By Alaura Valley
Foodborne illness outbreaks are seemingly on the rise. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that annually 48 million consumers get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne illnesses. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, foodborne illness kills around 420,000 each year. One contributing factor to foodborne illness outbreaks are the complexity of the supply chain for produce and other perishable food products.
By Silas Alexander
Every day, smartphone users collectively take more than three billion photos, millions (if not billions) of which are selfies, autobiographical captures of the human condition. But while our digital photo album continues to expand, few people understand the rights they may be giving up with the click of the share button.
By Sean Hyde
Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems emerging today create unintended consequences that raise ethical questions. Unsurprisingly, these ethical concerns have led some to call for ethics regulations in AI development. Regulation of ethics is not unique to AI development, but a mechanism to enforce the standards proposed by various organizations helps in making effective regulations. It is important to note that enforceability is not necessary for regulations to be effective; even nonbinding regulations can make a significant difference if the industry follows them.
By Rob Philbrick
The notion that a state, county, or city should have a limited role in the development of local innovation economies stems from neoclassical economic theory, which advises that competitive markets be left alone so optimal outcomes can occur. I suggest a different notion: public commitment to invest across our local innovation chain is a desirable outcome.
Public investment plays an important role in setting foundations, while private finance is better suited for commercializing the innovative ideas born from these foundations. Neither one acting alone is sufficient. Continue reading
Folkens (left) vs. Wyland (right)
By Yonah Reback
The intersection of copyright law and the animal kingdom reached new heights during the global phenomenon of Naruto v. Slater. When wildlife photographer David Slater traveled to the jungles of Indonesia in 2011, he surely expected to take snapshots of its native inhabitants. To Slater’s surprise, a macaque nicknamed Naruto grabbed his camera and took what soon became the infamous “monkey selfie.” Thus began a six-year legal saga as to whether Naruto or Slater owned the copyright for the photograph. Although the U.S. Copyright Office indicated that there was no basis for extending copyright ownership to animals, the case—filed by PETA in defense of the monkey—ultimately settled, leaving the public wanting for legal analysis of the issue.
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts 