Artificial Intelligence in Health Care: Business Opportunities and Ethical Challenges

Artificial intelligence (AI), and in particular generative AI (GAI), are making incredible progress toward automation. The pervasive and invasive nature of these technologies are affecting every industry, and health care is no exception. This paper summarizes insights derived from a panel that the Hoffman Center for Business Ethics and the Center for Health and Business at Bentley University hosted in March 2024. The panel invited three qualified health care professionals: Evan Carey, Susan Persky and John Torous. The panelists are all active in multiple aspects of AI in health care but represent a focus on the key areas of policy (Carey), research (Persky), and clinical practice (Torous)

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) in Pharmaceutical Markets: Associations with Market Concentration, Prices, Drug Quantity Sold, and Shortages

In recent decades, the pharmaceutical industry has become increasingly concentrated in the United States, in part due to mergers and acquisitions (M&As) between drug manufacturers. This consolidation from M&As has been cited as a key factor affecting drug prices and drug shortages (U.S. Federal Trade Commission, 2022). In this study, we assessed trends in pharmaceutical M&As during 2010–2023 and evaluated the characteristics of drugs and companies involved in those M&As. We considered the effects of M&As on market concentration, drug prices, drug quantity sold, and drug shortages. We also considered how these associations vary by drug characteristics, including brand drugs versus generics, small molecule (i.e., chemical) drugs versus biological products, and essential medicines versus drugs not on essential medicines lists (EMLs). We used a combination of public and proprietary data sources on M&As, drug sales, drug shortages, and essential medicines. To establish drug ownership at the time of an M&A, we accessed historical archives of various U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) datasets containing drug sponsor and application information, including Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (commonly known as the Orange Book), the Purple Book, and the National Drug Code (NDC) Directory, among others

CLIC Newsletter - Spring 2025

Page 1: Leading with Purpose: Brian Shea’s Journey Page 3: Restaurant Reviews Page 6: The Power of Social Language Learning Page 7: Day in the Life: Sofia Flores Page 9: Multilingual Cities You Must Visit Page 11: What’s Renaldy’s Secret? Page 13: Silvana Davi’s Study Abroad Journey Page 15: Street Food Around The World Page 17: Arroz con Leche Recipe Page 18: Meet Houria Mansour: A Student Leader Page 20: Boeuf Bourguignon Recipe Page 22: How Body Language Changes Around The World Page 24: Day in the Life of an International Student: Bella Liu Page 26: Francophonie Event Recap Page 27: Study Abroad Experience in China Page 29: The Role of VR in Language Immersion Page 30: Language as an Investment Page 32: How Multilingual Players Create and Share New Words Page 33: Mapo Tofu Recipe Page 34: Service-Learning with Jaden Hecht Page 35: Counting in French: How Language Shape Numbers Page 37: Day in the Life with Yang Fan: Programming Assistant Page 39: Student Work: 电影《活着》的观后感 by Tracy Lai Page 40: Staff Overview Page 42: Fall 25\u27 Course

The Present and Future of AI: Ethical Issues and Research Opportunities

Healthcare is currently a fast-changing industry with AI and generative AI (GenAI) playing a prominent role in the transformation of clinical as well as managerial practices. Clinical practices involve AI to diagnose diseases and develop new drugs and compounds, while managerial practices concern AI-supporting processes such as billing patients and insurance companies, handling electronic medical records, and supporting remote connections with patients, increasingly using virtual and augmented reality. Yet, all these opportunities offered by AI come with challenges involving potential ethical issues, such as discrimination, bias, lack of accessibility, and privacy issues. In March 2024, we organized a panel with healthcare experts, attended by 48 academics and practitioners, and discussed the innovative power of AI, along with its ethical concerns and in doing so, we attempted to address some of these concerns. This panel report summarizes key findings and outlines a research agenda for IS scholars engaged in health-IT research specifically examining the new frontiers of AI and GenAI

Artificial Intelligence in Health Care: Business Opportunities and Ethical Challenges

Artificial intelligence (AI), and in particular generative AI (GAI), are making incredible progress toward automation. The pervasive and invasive nature of these technologies are affecting every industry, and health care is no exception. This paper summarizes insights derived from a panel that the Hoffman Center for Business Ethics and the Center for Health and Business at Bentley University hosted in March 2024. The panel invited three qualified health care professionals: Evan Carey, Susan Persky and John Torous. The panelists are all active in multiple aspects of AI in health care but represent a focus on the key areas of policy (Carey), research (Persky), and clinical practice (Torous)

Against the Sale of Homeopathy (and Other Ineffective Medicines)

Consumers spend billions of dollars per year on homeopathic products. But there is powerful evidence that these products don’t work, i.e., they are not medically effective. Should homeopathic products be for sale? I give reason for thinking that the answer is ‘no.’ It has been suggested that the sale of homeopathic products involves deception. This might be so in some cases, but the problem is simpler: it is that these products don’t do what people buy them to do. More precisely, homeopathic products don’t meet the “desire-satisfaction condition,” according to which products for sale in markets should satisfy the desires that people buy them to satisfy. I defend my view against objections, and conclude by acknowledging some of the practical difficulties of banning products people want to buy

Business ethics: What everyone should know

One of the most valuable things that the Hoffman Center brings to the Bentley community is the wisdom of its Business Advisory Board. Most members are current or former ethics and compliance officers with years of experience. In the hope of better preparing Bentley students for the workplace, the Center recently asked the group for clear, direct, practical, and specific answers to the question, “What has your experience told you about what students should learn about ethics before they start their first job? Here’s a compilation and summary of what we received

Works Entering the Public Domain in 2025

While January 1 is the day we celebrate New Year’s Day, it’s also another important holiday: Public Domain Day. At the beginning of the calendar year, copyright expires for certain works, and they enter the public domain (PD). Works in the PD are not protected by copyright and are freely available for public use. This video highlights some of the most notable works to enter the PD in 2025

Gen Z Sexual and Gender Fluidity in US Scripted Television

This essay addresses the rise in sexual and gender-fluid characters in scripted US television targeting the Gen Z audience (born 1997–2012), based on their moniker as the “queerest” generation, with over 20% of younger US and international respondents identifying as LGBTQ in polls, the majority as sexually fluid (bi/pansexual) or non-binary (genderfluid/genderqueer). By analyzing six series (2019–2023) marketed as “authentically” Gen Z, I argue this shift invests in Gen Z’s “hip” attitude towards such fluidity the same way Caldwell argues that 1990’s diversification of the televisual audience produced a “programming agenda…that cultivates and rewards distinction in ethnic, racial, and class terms” (2020, p. 376). Caldwell’s (2020) theory of boutique programming, described as “a selective, signature world where artistic sensitivity went hand in hand with social relevance and viewer discrimination” (p. 164), exposes how these recent series rely on “visual flourishes…and narrative embellishments” (p. 377) but move beyond cinematic techniques by combining palatial settings and extravagant lifestyles with shockingly explicit sexual situations. Caldwell’s (2020, p. 377) assertion that “stardom and gossip defeat the dramatic obligation or need for narrative coherence” is reflected in the 21st century’s reliance on social media promotions with hypersexual imagery and expensive designer outfits for its high school-age characters and an entertainment media which highlights their “edgy,” “sexy,” “explicit,” and “provocative” content. Therefore, I argue that, like Caldwell, we should avoid “overestimat[ing] the political value” (2020, p. 376) of these presentations when these non-binary identities are shown as inaccessible, depoliticized, and hypersexualized, which maintains rather than challenges entrenched binary ideals of gender and sexuality

The Effects of Monetary Policies on Exchange Rates: A Multinational Panel Study (2000–2023)

This study investigates the impact of monetary policy tools—interest rates, reserve requirements, and money supply—on exchange rates across five major economies: the United States, European Union, China, Japan, and Canada from 2000 to 2023. The analysis incorporates control variables such as GDP growth and inflation and utilizes various econometric models, from naïve regressions to advanced fixed effects specifications. The results show that interest rates and reserve requirements significantly influence exchange rate movements, while the role of money supply is more moderate. Special attention is given to the zero lower bound (ZLB) era using shadow rates. These findings align with Inoue and Rossi (2019), who highlight the role of expectations in monetary transmission during both conventional and unconventional periods. This study contributes to the literature by offering multinational evidence and providing insights into how central banks can manage exchange rate dynamics under evolving economic conditions