HOMONUCLUS

Biotech’s repugnant new advance is worthy of everyone’s critical attention

Scientists have swapped human reproduction for a different process entirely.

Image by Gerd Altmann/Pixabay/Creative Commons

By 

Charles C. Camosy, Joe Vukov

(RNS) — Scientists have created a human embryo without the use of sperm or an egg — a true test-tube baby. Such embryos cannot (yet) develop into full-grown human beings. Even if transplanted into a uterus, the specimen could never attach to the uterine wall.

Yet, what we have here is still a (disabled) human embryo. Without parents. 

Are you disgusted? We believe that if you have a well-formed conscience, this is a good and proper reaction to this development.

We cannot always and everywhere trust a reaction of repugnance; at times, such a reaction is simply the result of ingrained biases and stereotypes. But there is often a certain wisdom in our repulsion. Repugnance can assert itself as a moral alarm and response to real moral distress.

This is such a time. 

The creation of a human embryo without sperm and egg shares some important similarities with other artificial reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilization and certain surrogacy practices that involve the creation of human embryos outside the human body. Perhaps most strikingly, the procedure overlaps the process of modifying genes using novel techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9. In both cases, a manufactured human embryo is the result of direct human intervention. 

Tellingly, CRISPR-Cas9 has been known to be used only once on human embryos. The scientist who performed the procedure, He Jiankui, was roundly and firmly criticized by the medical and ethics community and served a prison sentence for his work. Meanwhile, leading scientists — including Emmanuelle Charpentier, one of the creators of the technique — have called for a moratorium on its use on human embryos.

The creation of a human embryo without sperm or egg also goes beyond what we have seen in previous artificial reproductive technology and genetic engineering techniques. In vitro fertilization and even CRISPR-Cas9 involve direct human intervention in the reproductive process. Yet, all of them work by modifying or intervening with existing human embryos or gametes. 

The manufacture of a human embryo without sperm or egg, by contrast, aims to build a human embryo from scratch. The process is less a tweak to human reproduction or bending it to our own will than replacing it with something different altogether. Heretofore we have aimed to eliminate variability, inconvenience or inefficiency from human reproduction. With this new development, the aim is different: to swap human reproduction for a different process entirely. 

The charge of playing God comes to mind. The charge is over-attributed and sometimes reveals more about our biases than something morally real, but in this case it is apt. There are at least two kinds of playing God: An overstepping by humans into spheres of action that should be reserved for the divine, and a hubristic attempt to meddle with the world in ways that our all-too-human intellects simply do not understand. In creating human embryos from scratch, we risk playing God in both senses. 

One of us is a philosopher and the other a theologian. We are both convinced that a Catholic understanding of reproduction could be a cultural antidote to the toxic understanding of reproduction that has led to the development of an eggless, spermless embryo. Our position is not aligned with some kind of revisionist attempt to “take us back to the 1950s” (or some such dismissive phrase), but is rather at the heart of the perspective that Pope Francis and the Vatican reaffirmed just a few months ago. 

As Christianity yields to a consumerist reproductive throwaway culture, the logic of the marketplace takes over. Instead of seeing the creation of new human beings as pro-creation with God (our ultimate creator), who offers them as an unmerited gift, we now think of it as yet another transaction between individuals. I have resources (money, insurance) and you have skills and facilities (medical training and fertility labs)? Well, then who is anyone to come between autonomous actors pursuing their self-interests?

Our post-Christian culture is already well advanced down this pathway, as couples, individuals and even “throuples” demand control over the embryos and future children they purchase in the marketplace. We’ve had decades, actually, of privileged people demanding the ability to purchase ova and sperm based on the donor’s IQ, attractiveness, participation in varsity athletics, and more. Sex selection is par for the course in many contexts. And of course our throwaway culture simply discards the prenatal human beings who don’t fit the market-based criteria. 

But here again we have something that is genuinely new. Instead of modifying or intervening (albeit dramatically!) into the process God created for procreation, this new technology has the potential to obliterate it. Catholics, other Christians and all people of good will must make our voices heard on this and work to make creation of such embryos illegal.

It may seem, and we may be told, that we can trust the process to stay where it is — that no actual reproduction would ever take place using this new technology. But the history outlined above shows that is a very, very bad bet. In a culture that becomes more and more dominated by the logic of the marketplace and by a commitment to a kind of relativism that welcomes virtually any vision of the good, who are we to impose our view onto others who think differently? They should be able to make their transaction and we should butt out.

It will do us no good to pretend that this is a retreat to a kind of moral neutrality. The marketplace has its own logic and its own goods. It rewards the privileged while exploiting the marginalized. There is no view from nowhere on this question. No neutral place to hide. We can and must explicitly and firmly take a stand with a particular vision of the good. And the Catholic vision stands ready to provide precisely what is necessary in this context.

Unfortunately, there are forces even within the church itself that are apparently trying to undermine the Church’s teaching in this regard — precisely where it is so obviously and importantly true and needed the most. Those of us who agree with Francis’ vision of resisting a consumerist, throwaway culture with the logic of gift and openness to life must redouble our efforts to make our voices heard on this new and repugnant biotechnological development.

September 18, 2023

(Joe Vukov is an associate professor of philosophy and associate director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago. He is also the author, most recently, of The Perils of Perfection. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

Teoriaevolutiva.files.wordpress.com

https://teoriaevolutiva.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/firestone-shulamith-dialectic-sex-case-feminist-revolution.pdf

The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution 

In THE DIALECTIC OF SEX: THE CASE FOR FEMINIST. REVOLUTION, Shulamith Firestone cuts into the prejudice against women (and children)--amplified through the.

Opinion
This All Souls’ Day, experience moments of connection with those who have gone before us

This is an intentional act of cultivating relationship with our ancestors.

People hold candles over a tomb decorated with flowers at a cemetery in Atzompa, Mexico, Oct. 31, 2023. In a tradition that coincides with All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2, families decorate graves with flowers and candles and spend the night in the cemetery, eating and drinking as they keep company with their dearly departed.
(AP Photo/Maria Alferez)

November 1, 2023

By 

Christine Paintner

(RNS) — In Celtic tradition there are many moments considered to be a “thin time,” which means that heaven and earth feel closer and we might experience moments of connection to those who have gone before us in ways that we don’t usually.

These moments include the daily portals of dawn and dusk as the world moves from dark to light and back to dark again. They also include the eight threshold moments of the year, which are the solstices, the equinoxes and the cross-quarter days that fall between the solstices and equinoxes. Of these eight, Samhain, which falls on Nov. 1, is considered to be the thinnest time, when the ancestors and spirits walk among us. The door between the spiritual and the physical is even further open than at other times.

Samhain is the start of the dark half of the year. It is the season of rest, incubation and mystery. It is the season of dreamtime and the perfect time of year to open your heart to connect with those who journeyed before you. Winter invites us to gather inside, grow still with the landscape and listen for the voices we may not hear during other times of the year. These may be the sounds of our own inner wisdom or the voices of those who came before us.

Listen for the messages of the ancestors in those days especially — they will speak their wisdom through raven and stone, tree and rain, dreams and synchronicities. This is the language through which we receive these gifts and only need to open ourselves to them.

The Celtic feast of Samhain coincides with the Christian celebration of All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2, which begin a whole month in honor of those who have died. We tend to neglect our ancestral heritage in our Western culture, but in other cultures, remembering the ancestors is an intuitive and essential way of beginning anything new. We don’t recognize the tremendous wisdom we can draw on from those who have traveled the journey before us and whose DNA we carry in every fiber of our bodies.

Ritual has a way of bridging the gap between the visible and invisible worlds and between the conscious and unconscious knowing. We can open ourselves to communication from our grandmothers and grandfathers. What we work on consciously through ritual and prayer has an impact in the world of the ancestors. Ritual is the intentional cultivation of relationship, but communication happens in spontaneous ways as well.

In Christian ritual and liturgy, there is the celebration on the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls. Some churches keep a Book of the Dead, in which the names of loved ones who died are written and kept near the altar so they may be remembered at Masses throughout November.

November is the month of the dead, and churches often have special Masses of remembrance throughout the month as well as setting up a special ancestral altar somewhere in the church space where members can bring photos, flowers and other offerings. Many churches also have votive candles available all year, which people can light either as a prayer for themselves or another or in remembrance of a loved one.

In medieval Europe, there were many practices for All Souls’ Day, including creating altars, celebrating requiem Masses, lighting candles and bonfires, visiting graves, ringing bells and making soul cakes, which were small, round, spiced loaves to commemorate the dead that were given out to people who came door to door.

We communicate with ancestors much in the way we would communicate with angels and saints — through dreams, visions, synchronicity, nature, ritual and imagination. We call upon them through prayer, we honor them through ritual offerings, and we ask them for guidance.

Henri Nouwen offers us this wisdom: As we grow older we have more and more people to remember, people who have died before us. It is very important to remember those who have loved us and those we have loved. Remembering them means letting their spirits inspire us in our daily lives. They can become part of our spiritual communities and gently help us as we make decisions on our journeys. Parents, spouses, children and friends can become true spiritual companions after they have died. Sometimes they can become even more intimate to us after death than when they were with us in life. Remembering the dead is choosing their ongoing companionship.

I especially love that final sentence: “Remembering the dead is choosing their ongoing companionship.” This is an intentional act of cultivating relationship.

The first fundamental blessing we can offer gratitude for is the gift of life itself. No matter what kind of family we came from, no matter how much suffering was caused, there is the fundamental impulse toward life that we can celebrate. We can give thanks for being here, being fully alive and even having the privilege of taking time to do this healing work: to explore spiritual practices and to ponder what makes our lives meaningful. Many of our ancestors never had that luxury.

Many worked very long hours for little reward and were never able to pause and ask themselves how their own generational connection could bring more wisdom to their lives.

I like to remember as well that in the midst of my ancestors’ struggles there was at least some resilience and courage developed that I have inherited. This is the second fundamental blessing we can offer gratitude for. I may never know what they went through exactly, but I can sometimes feel their sturdiness and how they endured. They too lived through times of war and plague and economic struggle.

Sometimes when I go outside at night and can see the brilliance of the stars, I remember that my ancestors also had moments of wonder and awe standing with their faces upturned toward the vast expanse of the universe. I remember that they too had moments of delight, of joy, of dancing, no matter how hard their lives were.

(Christine Valters Paintner is the author of “The Love of Thousands: How Angels, Saints, and Ancestors Walk With Us Toward Holiness” (Sorin Books), from which this column is adapted with permission. She is the online abbess for Abbey of the Arts, a virtual monastery offering classes and resources on contemplative practice and creative expression. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Is religion good for you? The answer is complicated, new global Gallup report finds.

A review of 10 years of global polling looks at the complicated connection between spirituality and health.

Photo by Pedro Lima/Unsplash/Creative Commons

By 

Bob Smietana

(RNS) — A new report from Gallup finds that religious people around the world report being more positive, have more social support, and are more involved in their communities than those who are not religious.

The study, based on 10 years of data, also finds the well-being of religious people varies from country to country and is often hard to measure. Even if researchers find that religion is good for you, people who are not religious may not care about its benefits or want anything to do with it.

“Gallup World Poll data from 2012-2022 find, on a number of wellbeing measures, that people who are religious have better wellbeing than people who are not,” according to the report, which was published Tuesday (Oct. 10).

The study included data about nine aspects of people’s lives, from their positive interactions with others and their social life to their civic engagement and physical health. Each of the nine indexes included a score of 0 to 100, based on answers to a series of questions.

For the positive experience index, respondents were asked questions such as “Did you smile or laugh today?” and “Were you treated with respect?” For civic engagement, they were asked questions about whether they gave to charity or helped a stranger. The physical health index asked if they had health issues that kept them from doing things people their age usually do and whether they were in physical pain. For community basics, they were asked about housing and infrastructure.

“Basic Relationship of Religiosity and Wellbeing Outcomes” Graphic courtesy Gallup

Religious people scored higher on five of Gallup’s indexes: social life (77.6 compared with 73.7 for nonreligious people), positive experience (69 to 65), community basics (59.7 to 55.6), optimism (49.4 to 48.4) and civic engagement (35.8 to 31).

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RELATED: Study: Religion and spirituality can aid youth mental health crisis

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They scored about the same as nonreligious people in two indexes: a “life evaluation” of whether they were thriving or suffering and their local economic confidence.

Religious people scored lower on two indexes: negative experience and physical health.

The differences between religious and nonreligious people were most prominent in highly religious countries.

Researchers noted that even small differences can have a significant impact on a global scale.

“Basic Relationships of Religiosity and Wellbeing Outcomes by Country Level of Religiosity, Gallup World Poll Data, 2012-2022” Graphic courtesy Gallup

“Each one-point difference in index scores between religious and nonreligious people represents an effect for an estimated 40 million adults worldwide,” according to the report. “For example, the four-point difference between religious and nonreligious people on the Positive Experience Index means that an estimated 160 million more adults worldwide have positive experiences than would be the case if those adults were not religious.”

The report suggests religion and spirituality could be a possible asset in dealing with the mental health crisis in many countries. However, they noted, the number of people interested in or involved in religion is declining.

For the report, Gallup partnered with the Radiant Foundation, which promotes a positive view of religion and spirituality and is associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Jeff Jones, Gallup poll senior editor, said measuring the impact of religion and spirituality on wellness is complicated, especially as people become less religious and the way they practice spirituality evolves.

“With the changing nature of religious landscapes and spiritual practice, it can make quantitative measurement amid the changes challenging, as the traditional forms of spirituality — namely, attending formal religious services, are becoming less common and people are seeking other ways to fulfill their spiritual needs,” Jones said in an email.

“Civic Engagement Index, Religious vs. Not Religious People, by Region” Graphic courtesy Gallup

The report, which also includes quotes from experts and a review of past research on the connection between wellness and religion, notes that even as researchers become more aware of the positive outcomes of religion, people are less interested in religion around the world.

While they have no polling data on the decline of religion, the report suggests several causes for that decline — including growing polarization that pits religious and nonreligious people against each other. Nonreligious people at times see religious people as a threat. Religious people, especially from larger faith groups, can wield their power in ways that others see as harmful.

“Religious groups and individuals — particularly from the dominant religious group in a society — who are hostile to other religious groups may promote a cultural context that is harmful to the wellbeing of those outside the group. Resentment toward the dominant group may also tune people out to their messages, both those that are harmful (out‑group animosity) but also that are helpful (serving others),” the report states.

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RELATED: Being ‘godless’ might be good for your health, new study finds

N.L. wants details on environmental impact before huge hydrogen project can go ahead

By Canadian Press | November 1st 2023


ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The Newfoundland and Labrador government has asked the company vying to build one of the country's first large-scale green hydrogen plants to provide more information about the project's effects on the environment.

World Energy GH2 must include more details in its environmental assessment of the massive development, called Project Nujio’qonik, the Department of Environment and Climate Change said Wednesday.

The department said in an email that requiring additional information is a routine part of the environmental assessment process, "particularly as a project becomes more defined."

World Energy GH2 is hoping to erect two wind farms, each of up to 164 wind turbines, on western Newfoundland's Port au Port Peninsula and in the nearby Codroy Valley area, as well as a hydrogen and ammonia production plant in the neighbouring town of Stephenville.

The company is led by Clearwater Seafoods co-founder John Risley and Brendan Paddick, a former chair of Nalcor Energy, the province's now-defunct Crown energy corporation. Their ambitions in the province have sparked protests in western Newfoundland, where some residents say they're concerned about Project Nujio’qonik's footprint in an area home to a delicate ecosystem.

In a letter to World Energy GH2 chief executive officer Sean Leet, Environment Minister Bernard Davis said the company's environmental impact statement is "deficient."

The letter dated Oct. 31 and posted to the provincial government's website asks for more information about the project's water use and its emergency response and contingency plans. It also asks for an "assessment of potential environmental and cumulative effects."


Where solar panels go when they die
By Izzy Ross | News | October 30th 2023Race Against Climate Change

The amended assessment will then go through a 50-day period of public consultation, the letter said. Davis writes that he will deliver a verdict on the project within 70 days of receiving the new documents.

In a statement Wednesday, World Energy GH2 said it was hoping to be released from further environmental assessments with conditions.

World Energy GH2 must include more details in its environmental assessment of the massive development, called Project Nujio’qonik, the Department of Environment and Climate Change said.

"This amendment process is not unusual for a project of this scale," the emailed statement said. "We will work with government to comply with the amendment requirements."

The federal government said in late September that the project would not be subject to its impact assessment process.

The green hydrogen that GH2 is promoting uses renewable power like wind to split hydrogen from water molecules by electrolysis. Green hydrogen has no emissions, but it costs more to make than hydrogen produced from fossil fuels.

Hydrogen is mainly used to help in oil refineries and to make fertilizer, iron and steel, and methanol, an alcohol used in some paints and plastics and construction materials. In the low-carbon economy transition, hydrogen can play a bigger role as a source of energy to power cars, heavy vehicles, planes and cargo ships, and to replace coal and natural gas as a source of electricity.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2023.

CLOSING ARGUMENTS —

US says Sam Bankman-Fried lied to jury, isn’t as “clueless” as he claims

With trial nearly over, defense says SBF is not a "villain" or "monster."

JON BRODKIN - 11/1/2023

Enlarge / Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried arrives for a bail revocation hearing at US District Court on August 11, 2023, in New York City.

Getty Images | Michael Santiago73WITH

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's monthlong criminal trial neared its end today as the prosecution and defense presented closing arguments.

Bankman-Fried is accused of defrauding customers and investors of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its affiliate Alameda Research. "This was a pyramid of deceit built by the defendant on a foundation of lies and false promises, all to get money," US prosecutor Nicolas Roos told the jury today, according to Reuters. "Eventually it collapsed, leaving thousands of victims in its wake."

Roos described how FTX customers lost their investments when the exchange collapsed, the Associated Press wrote. "Who was responsible?" Roos said, pointing at the defendant. "This man, Samuel Bankman-Fried. What happened? He spent his customers' money and he lied to them about it."

"The defendant was gambling with customer money," Roos reportedly said. "When he took the money, and he played roulette with it, he was stealing."

The case is in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, located in Manhattan. A 12-person jury will decide whether Bankman-Fried is guilty of seven charges that have maximum sentences totaling 110 years.
SBF “schemed and lied,” isn’t actually “clueless”

Roos said there is "no serious dispute" that $10 billion in FTX customer money went missing and that the jury needs to decide whether Bankman-Fried knew his actions were wrong, according to CNBC. "The defendant schemed and lied to get money, which he spent," he said.

Bankman-Fried "took the money, he knew it was wrong, he did it anyway," Roos said, according to CNN. The former crypto mogul "thought he was smarter" and that "he could talk his way out of it," Roos said.

Roos also told the jury that Bankman-Fried lied on the witness stand. "He told a story and he lied to you," Roos said, according to the AP.

Bankman-Fried chose to testify in what experts called a risky move. He tried to shift the blame to others and repeatedly answered "I'm not sure" or "I can't recall" to questions from US prosecutor Danielle Sassoon. Judge Lewis Kaplan rebuked Bankman-Fried for giving evasive answers.

Bankman-Fried answered with some version of "I can't recall" over 140 times, Roos reportedly told the jury. "To believe his story, you'd have to ignore the evidence," CNBC quoted Roos as saying. "You'd have to believe the defendant, who graduated from MIT and built two multibillion-dollar companies, was actually clueless."Advertisement


According to TechCrunch, Roos emphasized that FTX used customer funds without their knowledge or approval, even though FTX's terms of service stated that users' deposits belonged to users. "Customer funds belong to customers and can't be used," but there was a "huge difference between what FTX said it had for customers versus what it actually had," Roos was quoted as saying. "This is not about complicated crypto [terms]. It's about deception. It's about lies. It's about stealing, greed."
Defense: SBF isn’t a villain or monster

Roos' closing argument lasted several hours on Wednesday. Bankman-Fried's lawyer, Mark Cohen, began his closing argument in the late afternoon. Jury deliberations are likely to begin Thursday.

"Cohen said prosecutors elicited testimony about Bankman-Fried's sex life and appearance—the former billionaire was known for his unkempt mop of curly locks and wearing shorts and T-shirts—to try to get the jury to dislike him," Reuters wrote.

"Every movie needs a villain," Cohen said. "And let's face it, an awkward high school math nerd doesn't look particularly villainous. So what did they do? They wrote him into the movie as a villain." Cohen also said that "time and again, the government has sought to turn Sam into some sort of villain, some sort of monster."

The prosecution's case relied partly on testimony of former FTX executives who pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government. Caroline Ellison, the former Alameda Research CEO who dated Bankman-Fried, testified earlier that Bankman-Fried directed her to commit crimes and that "I would always ultimately defer to Sam."

One key topic was Alameda borrowing FTX customer deposits. Bankman-Fried said he believed that the borrowing was allowed under FTX's terms of service, but acknowledged that he only "skimmed over" parts of the terms.

The seven charges are wire fraud on customers of FTX, conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers of FTX, wire fraud on lenders to Alameda Research, conspiracy to commit wire fraud on lenders to Alameda Research, conspiracy to commit securities fraud on investors in FTX, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud on customers of FTX in connection with purchases and sales of cryptocurrency and swaps, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

An indictment said that Bankman-Fried "misappropriated and embezzled FTX customer deposits and used billions of dollars in stolen funds... to enrich himself; to support the operations of FTX; to fund speculative venture investments; to help fund over a hundred million dollars in campaign contributions to Democrats and Republicans to seek to influence cryptocurrency regulation; and to pay for Alameda's operating costs." He was also accused of making "false and fraudulent statements and representations to FTX's investors and Alameda's lenders."

JON BRODKIN has been a reporter for Ars Technica since 2011 and covers a wide array of telecom and tech policy topics. Jon graduated from Boston University with a degree in journalism and has been a full-time journalist for over 20 years.

 

Bletchley Declaration: Nations sign agreement for safe and responsible AI advancement

Acknowledges the risks associated with frontier AI

Dev Kundaliya

02 November 2023

In a historic gathering, leading AI nations have reached an unprecedented agreement on AI safety, marking a pivotal moment in the development of the technology.

Representatives from 28 countries and regions, including the USA, European Union and China, came together to sign the Bletchley Declaration, which emphasises the urgent need to collaboratively manage the potential opportunities and risks associated with frontier AI.

Frontier AI is defined as "highly capable general-purpose AI models that can perform a wide variety of tasks and match or exceed the capabilities present in today's most advanced models."

The Bletchley Declaration acknowledges that substantial risks could arise from the misuse or unintentional control issues associated with the technology, particularly in the fields of cybersecurity, biotechnology and disinformation. The signatories expressed their concern over the potential for "serious, even catastrophic, harm, whether deliberate or unintentional, stemming from the most significant capabilities of these AI models."

The declaration also recognises the broader risks beyond frontier AI, such as bias and privacy concerns. It underscores the need for international cooperation to address these risks effectively.

As part of their commitment to global collaboration on AI safety, South Korea has agreed to co-host a virtual summit on AI within the next six months, while France will host the next in-person summit a year from now.

Politicians and public figures welcome agreement

Prime minister Rishi Sunak hailed the agreement as a "landmark achievement" that underscores the urgency of understanding AI risks.

In a video address from Buckingham Palace, King Charles voiced his concerns about the unintended consequences of AI and urged the sharing of its benefits with all.

The United States was represented by vice president Kamala Harris and secretary of commerce Gina Raimondo.

Harris stressed that AI safety concerns must go beyond existential fears of cyberattacks and bioweapons. She emphasised the importance of addressing the full spectrum of AI risks, including bias, discrimination, and disinformation.

Elon Musk, also present at the conference, took a lukewarm approach. He warned about the potential threats AI poses to humanity, but also said he believes it's too early to regulate the technology.

Musk stressed that AI could be "one of the biggest threats" the world faces, highlighting the challenge of dealing with technology potentially more intelligent than humans.

"For the first time, we have a situation where there's something that is going to be far smarter than the smartest human. So, you know, we're not stronger or faster than other creatures, but we are more intelligent, and here we are, for the first time really in human history, with something that's going to be far more intelligent than us."

Wu Zhaohui, China's vice minister of science and technology, expressed Beijing's willingness to enhance dialogue and communication with other nations on AI safety.

China is developing its own initiative for AI governance, acknowledging the technology's uncertainty, lack of explanation and transparency.

Rashik Parmar, CEO of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, said: "The declaration takes a more positive view of the potential of AI to transform our lives than many thought, and that's also important to build public trust.

"I'm also pleased to see a focus on AI issues that are a problem today - particularly disinformation, which could result in 'personalised fake news' during the next election - we believe this is more pressing than speculation about existential risk. The emphasis on global co-operation is vital, to minimise differences in how countries regulate AI.

"After the summit, we would like to see government and employers insisting that everyone working in a high-stakes AI role is a licensed professional and that they and their organisations are held to the highest ethical standards. It's also important that CEOs who make decisions about how AI is used in their organisation are held to account as much as the AI experts; that should mean they are more likely to heed the advice of technologists."

 

Forty nations pledge not to pay cybercriminals

Comes in the face of rising levels of ransomware

Dev Kundaliya

02 November 2023

A coalition of 40 countries, led by the USA, has pledged to never pay cybercriminal ransoms and to collectively work toward disrupting their financial systems.

The countries made the agreement at a summit in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, where they finalised a set of policies intended to cripple the ransomware payments market.

The International Counter Ransomware Initiative's key components include sharing data on ransomware perpetrators and techniques, and establishing a "blacklist" of information about digital wallets used to facilitate ransomware payments.

The US Department of the Treasury will share the blacklist.

The initiative also aims for swift action to shut down threats stemming from inside an ally's borders.

The goal of these measures is to reduce member governments' vulnerability as potential targets, by eliminating the economic incentive for ransomware attacks.

A formal release says the alliance will use AI to examine blockchain data, in order to identify and track illicit funds used in ransomware schemes. In this manner the participating countries intend to enhance their ability to trace the flow of funds within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, ultimately making it more challenging for cybercriminals to benefit from their activities.

Two information-sharing platforms will be established as part of the initiative: one led by Lithuania and the other jointly managed by Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Most nations represented at the summit endorsed the initiative, but eight chose not to participate in this commitment, according to Reuters.

Forty-eight countries, along with the European Union and Interpol, are members of the CRI. However, countries with the most notorious ransomware records - Russia, China, Iran and North Korea - are not members. These countries are known for supporting ransomware attacks at the state level and providing safe havens for independent hacker groups.

The pledge comes in the face of an escalating ransomware threat, with numerous organisations and governments falling victim to these disruptive attacks.

Anne Neuberger, the US deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies in the Biden administration, told reporters this week that the USA has experienced the highest impact, with 46% of all ransomware attacks launched against US targets.

"As long as there is money flowing to ransomware criminals, this is a problem that will continue to grow," she said.

Last week, ransomware group LockBit announced its intrusion of the aerospace giant Boeing, claiming to have stolen a substantial amount of the sensitive data from the company's systems.

The group threatened to release the data if Boeing does not comply with their demands by a 2nd November deadline. The hackers have not yet publicly disclosed the exact ransom they are demanding from Boeing.

 

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

SEC sues SolarWinds, CISO for fraud and security failures

The firm allegedly misled investors about its cybersecurity practices and vulnerabilities

Dev Kundaliya

01 November 2023• 

Image: 

SEC sues SolarWinds, CISO for fraud and security failures

SolarWinds Corporation, the IT firm at the centre of one of the most significant cyber espionage incidents in history, is now facing legal action from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The agency has filed a lawsuit alleging fraud and a lack of adequate internal controls by SolarWinds leading up to the notorious cyberattack in 2020.

The SEC's lawsuit, filed on Monday, also names the company's Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Timothy Brown, accusing him of ignoring "repeated red flags about SolarWinds' cyber risks, which were well known throughout the company."

The Sunburst attack, which sent shockwaves through the cybersecurity community in 2020, compromised SolarWinds customers, including several US federal agencies, through a malicious code implanted within an Orion software update.

This breach was first detected by cybersecurity firm FireEye, which was also impacted, alongside other technology companies like Microsoft.

Microsoft attributed the attack to a Russian nation-state group known as Nobelium.

The full extent of the breach, often concealed behind layers of classification, remains unclear.

SolarWinds went public in 2018 and, according to the SEC complaint, the company and its CISO misled investors about the firm's cybersecurity practices, known risks and vulnerabilities, creating a false image of the company's security posture.

The complaint alleges that SolarWinds and Brown were aware of the company's weak cybersecurity practices. The SEC pointed to an internal presentation made by Brown in the same month SolarWinds went public, in which he expressed concerns about the "vulnerable state" of the company's security.

The presentation noted that the company's cybersecurity was "not very secure" and that exploiting the vulnerability could lead to "major reputation and financial loss" for the company.

In June 2020, during an inquiry into a cyberattack targeting a SolarWinds client, Brown wrote that it was "very concerning" that the threat actors might use SolarWinds' Orion software for larger attacks.

Another internal document from September 2020 revealed that the number of security issues had exceeded the engineering team's ability to address them.

The SEC's official charges against SolarWinds include violations of reporting and internal controls provisions of the Exchange Act.

The watchdog has said it is seeking "permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and an officer and director bar against Brown."

Its complaint points out that threat actors have been increasingly attacking VPNs to gain remote access. The agency mentioned that the attackers behind the Sunburst attack initially accessed SolarWinds' systems through a VPN vulnerability.

It asserts that SolarWinds would have faced charges for its security practices even without the Sunburst breach.

SolarWinds has rejected the SEC's allegations, expressing its intention to fight the charges in court.

A spokesperson for SolarWinds referred to the SEC charges as "unfounded" and expressed concern about the potential implications for national security. The spokesperson emphasised the company's commitment to clarifying the situation in court and continuing to support its customers.

Brown's attorney, Alec Koch, stated, "Mr Brown has worked tirelessly and responsibly to continuously improve the company's cybersecurity posture throughout his time at SolarWinds, and we look forward to defending his reputation and correcting the inaccuracies in the SEC's complaint."

Ahead of COP28, over 46 million health professionals call for pledge to phase out fossil fuels

In a letter addressed to Al-Jaber, who will preside over the climate conference, or COP28 as it is called, the medical community said a complete phase-out of fossil fuels was the only decisive way to deliver health for all.

Written by Anuradha Mascarenhas
Pune | India

November 2, 2023

This year, the annual climate change conference has, for the first time, dedicated one full day for discussing health impacts of climate change.

(File photo)

In a first of its kind appeal by medical community, organisations representing more than 46 million health professionals have called on COP28 president Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber to ensure that countries agree to an “accelerated phase-out of all fossil fuels” at this year’s climate change conference starting later this month.

In a letter addressed to Al-Jaber, who will preside over the climate conference, or COP28 as it is called, the medical community said a complete phase-out of fossil fuels was the only decisive way to deliver health for all.

Climate change impacts community health in several ways, and the continued rise in global temperatures can adversely affect human health. Right to health is mentioned in the preamble of the Paris Agreement as one of the objectives to aspire to while looking for solutions to climate change.

This year, the annual climate change conference has, for the first time, dedicated one full day for discussing health impacts of climate change.

K Srinath Reddy, Distinguished Professor, Public Health Foundation of India, one of the signatories to the letter, said a commitment to phase-out fossil fuels was essential.

“Without that commitment to end fossil fuel dependency, concerns about health effects of climate change will not carry conviction… To put brakes on climate change, it is necessary to remove fossil fuels from the engines of global economic development,” he said.

The letter also demands that fossil fuel industry representatives be excluded from climate negotiations. In the last few years, an increasing number of executives from oil and other fossil fuel industries have been coming to the climate change conference, triggering fears that their presence might slow down efforts to combat climate change.

“Just as the tobacco industry is not allowed to participate in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, it is imperative to safeguard global collaboration on climate progress from the lobbying, disinformation and delays in favour of industry interests,” the letter said.

The letter is supported by organisations like World Medical Association, World Federation of Public Health Association and International Council of Nurses. Some leading medical journals like the British Medical Journal have also endorsed it.

“Climate change is impacting the health of our children. There is a noticeable rise in cases of asthma, and respiratory problems due to worsening quality of air. Exposure to indoor air pollution is another important factor which can lead to adverse outcomes in pregnant women,” Naveen Thacker, president of the International Pediatric Association, and another signatory to the letter, said.

Dr Arvind Kumar, Chairman, Institute of Chest Surgery-Chest Onco Surgery and Lung Transplantation, Medanta Hospital, who too has signed the letter, said the dedicated health day at COP28 presented a historic opportunity to make bold and courageous decisions on ensuring health for all.

“Let’s end this fossil fuel dependency and reduce toxic pollution. This day should be remembered as a moment when we put people’s health and well-being at the forefront of our climate action agenda. This opportunity must not be lost,” he said.

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd

First published on: 02-11-2023