THE IRONY OF the ethical scandal enveloping Joichi Ito, the former director of the MIT Media Lab, is that he used to lead academic initiatives on ethics. After the revelation of his financial ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier charged with sex trafficking underage girls as young as 14, Ito resigned from multiple roles at MIT, a visiting professorship at Harvard Law School, and the boards of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the New York Times Company.

H/T: The Intercept

Here is a good background article on the resignation of Joichi Ito from MIT Media Lab:

Joichi Ito has stepped down as director of the M.I.T. Media Lab.



His resignation comes one day after an article in The New Yorker reported that the lab hid its financial relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. https://t.co/LgBEqNNtWr — NPR (@NPR) September 8, 2019

RT RT Patrice_Caine: The #ThalesTrUEAI approach stands for Transparent #AI, where users can see the data used to arrive at a conclusion. Understandable AI, that can explain and justify the results and finally an Ethical AI, that follows objective standar… pic.twitter.com/3NuQh3Yb9b — 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎 (@ChrisEOlive) December 20, 2019

Beyond Bias: Contextualizing “Ethical AI” Within the History of Exploitation and Innovation in Medical Researchhttps://t.co/pPjIlWL2Y7 — Deep Clips (@DeepClips) December 27, 2019

#AI might make it possible to have clean and cheap #renewable energy in the future 🔋



To prevent AI from being a threat to #mankind, we should have ethical charters and agree on how to use it safely, in the military for example.



Check out the video below 📽️

from @wef pic.twitter.com/UYCk7W0Lt8 — Devoteam (@Devoteam) December 23, 2019

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing healthcare, but can the ethics behind it keep up? Read more about the ethical standards that must evolve to continue the progress of #AI on our blog. https://t.co/Vj7v0VU3Kh #ArtificialIntelligence — DICE (@DICEGRP) December 26, 2019

"As 2019’s projects come to fruition in 2020 and beyond, it will be interesting to watch how AI develops in the real world. Ethical oversight will be needed to make sure the technology continues to serve humanity, rather than the other way around."https://t.co/5elrssLoEe pic.twitter.com/Q9SKiWe5pg — EthicsNet (@KinderMachines) December 27, 2019