Leibniz and Toulmin: Rationalism without Dogmas (Pluralism, Pragmatism, and Gradualism)

The aim of this paper is to connect Leibniz’s and Toulmin’s conceptions about practical and deliberative rationality. When trying to rationally justify contingent judgments Leibniz, like Toulmin, defends a weighing argumentative method. Thus, in Leibniz we can discern the balance between the legitimate demands of formal models of rationality and the lessons of a practice “situated” on a historical, social, and evaluative context (theoria cum praxi)

Bias in algorithms of AI systems developed for COVID-19 : A scoping review

To analyze which ethically relevant biases have been identified by academic literature in artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms developed either for patient risk prediction and triage, or for contact tracing to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, to specifically investigate whether the role of social determinants of health (SDOH) have been considered in these AI developments or not. We conducted a scoping review of the literature, which covered publications from March 2020 to April 2021. ​Studies mentioning biases on AI algorithms developed for contact tracing and medical triage or risk prediction regarding COVID-19 were included. From 1054 identified articles, 20 studies were finally included. We propose a typology of biases identified in the literature based on bias, limitations and other ethical issues in both areas of analysis. Results on health disparities and SDOH were classified into five categories: racial disparities, biased data, socio-economic disparities, unequal accessibility and workforce, and information communication. SDOH needs to be considered in the clinical context, where they still seem underestimated. Epidemiological conditions depend on geographic location, so the use of local data in studies to develop international solutions may increase some biases. Gender bias was not specifically addressed in the articles included. The main biases are related to data collection and management. Ethical problems related to privacy, consent, and lack of regulation have been identified in contact tracing while some bias-related health inequalities have been highlighted. There is a need for further research focusing on SDOH and these specific AI apps

Ethical Democracy. A proposal for corrupt democracies

El fenómeno de la corrupción se ha expandido por diversos ámbitos, lo que ha generado un desprestigio de la política y de los políticos, con la consiguiente crisis de confianza de la ciudadanía. Bajo estas circunstancias, el ideal de la democracia de materializar una vida buena para la comunidad política resulta difícil. Este contexto, cada vez más homogéneo en la vida política de los Estados, da pie a la formación de “democracias corruptas”. Cuando un Estado descuida la importancia de la ética en la formación de sus representantes públicos se ponen en marcha los principales motores de la corrupción: la codicia, la avaricia y el anhelo de poder, enmarcados en una sociedad de consumo que exacerba el deseo de poseer, acumular riqueza y obtener placer. Una democracia sin ética desvía su rumbo, se dirige a la desintegración, a la alteración de esta forma de gobierno. Una democracia que ignora a la ética puede derivar fácilmente hacía la oligarquía, o peor aún, hacía la dictadura, sea política o económica. La ética en democracia es el hilo que teje las relaciones de convivencia, de armonía entre los miembros de la comunidad. Los valores y principios éticos son los guías que marcan el rumbo hacia una sana democracia, hacía la madurez del sistema político. Analizar de qué manera la ética puede realizar aportaciones al proceso democrático sin duda puede resultar de interés, no sólo para los analistas o para los actores políticos sino para la misma comunidad política. Bajo el título Democracia ética, se abre un abanico muy amplio de posibilidades para trabajos con este enfoque. Existe la confianza de que los artículos que aquí se exponen sirvan de estímulo para que otros autores desarrollen nuevos instrumentos éticos de aplicación práctica que permitan construir un dique de contención frente a las democracias corruptas.The phenomenon of corruption has spread various fields, which has generated a smear of politics and politicians, with the ensuing crisis of public confidence. Under these circumstances, the ideal of democracy to realize a good life for the political community is difficult. This context increasingly homogeneous in political life of states, leads to the formation of "corrupt democracies." If a State neglects the importance of ethics in the training of their public representatives are launched major driver of corruption: greed, greed and lust for power, set within a consumer society that exacerbates the desire to possess , accumulate wealth and gain pleasure. A democracy without ethics diverted its course, goes to disintegration, to the alteration of this form of government. A democracy which ignores ethics can easily result was the oligarchy, or worse, was the dictatorship, whether political or economic. Ethics in democracy is the thread that weaves the relations of coexistence and harmony among members of the community. Values ​​and ethics are the guidelines that set the course for a healthy democracy, was the maturity of the political system. Analyze how ethics can make contributions to the democratic process can certainly be of interest not only for analysts or policy makers but to the same political community. Titled Democracy ethics, a wide range of possibilities to work with this approach opens. There is confidence that the articles presented here serve as encouragement to others to develop new ethical practical application tools that allow to build a dam to corrupt democracies.Depto. de Ciencia Política y de la AdministraciónFac. de Ciencias Políticas y SociologíaTRUEpu