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The widespread integration of autoregressive-large language models (AR-LLMs), such as ChatGPT, across established applications, like search engines, has introduced critical vulnerabilities with uniquely scalable characteristics. In this commentary, we analyse these vulnerabilities, their dependence on natural language as a vector of attack, and their challenges to cybersecurity best practices. We offer recommendations designed to mitigate these challenges., Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure

Important decisions that impact human lives, livelihoods, and the natural environment are increasingly being automated. Delegating tasks to so-called automated decision-making systems (ADMS) can improve efficiency and enable new solutions. However, these benefits are coupled with ethical challenges. For example, ADMS may produce discriminatory outcomes, violate individual privacy, and undermine human self-determination. New governance mechanisms are thus needed that help organisations design and deploy ADMS in ways that are ethical, while enabling society to reap the full economic and social benefits of automation. In this article, we consider the feasibility and efficacy of ethics-based auditing (EBA) as a governance mechanism that allows organisations to validate claims made about their ADMS. Building on previous work, we define EBA as a structured process whereby an entity's present or past behaviour is assessed for consistency with relevant principles or norms. We then offer three contributions to the existing literature. First, we provide a theoretical explanation of how EBA can contribute to good governance by promoting procedural regularity and transparency. Second, we propose seven criteria for how to design and implement EBA procedures successfully. Third, we identify and discuss the conceptual, technical, social, economic, organisational, and institutional constraints associated with EBA. We conclude that EBA should be considered an integral component of multifaced approaches to managing the ethical risks posed by ADMS., Comment: Artificial Intelligence, Auditing, Automated Decision-Making, Ethics, Governance

The potential presented by Artificial Intelligence (AI) for healthcare has long been recognised by the technical community. More recently, this potential has been recognised by policymakers, resulting in considerable public and private investment in the development of AI for healthcare across the globe. Despite this, excepting limited success stories, real-world implementation of AI systems into front-line healthcare has been limited. There are numerous reasons for this, but a main contributory factor is the lack of internationally accepted, or formalised, regulatory standards to assess AI safety and impact and effectiveness. This is a well-recognised problem with numerous ongoing research and policy projects to overcome it. Our intention here is to contribute to this problem-solving effort by seeking to set out a minimally viable framework for evaluating the safety, acceptability and efficacy of AI systems for healthcare. We do this by conducting a systematic search across Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar to identify all the relevant literature published between January 1970 and November 2020 related to the evaluation of: output performance; efficacy; and real-world use of AI systems, and synthesising the key themes according to the stages of evaluation: pre-clinical (theoretical phase); exploratory phase; definitive phase; and post-market surveillance phase (monitoring). The result is a framework to guide AI system developers, policymakers, and regulators through a sufficient evaluation of an AI system designed for use in healthcare.

Power consumption in buildings show non-linear behaviors that linear models cannot capture whereas recurrent neural networks (RNNs) can. This ability makes RNNs attractive alternatives for the model-predictive control (MPC) of buildings. However RNN models lack mathematical regularity which makes their use challenging in optimization problems. This work therefore systematically investigates whether using RNNs for building control provides net gains in an MPC framework. It compares the representation power and control performance of two architectures: a fully non-linear RNN architecture and a linear state-space model with non-linear regressor. The comparison covers five instances of each architecture over two months of simulated operation in identical conditions. The error on the one-hour forecast of temperature is 69% lower with the RNN model than with the linear one. In control the linear state-space model outperforms by 10% on the objective function, shows 2.8 times higher average temperature violations, and needs a third of the computation time the RNN model requires. This work therefore demonstrates that in their current form RNNs do improve accuracy but on balance well-designed linear state-space models with non-linear regressors are best in most cases of MPC.

The fact that internet companies may record our personal data and track our online behavior for commercial or political purpose has emphasized aspects related to online privacy. This has also led to the development of search engines that promise no tracking and privacy. Search engines also have a major role in spreading low-quality health information such as that of anti-vaccine websites. This study investigates the relationship between search engines' approach to privacy and the scientific quality of the information they return. We analyzed the first 30 webpages returned searching 'vaccines autism' in English, Spanish, Italian and French. The results show that alternative search engines (Duckduckgo, Ecosia, Qwant, Swisscows and Mojeek) may return more anti-vaccine pages (10 to 53 percent) than Google.com (zero). Some localized versions of Google, however, returned more anti-vaccine webpages (up to 10 percent) than Google.com. Our study suggests that designing a search engine that is privacy savvy and avoids issues with filter bubbles that can result from user tracking is necessary but insufficient; instead, mechanisms should be developed to test search engines from the perspective of information quality (particularly for health-related webpages), before they can be deemed trustworthy providers of public health information., Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables

This study involved a survey based on a preliminary poll asking children in a Bronx (New York) classroom (N=26) to list their fears. Many children have fears at all levels of severity. The general perception seems to be that in recent years children are more stressed and less equipped to handle fear. The initial poll revealed that children's fears were very similar, and included a parent dying or getting sick, gang violence, domestic violence, violence on television, and being left alone or abandoned. The survey consisted of 21 questions administered to 26 children in a second grade classroom. The questions asked about certain situations consistent with the preliminary poll. Results showed that children attributed nightmares to television violence; most were always worried about a parent getting sick; 19 said they were afraid that a fight at their house would end with someone getting hurt or hit; 12 were afraid parents would leave if the children did something wrong (usually because of verbal threats to that effect); 24 said they were afraid to go outside and play because of gang violence; and when asked to create their own safe place, most children changed their environment, with responses ranging from a police station, to another state, to a clubhouse. Based on the findings, several classroom strategies are suggested to help children deal with fear, including journal writing for the children, rap sessions, and parent education. (EV)

Aeromedical certification of astronauts and cosmonauts traveling to the International Space Station is a multi?-tiered process that involv es standards agreed to by the partner agencies, and participation by the individual agency aeromedical boards and a multilateral space medi cine board. Medical standards are updated continually by a multilater al working group. The boards operate by consensus and strive to achie ve effective decision making through experience, medical judgment, medical evidence and risk modeling. The aim of the certification process is to minimize the risk to the ISS program of loss of mission object ives due to human health issues.

During recent long duration missions to the International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers have reported changes in visual acuity or visual field defects. Exams in the postflight period revealed changes to the visual system and elevated intracranial pressures. As a result, NASA Space Medicine has added a number of tests to be performed in the preflight, inflight and postflight periods for ISS and shuttle missions with the goal of determining the processes at work and any potential mitigation strategies. This discussion will acquaint you with the changes that NASA has made to its medical requirements in order to address the microgravity induced intracranial hypertension and associated visual changes. Key personnel have been assembled to provide you information on this topic. Educational Objectives: Provide an overview of the current Medical Operations requirements and the mitigation steps taken to operationally address the issue.

A. CO2 - Acute: Given the history of uneven removal of CO2 from spacecraft areas, there is a history of acute illness that impacts short-term health and performance. 1) Acute CO2 symptoms occur in space flight due to a combination of CO2 scrubbing limitations, microgravity-related lack of convection, and possibly interaction with microgravity-related physiological changes. 2) Reported symptoms mainly include headaches, malaise, and lethargy. Symptoms are treatable with analgesics, rest, temporarily increasing scrubbing capability, and breathing oxygen. This does not treat the underlying pathology. 3)ld prevent occurrence of symptoms. B. CO2 - Chronic: Given prolonged exposure to elevated CO2 levels, there is a history that the long-term health of the crew is impacted. 1) Chronic CO2 exposures occur in space flight due to a combination of CO2 scrubbing limitations and microgravity-related lack of convection, with possible contribution from microgravity-related physiological changes. 2) Since acute symptoms are experienced at levels significantly lower than expected, there are unidentified long-term effects from prolonged exposure to elevated CO2 levels on orbit. There have been long term effects seen terrestrially and research needed to further elucidate long term effects on orbit. 3) Recommended disposition: Research required to further elucidate long term effects. In particular, elucidation of the role of elevated CO2 on various levels of CO2 vasodilatation of intracranial blood vessels and its potential contribution to elevation of intracranial pressure.

What is the risk? Given that astronauts exposed to microgravity experience a cephalad fluid shift, and that both symptomatic and asymptomatic astronauts have exhibited optic nerve sheath edema on MRI, there is a high probability that all astronauts have some degree of increased intracranial pressure (ICP; intracranial hypertension), and that those susceptible (via eye architecture, anatomy, narrow optic disc) have a high likelihood of developing papilledema (optic disc edema, globe flattening), choroidal folds, and/or hyperopic shifts and that the degree of edema may determine long-term or permanent vision impairment or loss. Back to back panels on this topic have been developed to address this emerging risk. The first panel will focus on the 6 clinical cases with emphasis on ophthalmic findings and imaging techniques used pre-, in-, and post-flight. The second panel will discuss the operational mitigation and medical requirements, the potential role of CO2 on ISS, and the research approach being developed. In total these back to back panels will explore what is known about this risk, what has been done immediately to address it, and how an integrated research model is being developed.

Rehabilitating U.S. crew members to preflight status following flights on the Russian Mir Space Station required longer than six months for full functional recovery of some of the seven crew members. Additional exercise hardware has been added on the International Space Station as well as a rehabilitative emphasis on functional fitness/agility and proprioception. The authors will describe and present the results of the rehabilitation program for ISS and evaluate rehabilitative needs for longer missions. Pre- and in-flight programs emphasize strength and aerobic conditioning. One year before launch, crew members are assigned an Astronaut Strength and Conditioning specialist. Crew members are scheduled for 2 hours, 3 days a week, for pre-flight training and 2.5 hours, six days a week, for in-flight training. Crewmembers are tested on functional fitness, agility, isokinetic strength, and submaximal cycle ergometer evaluation before and after flight. The information from these tests is used for exercise prescriptions, comparison, and evaluation of the astronaut and training programs. The rehabilitation program lasts for 45 days and is scheduled for 2 hours during each crew workday. Phase 1 of the rehabilitation program starts on landing day and places emphasis on ambulation, flexibility, and muscle strengthening. Phase 2 adds proprioceptive exercise and cardiovascular conditioning. Phase 3 (the longest phase) focuses on functional development. All programs are tailored specifically for each individual according to their test results, preferred recreational activities, and mission roles and duties. Most crew members reached or exceeded their preflight test values 45 days after flight. Some crew members subjectively indicated the need for a longer rehabilitation period. The current rehabilitation program for returning ISS crew members seems adequate in content but may need to be extended for longer expeditions.

Pulse generating circuit for operation at very high duty cycles and repetition rates