I Am An American Philosopher: Phil Oliver – Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy

https://american-philosophy.org/i-am-an-american-philosopher-interview-series/i-am-an-american-philosopher-phil-oliver/

Stop Worrying, and Let A.I. Help Save Your Life

…I am not arguing that we shouldn't aspire to perfection, nor that A.I. in health care should receive a free pass from regulators. A.I. designed to act autonomously, without clinician supervision, should be closely vetted for accuracy. The same goes for A.I. that may be integrated into machines like CT scanners, insulin pumps and surgical robots — areas in which a mistake can be catastrophic and a physician's ability to validate the results is limited. We need to ensure patients are fully informed and can consent to A.I. developers' intended use of their personal information. For patient-facing A.I. tools in high-stakes settings such as diagnosis and psychotherapy, we also need sensible regulations to ensure accuracy and effectiveness.

But as the saying goes, "Don't compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative." In health care, the alternative is a system that fails too many patients, costs too much and frustrates everyone it touches. A.I. won't fix all of that, but it's already fixing some of it — and that's worth celebrating.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/opinion/ai-health-medical-care.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Eat your ice cream, build your relationships…

And don't be a schmuck.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/dr-ezekiel-emanuel-eat-ice-cream-and-other-tips-for-a-long-and-healthy-life/

The genetic age: who shapes evolution now? | The Darwin Day Lecture 2026, with Professor Matthew Cobb – Humanists UK

Like all species, humans have been inadvertently shaping the genomes of other species – predators and prey – throughout our history. And with the development of agriculture, we began to specifically, deliberately alter plants and animals through selective breeding. But in the second half of the 20th century, that ability has taken on a new form. Not only do we have a far more precise understanding of how selection and heredity interact in agriculture, but the invention of genetic engineering in the 1970s has changed things completely.

We can now change species at will. Not only has this transformed the pharmaceutical industry – allowing the cheap manufacture of drugs like insulin – it has also altered agriculture and now, in the 21st century, threatens to change ecosystems and even humanity itself.

Evolution appears to be under our control, but – as the molecular biologist Leslie Orgel warned us – evolution is smarter than we are. Looking at the past, present, and future of genetics, we can glimpse both the promises and perils that await us.

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In this 2026 Darwin Day Lecture, Matthew Cobb will confront the shadow cast by our own ingenuity. Tracing the path from simple selective breeding to the ignition of a biological revolution, he will explore a modern Promethean moment where the power to reshape life is no longer theoretical – but operational.

As the pace of discovery accelerates into a competitive sprint, we're challenged to consider whether we have merely stolen the fire of evolution, or if we have sparked a chain reaction that we can no longer extinguish.

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About Professor Matthew Cobb

Matthew Cobb is Professor Emeritus at the University of Manchester. His recent books include Crick: A Mind in Motion, from DNA to the Brain and The Genetic Age: Our Perilous Quest to Edit Life. He was the presenter of the BBC Radio series Genetic Dreams, Genetic Nightmares. In 2024 he won the Royal Society's Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal, and in 2021 was awarded the J. B. S. Haldane Lecture by the Genetics Society.

About the Darwin Day Lecture series

The Darwin Day Lecture explores humanism and humanist thought as related to science and evolution, Charles Darwin, or his works. The Darwin medallist has made a significant contribution in one of these fields.

The lecture and medal are named and held to mark the annual global celebration of the birth of Charles Darwin, held every 12 February.

https://humanists.uk/events/darwinday2026/

Leukemia

Atul Gawande:
This is your must read this week.

So read this.

It is about leukemia and the powers and limits of science and the terrifying dangers of the turn against it. It is human and excoriating and beautiful. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/a-battle-with-my-blood

CDC is brain-dead

The CDC website has been lobotomized. Where it once presented the decades of evidence debunking the false claims of a link between vaccines and autism, that has now been replaced with junk science.

https://www.threads.com/@atul.gawande/post/DRSeu6xCXDi?xmt=AQF0mLk33jktg4AnOXqpLyZfIKXXxkXnF9OXke_NtJU5a3nH42VKZCz-URhyoVC2g7LbZoQG&slof=1

Kennedy’s Comments on Circumcision Are Only Going to Confuse and Shame Parents

…Circumcision is an instructive example, because it epitomizes the Kennedy method of undermining public health expertise. Whether this is conscious or not, he seizes on hot-button issues that already have entrenched and aggressive internet partisans, uses quasi-scientific language and bolsters his case using minor, cherry-picked studies. As a result, he muddies the water and creates more guilt and confusion among new parents who are already inundated with conflicting information online...

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/opinion/kennedy-autism-circumcision-parents.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare