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Articles on Utilitarianism

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An increasing number of health care decisions rely on information from algorithms. Tom Werner/Digital Vision via Getty Images

Including race in clinical algorithms can both reduce and increase health inequities – it depends on what doctors use them for

Biased algorithms in health care can lead to inaccurate diagnoses and delayed treatment. Deciding which variables to include to achieve fair health outcomes depends on how you approach fairness.
Brain-computer interfaces raise many ethical questions about how and whether they should be used for certain applications. Wenjin Chen/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

Brain-computer interfaces could allow soldiers to control weapons with their thoughts and turn off their fear – but the ethics of neurotechnology lags behind the science

From warfare to entertainment and VR, brain-computer interface development has extended beyond prosthetics for patients with disabilities. Missing is full ethical consideration of the consequences.
Darren England/AAP

Do we care enough about COVID?

Australia’s utilitarian tradition of government – the greatest good for the greatest number – has a dark side: there are always those whose voices struggle to be heard and whose needs are overlooked.
If you aren’t a fan of holiday shopping, you aren’t alone. Dave Einsel/Getty Images

What’s the point of holiday gifts?

Gift-giving might seem needlessly cumbersome and stressful. But the costs and benefits of the custom aren’t what they seem.
Distant relatives? Visiting mom during the pandemic may be a risk. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Everyday ethics: Should I visit my mother?

Is it right to visit family members during the pandemic, even if they say they don’t want you to come? Philosophy may hold the answer.
The largest public housing complex in the country, Queensbridge Houses, is located near the spot where Amazon plans to put a new headquarters. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

Amazon’s move will gentrify neighborhoods – at what social cost?

When large companies move into an area, the result is often gentrification. When this happens, the economic and social costs for displaced residents is typically high.
How many times do we wonder, ‘what’s the right thing to do’? Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA (Helping the homeless Uploaded by Gary Dee, via Wikimedia Commons

How should we decide what to do?

A scholar suggests a few approaches that have withstood the test of time.
Stéphane Charbonnier’s Charlie Hebdo offended people of all religions, but when does causing offence become unethical? EPA/Yoan Valat

How do we decide if offending someone is unethical or not?

Causing offence to others often causes hurt. Such actions have been condemned as unethical, even immoral behaviour in a civilised society. There have been many examples. The Bill Henson photographs of…

ICU physicians defy utilitarianism

Intensive Care Unit clinicians often allocate scarce resources towards gravely-ill existing patients rather than freeing…

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