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A Robot Breaks the Finger of a 7-Year Old: A Lesson in the Need for Stronger Artificial Intelligence
Disturbing footage emerged this week of a chess-playing robot breaking the finger of a seven-year-old child during a tournament in Russia. Public commentary on this event highlights some concern in the community about the increasing use of robots in our society. Some people joked on social media that the robot was a “sore loser” and had a “bad temper”. Of course, robots cannot actually express real human characteristics such as anger (at least, not yet). But these comments do demonstrate increasing concern in the community about the “humanisation” of robots.
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To give schools real choice about secular school chaplains, latest change needs to go further
New federal Education Minister Jason Clare has announced a change to the National School Chaplaincy Program to allow schools to “choose” between having a religious chaplain and having a professionally qualified well-being worker. The opposition has criticised the announcement as effectively meaning “the end of many school chaplains”. So what’s the fuss about?
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A new Treaty Authority between First Peoples and the Victorian government is a vital step towards a treaty
Last week the Victorian government demonstrated its commitment to build an equal relationship with First Peoples. A new bill has been labeled in the Victorian parliament to advance the treaty process.
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The question of conscientious objection in the voluntary assisted dying debate
Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) has been legal in countries such as Switzerland and the Netherlands for more than a decade. In Australia, aside from a brief introduction by the Northern Territory in 1995 that was quickly overruled by conflicting federal legislation, VAD remained illegal in every Australian jurisdiction until 2017.
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Human rights and election campaigns: Never the twain shall meet?
It’s easy to tell we’re in a federal election campaign – politicians are everywhere, parading around in high-vis vests and kissing babies who just want to be back in their parents’ arms. You can also tell politicians are on the campaign trail by what they’re not talking about. They’re not talking about human rights – neither major party has a policy to strengthen the protection of human rights in Australia.
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After the Sharma decision, we’re once again asking what does the human right to a healthy environment mean in Australia?
On 7 April 2022 the globe marks World Health Day and this year’s theme —’Our Planet, Our Health’—draws attention to ‘the single biggest threat facing humanity … [t]he climate crisis’. Australians need no reminders about the already devastating impacts of climate change with record-breaking floods having recently displaced thousands and the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires scarred into our memory.
Castan Centre for Human Rights Law 