,374 patients (RITA, 6739; RA, 8635) with 2992 matched pairs for final comparison. Mean follow-up time ranged from 45 to 168 months. When compared with RA, RITA was associated with a lower risk reduction of late death (HR, 0.75; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.58-0.97; P = .028) and repeat revascularization (HR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.16-0.85; P = .03). On the other hand, RITA did not increase operative mortality (odds ratio OR, 1.53; 95% CI, 0.97-2.39; P = .07). RITA was associated with an increased risk of sternal wound complication when pedicled harvesting was used (OR, 3.18; 95% CI, 1.34-7.57), but not with skeletonized harvesting (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.67-1.71). Conclusions The present PSM data meta-analysis suggests that the use of RITA compared with RA was associated with superior long-term survival and freedom from repeat revascularization, with similar operative mortality and incidence of sternal wound complication when the skeletonized harvesting technique was used.
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