Harnessing Water for Greater Regional Good

Rational Artificial Intelligence for the Greater Good

Today’s technology is mostly preprogrammed but the next generation will make many decisions autonomously. This shift is likely to impact every aspect of our lives and will create many new benefits and challenges. A simple thought experiment about a chess robot illustrates that autonomous systems with simplistic goals can behave in anti-social ways. We summarize the modern theory of rational sys...

Forced Vaccinations: For the Greater Good? —By

1 Vaccine Choice Journal —Special Supplement, Spring 2015 Vaccine Choice Journal —Special Supplement, Spring 2015 The Vaccine Choice Journal has received permission from Dr. Lucija Tomljenovic to publish the following letter she addressed to the California State Senate committee as they were considering the passage of Bill 277, a mandatory vaccination law, in April this year. This is such a val...

A Greater Price for a Greater Good? Evidence that Consumers Pay More for Charity-Linked Products

Consumers consistently express a willingness to favor socially responsible firms, but will they actually pay more for products linked to charitable donations, green production, and similar activities? To answer this question, we analyze a novel data set that matches identical products sold on eBay via charity and non-charity auctions. Items sold through charity auctions have prices that are 6% ...

Is Specialization Good for Regional Economic Development?

Debates about urban growth and change often center on specialization. However, arguments linking specialization to metropolitan economic development contain diverse, and sometimes conflicting, claims. Is it better to be highly specialized or diversified? Does specialization refer to the absolute or relative scale of an activity in a region? Does specialization have static or evolutionary effect...

In pursuit of the greater good.