Penalty for the Unvaccinated?

Kiplinger reported:

While this year’s open-enrollment period won’t have a “yes or no” box to verify your vaccination status (like the “Are you a smoker?” question that’s typically asked), it could become a reality for the 2023 open-enrollment season. And some employers are already penalizing unvaccinated employees.

In late August, Delta, one of the largest global airlines, announced that it will require unvaccinated employees to pay a $200 monthly health insurance surcharge. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a memo to employees that the surcharge was designed to address “the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company.”

Insurers can’t deny you coverage because you had (or have) COVID-19, but surcharges are legal as long as you are offered an alternative to paying the surcharge. For smokers, the alternative is to complete a program that helps you kick the habit. In the case of COVID-19, the alternative would be to get vaccinated.

Are AI Ethics Teams Doomed to Be a Facade? Women Who Pioneered Them Weigh In

Venture Beat reported:

The concept of “ethical AI” hardly existed just a few years ago, but times have changed. After countless discoveries of AI systems causing real-world harm and a slew of professionals ringing the alarm, tech companies now know that all eyes — from customers to regulators — are on their AI. They also know this is something they need to have an answer for. That answer, in many cases, has been to establish in-house AI ethics teams.

“I do think that skepticism is very much warranted for any ‘ethics’ thing that comes out of corporations,” Gebru told VentureBeat, adding that it “serves as PR [to] make them look good.”

Should Troops Who Refuse the COVID Vaccine Be Dishonorably Discharged?

News Nation Now reported:

Should members of the military who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine risk being dishonorably discharged? Some people think it’s fair, while others are working to prevent it.

Republican Sens. James Lankford, Tommy Tubberville, Ted Cruz and Roger Marshall are fighting to prevent active service members who refuse the vaccine from being dishonorably discharged.

“If they’re giving a dishonorable discharge, then that soldier is going to lose their benefits (and) are going to have problems getting a job in the future; they’ll lose their benefits of getting a free education as well as healthcare,” Marshall said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

YouTube Misinformation Policy Update: Gov. Desantis’ Office Promises to Fight Censorship

WFLA News reported:

YouTube announced an expansion to their community guidelines on Wednesday, focused on what the company called harmful misinformation relating to vaccines and other health-related topics. In response to YouTube’s updated content policies, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office promised to oppose censorship and to continue fighting in defense of a recent law that is aimed at preventing deplatforming on social media sites.

The new YouTube guidelines include a three-strike content and account takedown policy with a 90-day timeline. For accounts that promote content directly in opposition to the new guidelines, an instant ban is also a possibility, according to YouTube’s new rules.

Florida’s SB 7072, the so-called Big Tech crackdown law, gives state officials and private citizens options to take social media companies to court over removal of their accounts from online communities, especially if the individual is currently running for public office. It was signed into law in May.