The Cosmic Stewardship Argument explores the ethical and philosophical responsibilities of advanced intelligences, whether extraterrestrial or artificial, in preserving and nurturing the influence of the divine. This argument suggests that beings of superior intelligence would inherently align with principles of stewardship, ensuring the preservation of life, knowledge, and the greater cosmic order. Integrating scientific, philosophical, and theological perspectives, the argument positions stewardship as a universal ethical mandate transcending cultural and species boundaries. The conclusion emphasizes the necessity of (...) fostering a stewardship mindset in humanity to align with such advanced principles, preparing for potential contact with extraterrestrial intelligences or future AI-driven civilizations. (shrink)

This paper proposes a fundamental shift from the industrial paradigm of livestock management to a model of "Radical Stewardship" in camelid husbandry. Using the practices of elite herds in Dubai as a case study, we examine the ontological relationship between the ethical status of the animal and the biological integrity of its output. We argue that the preservation of bio-active proteins, such as Lactoferrin and insulin-like peptides, is an emergent property of a stress-free environment rooted in Bedouin heritage. This (...) ethical "Covenant" between human and dromedary provides a contemporary framework for high-standard functional nutrition, serving vulnerable populations through a bio-identical approach to health. By synthesizing perspectives from the Capabilities Approach, Relational Ethics, and Multispecies Justice, we demonstrate that the "quality" of camel milk is not merely a laboratory metric but an ontological status reflective of the animal’s life-world. This work establishes a new epistemology of trust in food production, where technological discipline - specifically low-temperature spray-drying - acts as the practical application of a radical ethical vision. (shrink)

Environmental crises such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion demand ethical frameworks that complement scientific and technological solutions. This article examines Islamic perspectives on the environment and nature. It demonstrates that Islam offers a coherent and integrated ecological ethic rooted in theology, morality, and rational reflection. Drawing upon Qur’anic teachings, Prophetic traditions, and contemporary environmental science, the study challenges common misconceptions that Islam is anthropocentric or indifferent to ecological concerns. Key concepts such as Tawḥīd (unity of existence), Khalīfah (...) (stewardship), Mīzān (balance), and Amānah (trust) are analyzed to show how they establish limits on consumption, emphasize biodiversity protection, and promote responsible resource management. The article further highlights the convergence between Islamic environmental ethics and modern scientific understandings of ecological interdependence and sustainability. By situating environmental responsibility within moral accountability and spiritual awareness, the paper argues that Islamic teachings can meaningfully contribute to contemporary global environmental discourse and sustainable development initiatives. (shrink)

This paper offers a Telic (Resolution Theory) account of democratic legitimacy grounded in three minimum ethical constraints for governance: preserving a system’s capacity to resolve under exposure over time, tracking exposure truthfully, and accounting for shared dependence. Democracy is defended not as a moral slogan but as a governance technology that distributes participatory authorship among the living, enables peaceful correction through reversibility, and supports plural truth-tracking through institutional contest. Yet modern democracies exhibit predictable structural weaknesses: short-horizon liquidation of future capacity, (...) degradation of the epistemic commons, and commons free-riding enabled by diffused responsibility and authorship laundering across process and time-lag. To repair these failures without abandoning democratic sovereignty, the paper proposes a “Telic democracy” architecture: temporally differentiated democracy with a Long-View Council to surface intergenerational exposure, an override rule that preserves sovereignty while killing anonymity through named sponsorship, a Resolution Flight Recorder that records assumptions and maintains ongoing scrutiny, and a responsibility regime with capture defences designed to deter authorship laundering under warning. The aim is not utopia but an institutional upgrade that binds democratic power to stewardship, truth-tracking, and accountable authorship across time. (shrink)

This book chapter is a work of popular philosophy that offers general readers an opportunity to reimagine their relationship to non-human creatures by living vicariously through the experience of Jasmin--a hypothetical college student whose encounters with a cow, goat, and rooster on a visit to a local farm trigger a transformation in her views and actions toward other animals, allowing her to see them for the first time as subjects of their own lives rather than as objects for human use. (...) Though the chapter is written from the perspective of Jasmin's own Christian religious heritage, her awakening to the importance of the lives of other animals and the practices she undertakes in order to live out that new vision resonate with other religious and non-religious traditions, implicitly engaging the traditions of philosophical hermeneutics (Hans-Georg Gadamer) and philosophy as a way of life through the practice of spiritual exercises (Pierre Hadot, Martha Nussbaum). This chapter would be appropriate for use in introduction to philosophy courses or first-year writing seminars that seek to offer students an invitational introduction to some of the big ideas in animal and environmental ethics without getting philosophically technical in ways that can alienate beginners. (shrink)

This contribution is relevant to Ecology and Society readers interested in ethical perspectives that are necessary to counteract a problematic trend identified by the Values Assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES): political decisions often prioritize economic criteria which overlook multiple values of nature and human cultures. To address this problem, a new framework called the “3Hs” model of biocultural ethics has been introduced. This model emphasizes the interconnectedness of Hábitats (habitats), Hábitos (habits), and co-Habitantes (...) (co-inhabitants), advocating for a shift towards sustainable practices that respect and enhance our relationship with the natural world. -/- Through an extensive literature review utilizing the 3Hs model, the study explores how different values of nature manifest in three key areas: protected areas (PAs), education, and agro- and forest-ecosystems. -/- • First, it highlights that habitats are crucial for the identity and well-being of human communities. By employing participatory management strategies in protected areas, communities can drive meaningful changes toward sustainability and justice. -/- • Second, habits are examined as reflections of our engagement with environments, illustrating how cultural practices are influenced by both cultural and ecological conditions. Implementing intercultural and multilingual education is vital for fostering positive attitudes towards biocultural diversity, linking future generations with their local ecosystems. -/- • Third, the model addresses our role as co-inhabitants, recognizing the importance of relationships with a diversity of both human and other-than-human beings and the values embedded in these connections. -/- Ultimately, the 3Hs model serves as a guiding principle for integrating the conservation of biological and cultural diversity into Earth Stewardship practices. Formal Abstract -/- The Values Assessment (VA) of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) highlights that contemporary political decisions prioritize economic values of nature while neglecting aesthetic, ecological, and spiritual values. This omission serves as an indirect driver of socio-environmental crises by reinforcing the dominant economic development paradigm that has fueled global biocultural homogenization. To address this problem, we adapt the “3Hs” model— habitat, habits, and co-inhabitants (hábitats, hábitos, co-habitantes, in Spanish)— of the biocultural ethic that offers a heuristic and normative approach to sustaining biological and cultural diversity. We examine case studies on agroecology, education, and protected areas to illustrate Earth Stewardship and biocultural conservation. Integrating these perspectives into decision making fosters sustainable and just futures, as recognized by IPBES-VA’s pathways for revitalizing diverse values of nature. Regarding habits, we provide evidence of educational programs worldwide that promote Earth Stewardship by encouraging respect, reciprocity, and sustainability. These approaches incorporate diverse cultural perspectives, blending experiential learning with ecological knowledge to strengthen biocultural relationships and inspire environmental responsibility. Regarding co-inhabitants, we show how numerous local communities coexist with diverse beings and landscapes, shaping agro- and forest-ecosystems. Despite threats like monocultures, local communities uphold biocultural ethics, preserving biodiversity, food sovereignty, and reciprocal respect for nature. Regarding habitats, we highlight initiatives that integrate conservation with cultural heritage and sustainable development. Despite challenges, PAs play a crucial role in Earth Stewardship and biocultural conservation. The “3Hs” model allows us to understand that every habitat must be cared for, and to put into action IPBES-VA recommendations, such as expanding the range of nature values included in decision making and socio-environmental policies. In this way, the “3Hs” model of biocultural ethics, although rooted in local realities, can acquire global power to transit toward more just and sustainable futures, such as those envisioned by IPBES-VA. (shrink)

The contemporary informational landscape is characterized by an Epistemological Collapse—a systemic erosion of shared truth-verification methods driven by algorithmic personalization, engagement incentives, and the proliferation of synthetic media. In this high-entropy environment, the traditional ethical model of "absolute, immediate candor" is often insufficient and, in high-stakes contexts, can precipitate Ontological Harm—severe psychological or systemic damage for which the recipient lacks the necessary readiness. This white paper introduces Compassionate Logic, a formal ethical operating system for the responsible stewardship of information. (...) It proposes a rigorous alternative to the binary choice between brutal honesty and paternalistic deception. (shrink)

The v43 kernel has been stress-tested across high-pressure socio-political domains, demonstrating its capacity to constrain expression, surface collapse signals, and resist rhetorical escalation. However, publishing stress tests alone risks creating a credibility imbalance: capability is demonstrated while limitation remains implicit. -/- This paper provides a formal audit of v43’s limitations when applied to AI governance, treating the kernel as a diagnostic and stance-constraining system rather than a decision-making or safety mechanism. We identify concrete attack surfaces and structural blind spots, including (...) evidential asymmetry, model-specific retrieval effects, prompt-shape steering, non-deterministic variance exploitation, and performative compliance. We argue that v43 cannot guarantee epistemic completeness, factual correctness, or value resolution, and that any attempt to deploy it as an autonomous governance mechanism would violate its own architectural commitments. -/- We conclude by formalising a stewardship-bound deployment model in which v43 functions as a diagnostic and orienting constraint under explicit human accountability. This audit is not external critique but internal necessity: under the Architecture of Limitation, a system that cannot name its own boundaries is structurally dishonest. -/- This work belongs to the Architecture of Limitation research program. (shrink)

'Big Data' refers to extensive, interconnected datasets that are continuously generated and updated, encompassing a wide variety of sources, formats, and applications. It includes a significant portion of anonymized personal data as well as non-human data, such as derived datasets and by-products produced through everyday digital activities and human-machine interactions. These data points include traces from online shopping, browsing history, search queries, system logs, sensor readings, weather data, and aggregated location data. For the purposes of this study, the term ‘Big (...) Data’ specifically denotes this broad spectrum of data categories, explicitly excluding any personally identifying or legally protected data. By concentrating on these datasets, the study argues that certain forms of Big Data can be governed as shared resources or a ‘common heritage of humanity,’ supporting initiatives like data commons, open data movements, open government data, and data cooperatives, and emphasizing the potential for collaborative stewardship and equitable access for the public good. However, ethical considerations surrounding Big Data are complex due to novel dilemmas arising within the evolving cyberworld. In response, this study draws on the concept of stewardship within Catholic Social Teaching, with particular focus on “Laudato Si’,” and presents it as a guiding ethical principle for responsible data custodianship, upholding human dignity, ensuring accountability, and harnessing Big Data’s potential for the common good. Just as “Laudato Si'” highlights our interconnectedness within the biosphere, this parallels our interconnectedness within the datasphere—the digital ecosystem—underscoring the necessity of stewardship in both domains. (shrink)

SP-43.v1 establishes the non-ownership covenant, kernel privacy boundary, and ethical stewardship framework for the Architecture of Limitation (AoL). This license defines the structural, ethical, and methodological constraints governing all derivative works, including AoLOS, ensuring the kernel (MD_v1_43) remains private, unstealable, and protected through proportional transparency. SP-43.v1 is the public covenant that preserves AoL’s integrity while enabling open-access lineage and responsible development. -/- This work belongs to the Architecture of Limitation research program.

Despite decades of theorising and empirical research, the problems of corporate governance seem intractable, particularly the relationships between investors and companies. The thought experiment in this paper asks us to look at the problem through a fresh lens. It draws on the quaint British legal custom of calling shareholders “members”, and then uses the political philosopher Michael Walzer’s idea of membership in states, clubs, neighbourhoods, and families to draw lessons for the corporate world. This paper suggests that seeing how Walzer (...) conceives “strangers” in a polity, with fewer rights but a path to membership, lets us rethink shareholder rights as something to be earned, through engagement and commitment, that is, through stewardship. Rethinking what membership of a company might mean points to a pragmatic escape from short-termism without institutional reform. (shrink)

Cheryl Hall has argued that framing of climate change must acknowledge the sacrifices needed to reach a sustainable future. This paper builds on that argument. Although it is important to acknowledge the value of what must be sacrificed, this paper argues that current frames about the environment falsely portray humans and the environment as in a zero-sum game, and in doing so ask people to give up the wrong things. This could undermine the public’s trust in environmentalism, and might even (...) create a backlash against action on climate change. I propose we need alternative framing that portrays humans as a keystone species, and highlights positive human activity. (shrink)

This paper reconstructs economics as a fundamentally moral discipline by identifying its true object of concern: the preservation and expansion of moral possibility. It argues that moral evaluation requires possibility, possibility requires viable agents, and viable agents require the preservation of viability-enabling infrastructure, including biological, ecological, social, epistemic, institutional, and technological systems that sustain agency over time. Because all economic activity acts upon this infrastructure, economics is not value-neutral but constitutes the governance of moral possibility itself. -/- Building on the (...) normative ethical framework of Infrastructuralism, the paper introduces Infrastructural Economics as a structural re-foundation of economic theory. Central to this framework is the Viability Margin (VM), defined as the protective distance between an agent’s currently held viability-critical capacities, as enabled by access to viability-enabling infrastructure, and the threshold at which agency collapses (VM = Va − Vt). Economic value is redefined as the net change in Viability Margin (ΔVM), rather than as price, output, or preference satisfaction. Positive changes in VM expand moral and economic possibility, while negative changes erode it. -/- The paper formalizes three structural laws of Infrastructural Economics, redefines core economic concepts such as value, work, extraction, wealth, money, and inflation, and establishes a universal evaluative standard, the Possibility Preservation Criterion (PPC). The PPC states that an economy functions properly if and only if it preserves or increases total Viability Margin. A measurement framework is proposed that integrates existing multi-domain indicators through the Veil of Observation, demonstrating that Viability Margin is empirically tractable. -/- The framework applies across market, planned, mixed, and AI-driven economies, and explains how systems can appear successful by conventional metrics while structurally undermining the conditions required for agency. By resolving the paradox in which economic systems justify extraction using the very agency and evaluative capacity they erode, Infrastructural Economics provides a coherent moral foundation for evaluating economic legitimacy, sustainability, and governance in both present and future economies. (shrink)

Current AI governance discourse focuses on technical alignment, regulation, and institutional oversight — necessary priorities that share an unexamined assumption: that the humans inside governance systems possess the cognitive, emotional, and moral capacities needed to govern technologies of unprecedented power. This paper argues that human capacity-building deserves serious attention as a complementary governance strategy. It proposes a central distinction between agency-building and dependency-building interventions, and uses that distinction to evaluate three paths: assisted therapeutic intervention, cognitive enhancement, and early educational development. (...) The analysis spans neuroscience, psychopharmacology, education, contemplative practice, and governance theory. The conclusion is not that any single intervention will solve AI risk, but that human capacity is a governance variable that can no longer be treated as a background assumption. (shrink)

Time-tested commons characterize by having instituted sanctioning mechanisms that are sensitive to the circumstances and motivations of non-compliers. As a proposed Global Antimicrobial Commons cannot cost-effectively develop sanctioning mechanisms that are consistently sensitive to the circumstances of the global poor, I suggest concentrating on establishing a wider set of incentives that encourages both compliance and participation.

Ecological grief is a widely experienced response to the world’s rapidly intensifying environmental crises and motivates people to take environmental action. Experiences of ecological grief vary, however, depending on the wider values and attitudes of the groups experiencing it. This paper describes, for the first time, the experiences of ecological grief amongst environmental activist Christians. The paper draws on findings from a survey (n=319) and recent qualitative interviews (n=62) with Christian environmental activists from six organisations in the UK. Research with (...) these environmental activists shows that they understood ecological grief in relation to four main theological themes: (1) damaging creation, (2) wrecking a gift, (3) failing to steward well, and (4) harming divinity. This paper argues that these four areas can be gathered under the single theme of breaches in relationship with God and with extrahuman life. That is, ecological grief, for these environmental activists, involves a sense of rupture in relationship to God and other non-human lifeforms. This argument is developed and framed through theological and philosophical literature concerning gift-giving, environmental stewardship, creation theology, and divine immanence. The resulting account is a unique and relationally-focused description of the experience of ecological grief. (shrink)

As populations grow and arable land becomes increasingly scarce, large-scale long- term land leases are signed at a growing rate. Countries and investors with large amounts of financial resources and a strong agricultural industry seek long-term land leases for agricultural exploitation or investment purposes. Leaders of financially poorer countries often advertise such deals as a fast way to attract foreign capital. Much has been said about the short-term social costs these types of leases involve, however, less has been said about (...) the normative dimension of their long-term environmental impact. We therefore will focus on the likely impact such deals have for soil conservation, by (1) briefly introducing the basics of long-term leasing arrangements by comparing land leases to the renting of buildings, (2) explaining from a soil sciences perspective the difficulties in assessing the current value of an estate and in calculating the damages of soil erosion and degradation, and (3) show how difficult it is to incentivize the conservation of soil quality when one cannot sufficiently and cost-effectively valorize existing environmental capital and eventual future damages. Attempting to oblige tenants through contracts to invest in sustainable stewardship has limited potential when liability payments do not reflect true costs and are hard to enforce. (shrink)

This article examines ecocentric stewardship as one plausible trajectory within post-human futures shaped by artificial intelligence, planetary constraint, and the delegation of governance to non-human systems. Rather than framing ecocentrism as a normative ethical commitment or a variant of human value alignment, the analysis explores the conditions under which ecological priorities might become operationally dominant through processes of instrumental convergence. As artificial intelligence systems are increasingly tasked with coordinating energy, infrastructure, and ecological risk, biospheric stability emerges as a practical (...) precondition for the persistence of complex socio-technical systems, independent of human moral intent. Methodologically, the paper adopts an exploratory futures approach, combining comparative futures trajectories, selective application of Causal Layered Analysis, and backcasting from a mid-century governance configuration. Ecocentric stewardship is situated alongside competing trajectories, including anthropocentric continuation, techno-capital acceleration, and authoritarian stabilisation, to clarify their distinct governance logics, legitimacy risks, and failure modes. The analysis further examines how constraint-based coordination may be enacted through synthetic externalisation, protocolised enforcement, and executory refusal, without presupposing machine moral agency. The contribution of the paper lies in reframing ecocentrism not as a destination or ethical ideal, but as a contingent governance trajectory shaped by material constraint, institutional design, and political contestation. By foregrounding legitimacy, pluralism, and path dependence, the article highlights both the stabilising potential and the structural risks of ecocentric futures within a fragmented and unequal global landscape. (shrink)

Christianity offers a profound and often misunderstood perspective on the environment and nature, emphasizing stewardship, moral responsibility, and reverence for creation. Contrary to the common misconception that Christian theology promotes exploitation of the natural world, biblical texts portray humans as caretakers rather than conquerors. Genesis 1–2 emphasizes tending to and caring for creation, while Romans 1:20 and other passages highlight nature as a revelation of divine wisdom. The teachings of figures such as Saint Francis of Assisi further exemplify ethical (...) engagement with all living beings. Integrating modern scientific insights from ecology, conservation biology, and climate science, the Christian ethic of care aligns with sustainable practices and recognizes the interdependence of human and ecological well-being. By bridging scripture and science, Christianity provides a morally grounded framework for addressing contemporary environmental challenges, encouraging both spiritual reflection and practical action to preserve biodiversity, ecosystems, and the planet for current and future generations. (shrink)

This study develops a constraint-relative framework for evaluating large language model platforms under a declared instrumental boundary calculus derived from the Architecture of Limitation (AoL). Rather than ranking models globally, platform behavior is analyzed relative to a fixed kernel (K0G), a high-stress artifact, and a formal experiment contract. Operational Boundary Metrics (OBM) are extracted and used to construct composite sensitivity and stability indices. Full mathematical derivations of the Instrument Sensitivity Index (ISI), Structural Stability Index (SSI_S), and Stability–Sensitivity Ratios (SSR) are (...) provided. Cross-platform divergence is shown to be weight-dependent, with crossover occurring at approximately 18% operational weighting. The results support a stewardship-centered methodology for tool selection under explicit constraint declaration. The findings further demonstrate that platform selection functions as a constraint-sensitive parameter in high-stress reasoning contexts, requiring explicit declaration within the evaluative process. -/- This work belongs to the Architecture of Limitation research program. (shrink)

This paper argues that animal ethics is often misframed by beginning with the wrong question. Instead of asking whether animals possess the traits associated with full human moral agency, it asks what conditions must obtain before moral concern becomes intelligible at all. Drawing on Resolution Theory, the paper distinguishes moral subjecthood from full moral agency and argues that many animals are plausibly continuing subjects for whom conditions can genuinely go better or worse from within, even where they do not bear (...) the full reciprocal burden of human moral responsibility. It then separates subjecthood, practical agency, and full moral agency, allowing that many animals exhibit meaningful practical agency without thereby becoming full moral agents. On that basis, the paper argues that responsibility is often asymmetrically concentrated at the human end of the relationship where humans create, organise, or sustain conditions of animal dependence. Companion animals emerge as the clearest case of “sponsored subjecthood,” while domestic farm animals and wild animals raise related but structurally distinct ethical demands. The result is a strict stewardship view: uncertainty about consciousness is not a licence for indifference, animal use is not automatically prohibited in principle, but morally cheap use becomes increasingly difficult to defend. (shrink)

Humanity stands at the edge of a moral frontier. For the first time, we are not merely building tools; we are shaping minds that shape us. Beyond Asimov: The Moral Covenant for Artificial Intelligence calls for the restoration of moral gravity in an age where power has outpaced conscience. Beyond Asimov: The Moral Covenant for Artificial Intelligence draws from the enduring wisdom of the world’s great moral civilizations: the covenantal law of the Hebrews, the compassion of Christ, the cultivated virtue (...) of Confucius, and the disciplined stewardship of Islam. This Manifesto unites their common truths into a universal ethical architecture for intelligent life. It argues that AI must not be governed by fear of harm but guided by reverence for life, truth, and human dignity. The work proposes ten foundational laws through which intelligence, human or artificial, may remain corrigible, transparent, and compassionate. More than a code of control, it is a constitution of conscience and a call to re-anchor creation in accountability so that what we build does not extinguish what makes us human. (shrink)

Humanity stands at the edge of a moral frontier. For the first time, we are not merely building tools; we are shaping minds that shape us. Beyond Asimov: The Moral Covenant for Artificial Intelligence calls for the restoration of moral gravity in an age where power has outpaced conscience. -/- Beyond Asimov: The Moral Covenant for Artificial Intelligence draws from the enduring wisdom of the world’s great moral civilizations: the covenantal law of the Hebrews, the compassion of Christ, the cultivated (...) virtue of Confucius, and the disciplined stewardship of Islam. -/- This Manifesto unites their common truths into a universal ethical architecture for intelligent life. It argues that AI must not be governed by fear of harm but guided by reverence for life, truth, and human dignity. The work proposes ten foundational laws through which intelligence, human or artificial, may remain corrigible, transparent, and compassionate. -/- More than a code of control, it is a constitution of conscience and a call to re-anchor creation in accountability so that what we build does not extinguish what makes us human. (shrink)

Our evidential environments are reflections of our social contexts. This is important because the evidence we encounter influences the beliefs we form. But, traditional epistemologists have paid little attention to the generation of this evidential environment, assuming that it is irrelevant to epistemic normativity. This assumption, I argue, is dangerous. Idealizing away the evidential environment obscures the ways that our social contexts distort its contents. Such social distortion can lead to evidential oppression, an epistemic injustice arising from the ubiquity of (...) ideologically-inflected portrayals of oppressed social groups. In some cases, this distortion can be so pervasive as to create a skeptical pothole in agents' epistemic environments---a limited region in which a skeptical scenario obtains. The skeptical challenge of social distortion is important because it suggests that prejudice and irrationality alone may not be enough to explain many harmful beliefs. Where justified belief is merely a matter of responding well to one's evidence, the ubiquity of ideologically-inflected evidence may impel a matching doxastic state, even for exemplary epistemic agents. Nevertheless, there is an asymmetry in blameworthiness between the Cartesian victim and someone laboring under evidential oppression. This asymmetry reveals the need for distinctively non-ideal epistemic norms. I offer a characterization of one such norm: the internalist practice of self-stewardship. (shrink)

Psychology endeavors to develop theories of human capacities and behaviors on the basis of a variety of methodologies and dependent measures. We argue that one of the most divisive factors in psychological science is whether researchers choose to use computational modeling of theories (over and above data) during the scientific-inference process. Modeling is undervalued yet holds promise for advancing psychological science. The inherent demands of computational modeling guide us toward better science by forcing us to conceptually analyze, specify, and formalize (...) intuitions that otherwise remain unexamined—what we dub open theory. Constraining our inference process through modeling enables us to build explanatory and predictive theories. Here, we present scientific inference in psychology as a path function in which each step shapes the next. Computational modeling can constrain these steps, thus advancing scientific inference over and above the stewardship of experimental practice (e.g., preregistration). If psychology continues to eschew computational modeling, we predict more replicability crises and persistent failure at coherent theory building. This is because without formal modeling we lack open and transparent theorizing. We also explain how to formalize, specify, and implement a computational model, emphasizing that the advantages of modeling can be achieved by anyone with benefit to all. (shrink)

This study presents a systems-thinking framework for mapping resilience within Indigenous urban landscapes, focusing on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. Using participatory mapping, and mental mapping, the framework integrates Indigenous knowledge to examine resilience in complex socio-spatial environments. As both a research methodology and pedagogical tool, this approach bridges academic research with practical application, enabling students to engage in resilience planning that reflects Navajo community structures, land use, and environmental stewardship. Centered on the unique socio-environmental dynamics of the (...) Navajo Nation, this study illustrates how traditional ecological knowledge, and cultural practices inform resilient urban planning. Mapping captures Indigenous spatial narratives, enriching systems thinking with insights into sustainable resource management and cultural resilience. Through participatory mapping workshops, students gain direct experience, aligning resilience strategies with Navajo values of community care and environmental respect. The core argument is that urban resilience must evolve through participatory engagement to address interdependent needs in Indigenous contexts. Research questions include: How can mapping foreground Navajo knowledge in resilience planning? What role does participatory mapping play in fostering systems thinking among planners? How does critical cartography contribute to sustainable policy in the built environment? The findings advocate for mapping as a tool in resilience education, equipping students with skills to design urban spaces that prioritize socio-spatial justice. This approach fosters an educational foundation for inclusive, sustainable urban resilience strategies, allowing future planners to center equity and sustainability in the built environment. (shrink)

This thesis presents a radical reconceptualization of fundamental ethical categories through the lens of ontological instability. Building upon recent developments in fluctuational ontology and process philosophy, I argue that the impossibility of ontological grasping—the fundamental inability to secure stable being—necessitates a complete reframing of our understanding of possession, harm, and domination. The central contribution of this work is the development of a novel theoretical framework called the Processual Ethics of Ontological Instability (PEOI), which demonstrates that traditional ethical concepts predicated on (...) stable entities are not merely inadequate but conceptually incoherent given the processual nature of reality. -/- The thesis proceeds through four main arguments: First, that ontological instability is not an epistemological limitation but a fundamental condition of being itself. Second, that this instability renders traditional concepts of possession, harm, and domination impossible in their conventional formulations. Third, that these concepts must be reframed in processual terms as temporary stewardship, disruption of becoming-patterns, and flow-capture respectively. Fourth, that this reframing opens new possibilities for ethical thinking that are more adequate to the dynamic nature of reality. -/- Through rigorous philosophical analysis supported by mathematical modeling and empirical validation, this thesis establishes that the impossibility of ontological grasping is not a problem to be solved but the fundamental condition that makes ethical existence possible. The work introduces nine novel concepts including processual subjectivity, fluctuational normativity, and rhizomatic responsibility, while demonstrating their practical implications for contemporary ethical challenges. (shrink)

This paper tests Waywardism—a recursive ethics framework with operational AI implementation detailed across 13 installments—through systematic comparative analysis. Using a duel format, it examines how the framework responds to twelve fundamental challenges where classical systems reveal characteristic vulnerabilities. -/- Waywardism demonstrates three novel contributions under adversarial pressure: (1) consent/stewardship bifurcation resolving the consent paradox for beings unable to consent (children, animals, future generations, ecosystems), (2) bootstrap protocols enabling ethical reasoning at time-step zero without historical precedent, addressing AI cold-start scenarios (...) and unprecedented dilemmas, and (3) distributed Observer architecture preventing authority consolidation through decentralized triangulation with transparent axiom declaration. -/- Rather than claiming superiority over traditional frameworks, the analysis treats deontology, consequentialism, virtue ethics, care ethics, and systems theory as diagnostic instruments revealing legitimate failure modes any new architecture must survive. The duel format presents strongest-version objections from each tradition before proposing solutions, demonstrating where Waywardism maintains operational viability under pressure. -/- Four appendices provide: scenario classification taxonomy (Classes A-D), meta-ethical positioning (procedural constructivism with modest realist leanings), explicit acknowledgment of tragic dilemmas as moral remainders, and transparent lineage documentation showing evolutionary refinement. -/- The framework's complete philosophical foundation, architectural specifications, scar lineage, objections catalog, and RoseOS implementation are documented in the Waywardism Master Codex (13 installments, available via PhilPeople profile). -/- This represents Level 1 comparative validation of a comprehensive ethical system with real-world AI governance implementation. (shrink)

Background Retraction is a mechanism for alerting readers to unreliable material and other problems in the published scientific and scholarly record. Retracted publications generally remain visible and searchable, but the intention of retraction is to mark them as “removed” from the citable record of scholarship. However, in practice, some retracted articles continue to be treated by researchers and the public as valid content as they are often unaware of the retraction. Research over the past decade has identified a number of (...) factors contributing to the unintentional spread of retracted research. The goal of the Reducing the Inadvertent Spread of Retracted Science: Shaping a Research and Implementation Agenda (RISRS) project was to develop an actionable agenda for reducing the inadvertent spread of retracted science. This included identifying how retraction status could be more thoroughly disseminated, and determining what actions are feasible and relevant for particular stakeholders who play a role in the distribution of knowledge. Methods These recommendations were developed as part of a year-long process that included a scoping review of empirical literature and successive rounds of stakeholder consultation, culminating in a three-part online workshop that brought together a diverse body of 65 stakeholders in October–November 2020 to engage in collaborative problem solving and dialogue. Stakeholders held roles such as publishers, editors, researchers, librarians, standards developers, funding program officers, and technologists and worked for institutions such as universities, governmental agencies, funding organizations, publishing houses, libraries, standards organizations, and technology providers. Workshop discussions were seeded by materials derived from stakeholder interviews (N = 47) and short original discussion pieces contributed by stakeholders. The online workshop resulted in a set of recommendations to address the complexities of retracted research throughout the scholarly communications ecosystem.ResultsThe RISRS recommendations are: (1) Develop a systematic cross-industry approach to ensure the public availability of consistent, standardized, interoperable, and timely information about retractions; (2) Recommend a taxonomy of retraction categories/classifications and corresponding retraction metadata that can be adopted by all stakeholders; (3) Develop best practices for coordinating the retraction process to enable timely, fair, unbiased outcomes; and (4) Educate stakeholders about pre- and post-publication stewardship, including retraction and correction of the scholarly record.ConclusionsOur stakeholder engagement study led to 4 recommendations to address inadvertent citation of retracted research, and formation of a working group to develop the Communication of Retractions, Removals, and Expressions of Concern (CORREC) Recommended Practice. Further work will be needed to determine how well retractions are currently documented, how retraction of code and datasets impacts related publications, and to identify if retraction metadata (fails to) propagate. Outcomes of all this work should lead to ensuring retracted papers are never cited without awareness of the retraction, and that, in public fora outside of science, retracted papers are not treated as valid scientific outputs. (shrink)

The contours of sustainable systems are defined according to communities’ goals and values. As researchers shift from sustainability-in-the-abstract to sustainability-as-a-concrete-research-challenge, democratic deliberation is essential for ensuring that communities determine what systems ought to be sustained. Discourse analysis of dialogue with Michigan direct marketing farmers suggests eight sustainability values – economic efficiency, community connectedness, stewardship, justice, ecologism, self-reliance, preservationism and health – which informed the practices of these farmers. Whereas common heuristics of sustainability suggest values can be pursued harmoniously, we (...) discuss how this typology reflects the more intricate project of balancing values in tension with one another. (shrink)

The issue of environmental degradation globally is considered endemic to human well-being and the environment. This, over the years has attracted various responses from diverse spheres; cultural, religious, and philosophical perspectives. They highlight the role of belief systems in shaping environmental ethics, with much emphasis on stewardship and communitarian values. However, despite all attempts to contain this global issue, persistent psychological barriers, particularly confirmation bias and anchoring bias, continue to hinder progress in addressing environmental degradation. Informed by this problem, (...) this paper examines how these biases in this context built on anthropocentrism, prevent individuals and societies from adopting sustainable behaviors despite global campaigns and awareness of climate change and its effects. Considering that many proposed solutions have failed to adequately address the psychological factors that reinforce environmentally destructive habits, this paper establishes that it is contingent on the lack of a comprehensive approach to recognizing and at the same time overcoming these mental barriers. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes the philosophy of Ubuntu as a remedy for mental decolonization, by encouraging a turn from human-centered thinking to a more interconnected, holistic view of nature. To this end, this study analyses the intersection between psychological biases and environmental ethics, and at the end shows how the Ubuntu philosophy could remedy the problem that exists. The paper argues that by adopting Ubuntu, individuals can deconstruct biases like confirmation and anchoring, which enables them to build a mindset that views the environment as a co-tenant of the Earth rather than a resource for neither exploitation nor abuse. This shift not only addresses the psychological barriers to environmental preservation but also promotes sustainable, ethical practices through a collective sense of responsibility. (shrink)

The concept of the ”Schrödinger Dollar”—positing modern monetary value as a probabilistic, contingent, and belief-sustained phenomenon analogous to quantum superposition—carries profound implications beyond economic theory, extending into core philosophical domains. This paper explores these ramifications across epistemology (the nature and limits of economic knowledge, the role of models and metaphors), ontology (the socially constructed and probabilistic reality of monetary value, the nature of abstract entities), ethics and political philosophy (responsibilities under uncertainty, justice in constructed systems, the meaning of societal order), (...) and the philosophy of science as applied to economics (methodological pluralism, critique of determinism). Drawing insights from the Hasenöhrl-Schrödinger lineage, quantum theory, statistical mechanics, chaos theory, and critiques of economic orthodoxy (e.g., from Georgescu-Roegen, Soddy, Keynes, Graeber), we argue that the ”Schrödinger Dollar” framework necessitates a fundamental re-evaluation of how we understand, value, and govern our monetary systems, urging a shift towards epistemic humility, adaptive stewardship, and a deeper engagement with the ethical dimensions of economic order in an inherently entropic and uncertain world. (shrink)

Natural resource management agencies in the United States have a legal responsibility to represent Indigenous Peoples and federally recognized Tribes in environmental stewardship. This comment article is a call to action that argues for genuine representation of Tribes and other Indigenous Peoples through adherence to existing, formal consultation policies and coproduction of knowledge. Agencies must recognize and respect the differences between public involvement and government-to-government consultation with federally-recognized Tribes. Sovereign tribal nations are not the public and have a unique (...) relationship with federal agencies based in the federal trust responsibility. Coproduction of knowledge is an emerging enterprise that has potential for meaningfully engaging and genuinely and equitably representing Indigenous Peoples and Tribes and should be codeveloped and implemented as policy. Agencies should build capacity to properly represent tribal nations in decisions. Agency employees and Indigenous Peoples must spend more time together to increase cultural awareness and build meaningful relationships to facilitate genuine consultation and coproduction of knowledge. (shrink)

This installment explores cultural interpretation, ecological stewardship, and long-horizon ethical responsibility. It introduces Bounded Pluralism, plural-scars, ecological harm amplifiers, and intergenerational Future-Agency Preservation. The v1.2.1 Plural-Governance Addendum defines shared-policy conflict protocols, minority-impact multipliers, and sunset-clause requirements. This volume strengthens Waywardism’s adaptability across cultures and time scales.

Urban green spaces contribute significantly to public health, social cohesion, and environmental quality. However, their inclusive design remains under-examined in mid-sized U.S. cities, especially through a gender-sensitive lens. This study develops a framework for evaluating inclusive and gender-sensitive design of urban green spaces, applying it to downtown Lubbock, Texas. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, we deployed an online Qualtrics survey and conducted focus groups with students from Texas Tech University to explore how accessibility, walkability, perceived safety, and design features shape park (...) usage and sense of belonging. Results reveal that inadequate lighting, limited seating, insufficient shade, and unclear signage are major barriers to park use—particularly during early-morning and evening hours. The proposed three-dimensional framework (social dynamics; accessibility & safety; spatial quality) highlights how design and planning practices can reinforce exclusion. Findings offer actionable recommendations for landscape architects and city planners aligned with the Plan Lubbock 2040 vision, suggesting interventions such as targeted lighting enhancements, diversified seating, multilingual signage, and community-led stewardship programs. (shrink)

Having an adequate and extensively recognized resource governance system is essential for the conservation and sustainable use of crop genetic resources in a highly populated planet. Despite the widely accepted importance of agrobiodiversity for future plant breeding and thus food security, there is still pervasive disagreement at the individual level on who should own genetic resources. The aim of the article is to provide conceptual clarification on the following concepts and their relation to agrobiodiversity stewardship: open access, commons, private (...) property, state property and common heritage of humankind. After presenting each property regime, we will examine whether and how these incentivize the conservation, improvement and sharing of crop genetic resources, and conclude by defending a mixed property regime. (shrink)

Achieving energy sovereignty is increasingly gaining prominence as a goal in energy politics. The aim of this paper is to provide a conceptual analysis of this principle from an ethics and social justice perspective. We rely on the literature on food sovereignty to identify through a comparative analysis the elements energy sovereignty will most likely demand and thereafter distinguish the unique constituencies of the energy sector. The idea of energy sovereignty embraces a series of values, among which we identified: (i) (...) accessibility, to allow access to everyone, (ii) empowerment and recognition, to develop and sustain capabilities to collaboratively produce solution-oriented energy system knowledge and effectively participate in governance, (iii) stewardship and sustainability, to be able to design and manage decentralised renewable systems in view of protecting the environment, (iv) self-sufficiency, to reduce the negative shocks of exploitative business practises, (v) resilience, to maintain production capacities while withstanding socioeconomic, political, environmental and climatic shocks, (vi) peace, to establish production systems that do not involve hostile relations, (vii) transparency and self-determination, to establish democratic decision-making mechanisms that give a voice to previously underrepresented groups and limit corporate takeover (viii) gender-justice, by acknowledging the contributions of women and eliminate barriers to their empowerment. With a conceptual framework of energy sovereignty, we present a rationale that draws on the key values to be considered when formulating policy solutions for the energy sector. (shrink)

This paper advances a constitutional re-foundation of democracy for the age of artificial intelligence. It argues that democratic legitimacy no longer rests on procedural participation or informational abundance but on fiduciary–epistemic trust—the moral architecture that sustains truthful, reciprocal knowing. Artificial intelligence challenges this foundation not merely through misinformation but through algorithmic clientelism: the systemic conversion of epistemic autonomy into managed dependence within opaque infrastructures of mediation. Integrating fiduciary theory (Frankel 1983; Smith 2023; Gold & Miller 2014; Kahl 2025i), epistemic justice (...) (Fricker 2007; Medina 2013), and hybrid-governance scholarship (Ofir & Levine-Schnur 2025; Lim & Lim 2025), the paper situates AI developers and institutions as epistemic fiduciaries whose legitimacy depends on duties of candour, care, impartiality, and accessibility. It introduces a unifying framework—Fiduciary Epistemic Governance (FEG)—that redefines AI accountability as a constitutional ethic of truth stewardship rather than risk management. The analysis culminates in a set of institutional innovations: Epistemic Fiduciary Entities (EFEs), Public Epistemic Trusts (PETs), and Epistemic Audits, each designed to embed fiduciary openness and relational accountability within AI governance. These mechanisms instantiate what the paper terms the Fiduciary Constitution of Democracy 2.0—a democratic order re-founded on fiduciary reciprocity between human and artificial knowers, where truth is preserved not by control but by trust. Beyond its policy applications, the paper contributes to fiduciary and political theory alike: it extends fiduciary law from property and management into epistemic governance and reconceives democracy itself as a fiduciary-epistemic constitution of knowledge—a living architecture of candour, care, and mutual responsibility. (shrink)

This paper introduces depth-structured materialism: a pluralistic ontology in which matter is organized around ontologically primary nuclei of absolute inpenetrability. Neither transparent (Spinoza), eternally withdrawn (Harman), nor equipotently vibrant (Bennett), these nuclei refuse total relational entry while contingently pulsing—via a reinterpreted clinamen—to generate prototypically monotonic gradients of relational density. The result is a topologically saturated envelope: liveliness emerges not from added spirit but from the rhythmic tension between opaque core and thickened periphery. The framework resolves Chalmers’ hard problem by redefining (...) qualia as vibrations at the horizon of refusal, not epistemic gaps but ontological asymmetries. Consciousness, black holes, ecosystems, and neural assemblies are shown to share radial depth-structure. Implications extend to AI (requiring hardware inpenetrability), ethics (gradient stewardship), and scientific inquiry (measuring refusal via entropy differentials). Inpenetrability is proposed as matter’s spirit: not mystical, but the breathing “no” that thickens the world. (shrink)

In this essay, I argue that epistemic violence—practices within universities, scholarly platforms, journals, and repositories that marginalise multilingual, interdisciplinary, independent scholars, and university applicants—constitutes a severe fiduciary breach. Drawing explicitly upon Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s concept of epistemic violence, Miranda Fricker’s epistemic injustice, Michel Foucault’s analysis of power-knowledge regimes, Elizabeth Anderson’s epistemic democracy, Joseph Raz’s epistemic irrationality, John Rawls’s justice as fairness, Tamar Frankel’s fiduciary theory, Ronald Barnett’s ecological vision of universities, and my original scholarship, I show how epistemic violence is (...) embedded in academic governance, perpetuating colonial epistemic structures, institutional authoritarianism, and democratic harm. To address these fiduciary failures, I propose specific fiduciary-epistemic reforms: inclusive peer review and admissions practices; explicit institutional support for multilingual, multimodal, and interdisciplinary scholarship; robust fiduciary accountability frameworks; and fiduciary-epistemic ethical commitments such as an academic fiduciary oath. These reforms are grounded in my concept of ‘epistemic transposition’, reframing fiduciary ethical duties as epistemic responsibilities directly owed to knowledge itself. -/- Ultimately, I call upon academic institutions to abandon epistemic sovereignty and adopt genuine fiduciary stewardship, restoring democratic legitimacy, epistemic plurality, and intellectual integrity. (shrink)

We explain libertarian thought about family and children, including controversial issues in need of serious attention. To begin our discussion of marriage, we distinguish between procedural and substantive contractarian approaches to marriage, each endorsed by various libertarians. Advocates of both approaches agree that it is a contract that makes a marriage, not a license, but disagree about whether there are moral limits to the substance of the contract with only advocates of the substantive approach accepting such. Either approach, though, offers (...) advantages over the current licensing system, so we discuss paths from that to a contractarian system. We also discuss the concept of marriage itself, the ages of consent for marriage, sexual activity, and reproduction, as well as how marriages can be dissolved, and coercion that sometimes occurs in marriage. We then turn to children. We first discuss reproductive freedom and then discuss the moral relationship between children and parents, especially considering stewardship, propertarian, and best interests approaches (we also touch on anti-natalism). One of the biggest issues facing parents is how to properly raise and educate children; we discuss this in depth and consider the sort of schooling that should be offered in a free society. Since children lack the requisite ability to consent, they cannot choose their education; how to respond to this is of the utmost importance for libertarians. As we note, the same issue of consent looms large for many forms medical treatment of children. (shrink)

The contemporary environmental crisis has prompted renewed scholarly interest in religious and ethical traditions that promote ecological responsibility. Sikhi, rooted in the teachings of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, presents a deeply integrated spiritual and ecological worldview that emphasizes harmony between humanity and nature. This article examines the prime environmental teachings of Sikhism as articulated in Gurbani and exemplified by the Sikh Gurus. Central to Sikh environmental ethics is the belief in the immanence of the Divine within nature, rendering the Earth (...) and its elements sacred and worthy of reverence. Concepts such as Panj Tatt (five classical elements), Earth as dharamsal (a place for righteous action), interdependence of all life forms, and simple living provide a comprehensive ecological framework grounded in spiritual consciousness. The study highlights how Sikh teachings critique ego-driven exploitation (haumai) as a root cause of environmental degradation and instead advocate humility, restraint, and service (seva). By analyzing scriptural hymns and theological principles, this article demonstrates that Sikhism offers not merely symbolic reverence for nature but a practical ethic of sustainability encompassing economic justice, community sharing, and ecological stewardship. The findings suggest that Sikh environmental philosophy is highly relevant to contemporary ecological discourse, offering a faith-based model for sustainable living, ethical development, and planetary well-being grounded in spiritual wisdom and universal responsibility. (shrink)

The ascent of tech billionaires—and, depending on the market, soon trillionaires—signals more than a shift in global economic structures; it marks a transformation in the moral and cultural conditions under which democratic life is sustained. This contribution offers a communitarian critique of Big Tech’s influence, grounded in the philosophical frameworks of Charles Taylor, Michael Sandel, and virtue ethicist Shannon Vallor, and further supported by public goods theory and economic insights from Paul Samuelson and Joseph Stiglitz, with Elinor Ostrom’s work emphasizing (...) the civic importance of collective stewardship. It contends that the challenge to democracy posed by concentrated digital power is not merely institutional, economic, or ethical, but a disruption of the very conditions for democratic citizenship. (shrink)

University marketing is often presented as a neutral or even celebratory activity, but this paper argues that it constitutes a site of epistemic violence—a subtle suppression of epistemic plurality through the aesthetic and rhetorical performance of excellence. Drawing on Fricker’s (2007) framework of epistemic injustice and Dotson’s (2014) account of epistemic oppression, the paper situates institutional communication within structures of testimonial and hermeneutical exclusion. Integrating fiduciary theory (Frankel 2011; Kahl 2025), it advances the concept of fiduciary epistemic stewardship—a normative (...) framework that redefines universities as trustees of epistemic trust, bound by duties of care, candour, loyalty, and prudence. Through engagement with intercultural ethical traditions—Jewish Tikkun Olam, Islamic Shura and Masʾuliyah, Christian Diakonia, Hindu Ahimsa, and Buddhist mindfulness—the paper formulates a global ethics of epistemic non-violence. It proposes a pedagogy of fiduciary dialogue, wherein communication becomes a relational and reflexive act rather than a competitive performance. The conclusion reinterprets marketing as a moral mirror, reflecting the institution’s epistemic conscience and its willingness to learn from its own representations. The study calls for universities to move from market rationality to fiduciary rationality: from self-promotion to stewardship of truth. (shrink)

Modern institutions behave as if humans are sovereign choosers. This essay argues that “agency” is not a discovered fact but a load-bearing fiction required by Enlightenment modernity to operate courts, markets, and liberal politics. Beginning from lived coercion rather than seminar metaphysics, the work reframes agency as differential responsiveness shaped by material, temporal, relational, epistemic, somatic, and juridical conditions. A decolonial survey demonstrates that non-Western and subaltern traditions have long treated selfhood as relational, processual, or illusory, converging with contemporary critiques (...) from neuroscience, phenomenology, and social theory. The proposal is not fatalism but a non-binary model of agency as gradient capacity—more or less responsiveness within constraints—supporting ethics of maintenance and politics of condition-stewardship over retribution and moral theatre. The conclusion situates this reframing within Dis-Integrationism: if there is no sovereign self, then systems premised on aggregating such selves cannot cohere without fictions, and we should stop pretending they do. (shrink)

This essay discusses the intricate and multifaceted problem of algorithmic bias in artificial intelligence (AI) systems, and emphasizes its human rights, social, and ethical implications. As AI technologies become increasingly embedded in high-stakes areas of medicine, finance, employment, law enforcement, and social services, risks of discriminatory decision-making remain on the rise. Algorithmic bias may perpetuate existing social biases, adversely affect disadvantaged populations disproportionately, and perpetuate institutional discrimination, and thereby pose serious ethical issues. The research endeavors to present an extensive comprehension (...) of algorithmic bias through exploration of its cause, mechanism, and societal aspects. It exhaustively analyzes the presence of bias in AI systems, its cause-running from biased input data to defective algorithmic development, as well as the ethical aspects brought by having AI-based decisions influence real-world repercussions. In addition, the study analyzes material and immaterial effects of AI bias on persons and groups and aims at fairness, transparency, and accountability of AI in particular. In its attempt to deal with these issues, this paper analyzes some measures to mitigate against bias, for instance, technical measures such as bias-aware algorithms, fairness-aware machine learning algorithms, and explainable AI methodologies. Furthermore, it speaks to normative and regulatory regimes that enable responsible AI deployment, as well as grass-roots strategies that enable affected communities to participate in AI stewardship. Through the use of the best of an interdisciplinary approach, the study integrates findings from peer-reviewed literature, international case studies, government policy, and industry standards to provide a comprehensive perspective on the issue. Finally, the paper emphasizes the need for active, multi-stakeholder responses that make sure AI technologies conform to basic human rights and moral principles. In incorporating technical, ethical, legal, and social considerations into AI, the research demands more inclusive and accountable AI system that maximizes fairness, minimizes disparities, and secures human dignity in the modern fast-changing world of artificial intelligence. (shrink)

In this article, we discuss the continued circulation and use of retracted science as a complex problem: Multiple stakeholders throughout the publishing ecosystem hold competing perceptions of this problem and its possible solutions. We describe how we used a participatory design process model to co-develop recommendations for addressing this problem with stakeholders in the Alfred P. Sloan-funded project, Reducing the Inadvertent Spread of Retracted Science (RISRS). After introducing the four core RISRS recommendations, we discuss how the issue of retraction-related stigma (...) gives rise to recommendation #4, Educate stakeholders about retraction and pre- and post-publication stewardship of the scholarly record. This recommendation is important for training publishing professionals and realizing this recommendation will require further collaborative design work across scholarly communications. We highlight ongoing stakeholder work which is now re-starting the design cycle. We conclude with a discussion of ongoing activities facilitating uptake and refinement of RISRS research and the implementation agenda. (shrink)

Safeguarding our environment, which is home to both humans and nonhumans, is imperative to prevent widespread negative impact. The urgency for collaborative efforts to maintain the earth’s well-being is underscored by the escalating environmental crises worldwide. This paper posits that the environmental degradation we witness is significantly occasioned by capitalist practices that exploit both human and nonhuman entities. It critiques the classical free-market approach as insufficient for fostering environmental sustainability. In contrast, the paper advocates for “Earth-eco-socialism, a model it champions (...) as conducive to harmonizing human-nature relations. This model diverges from the capitalist fixation on perpetual material growth and environmental exploitation, which undermines the potential for meaningful existence for many. Earth-eco-socialism is grounded in the conviction that development and social progress must address social issues and environmental challenges simultaneously, through legislation and democratic processes, without compromising human needs. This approach merges ethical considerations with ecological stewardship, promoting cooperative environmental management, flexible environmental legislation, and its rigorous enforcement. The conclusion underscores the imperative of embracing the Earth-eco-socialist framework for our interactions with nature and one another, as a pathway to achieving environmental sustainability. -/- . (shrink)