Future Excellent mailbag: Is AI mendacity? And different reader questions, answered.

[ad_1] For the previous few years, we’ve been asking Future Perfect newsletter readers what their greatest questions are. And whereas we normally reply privately, we figured we’d strive one thing new: a reader mailbag!

This week, we’ve answered questions from three readers on traditional FP points: synthetic intelligence, animal welfare protection, and, in fact, altruistic kidney donations. We’d love to do extra of those, so in case your query wasn’t featured — or privately answered — please keep in contact for an opportunity to be included sooner or later.

Join here to discover the large, sophisticated issues the world faces and essentially the most environment friendly methods to unravel them. Despatched twice every week.

We’re additionally kicking off the method for our annual Future Perfect list of changemakers . We’re in search of specialists, humanitarians, activists, movers, and shakers in international well being, broadly talking.

If there's somebody you wish to nominate, a subject you need defined, or a query you need us to reply sooner or later, fill out this form or e mail us at futureperfect@vox.com. — Izzie Ramirez, deputy editor

By which strategies can one confirm that no matter is produced by AI is actual and truthful?

For any query you’re contemplating asking an AI mannequin, the very first thing you must do is consider its epistemic nature: Is the reply knowable in an goal approach? Or is it subjective?

The perfect use case is a state of affairs the place it’s laborious so that you can give you the reply, however when you get a solution from the AI, you may simply test to see if it’s appropriate. I discover chatbots significantly useful for semantic search — that's, instances the place I say, “There’s some psychology principle or concept in philosophy that mainly says XYZ, however I can’t bear in mind what it’s known as or who mentioned it, assist!” The chatbot will give its finest guess, after which I can simply fact-check that.

<img alt="A person works at a computer with an illustrative image generated by artificial intelligence on the screen, showing code from various programming languages and a neural network diagram. " data-chromatic="ignore" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="mvmjsc0" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='/%3E%3C/svg%3E")" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px" srcset="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=256 256w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=376 376w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=384 384w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=415 415w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=480 480w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=540 540w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=640 640w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=750 750w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=828 828w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=1080 1080w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=1200 1200w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=1440 1440w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=1920 1920w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=2048 2048w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=2400 2400w" src="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-2152813969.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C2.7041717624677%2C100%2C94.591656475065&w=2400"/> ILLUSTRATION - 17 Could 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne: An individual works at a pc with an illustrative picture generated by synthetic intelligence on the display screen, displaying code from varied programming languages and a neural community diagram. On the assembly of telecommunications ministers on Could 21, the EU nations are anticipated to lastly undertake the AI legislation within the EU. The European Parliament had already given the inexperienced gentle for the mission beforehand. Photograph: Oliver Berg/dpa (Photograph by Oliver Berg/image alliance by way of Getty Photos) Oliver Berg/image alliance by way of Getty Photos

Identical with different empirical information which are verifiable by means of statement or information — something from “What’s the boiling temperature for water?” to “Is it true that people share 98.8 % of their DNA with chimpanzees?” Whilst you can simply confirm the primary by your self by means of statement, you’ll have to depend on specialists’ information for the second. In that case, you must really feel assured that what’s produced by your fellow people is actual and truthful. We’ve developed instruments that improve our confidence, just like the scientific technique, so should you’re consulting scientific specialists, you may at the very least have a point of confidence that they’re reporting observable and repeatable information.

Then there are domains which are inherently subjective. In the event you’ve acquired the kind of query for which there isn't any One True Reply, you’ll wish to be extra hesitant about utilizing AI. I feel moral dilemmas fall into this class; irrespective of how a lot OpenAI tries to create a “ universal verifier ,” AI will all the time be restricted in its skill to advise you on how to handle an ethical dilemma , as a result of there’s no One True Ethics . So, you would possibly see what ideas an AI mannequin provokes in you, however don’t belief it as providing you with the ultimate reply, particularly if what it’s saying appears off to you. In different phrases, you should utilize it as a thought accomplice, however don’t deal with it like an oracle.

— Sigal Samuel, senior reporter

Okay, after greater than 5 years as a vegan and 73 years on the planet, I wish to know why the good majority of journalists persistently abandon every part they realized about objectivity in relation to a mess of points with the monster trade often known as “animal agriculture?” And I wish to know easy methods to fight that bias successfully.

It's a big blind spot for many of them. My finest guess is the conditioning is so robust. It begins as a toddler, is strengthened by the parental relationship, expands to prolonged household, buddies, strengthened once more by all forms of promoting media, leisure, and many others. Then they go to journalism faculty and are taught by instructors who even have this blind spot.

So later a reporter will go to a “rooster farm” and empathize with them once they inform their story about dropping 1000's of birds to avian flu — their sense of loss is just not concerning the birds; it’s concerning the cash. The reporter presents the story with out questioning the fundamentals. Issues like “the place are all of the male birds?” [and] “how is it potential for anybody to suppose that 35,000 birds might be compelled to reside collectively in a constructing with out affordable entry to the outside?” and “why does it odor so dangerous?” and “why do you may have permission to restrict animals with out their permission?”

I feel the reason being fairly easy: Journalists are folks with their very own biases, similar to everybody else. That’s evident in how little protection manufacturing facility farming receives within the first place — it includes the abuse of billions of animals and hundreds of thousands of workers , and is a number one reason for a lot of our environmental problems , but solely a handful of US journalists write about it full-time (together with yours really). Most information shops and editors don’t take manufacturing facility farming significantly, which is why I’m proud to work at Vox, the place we do.

That’s essentially the most elementary downside. However secondarily, whereas there's loads of unbelievable protection of manufacturing facility farming, most of the time, I discover I’m disenchanted with quite a lot of it, too. I see a number of recurring points:

Animal welfare is neglected or completely ignored. For instance, it’s not unusual for information tales about barn fires that kill 1000's of animals to conclude that “ no one was hurt ,” or for a narrative about a whole lot of 1000's of egg-laying hens killed to gradual the unfold of chicken flu to gloss over the brutal nature of that killing . Deference to meat producers and firms, or scientists employed by or affiliated with trade, together with deceptive feedback that go unchallenged. “Agriculture” is usually cited as a serious supply of environmental air pollution, when animal agriculture is disproportionately accountable. Uncritical tales about proposed options to animal agriculture’s affect on the local weather, like methane-reducing feed components or manure biodigesters. Or uncritical protection of corporations that declare to deal with their animals higher than the competitors (see our recent story on Fairlife milk). I’ve written one story about how the media might cowl these points higher, and I hope to maintain masking that sooner or later.

— Kenny Torrella, senior reporter

Stories like Dylan Matthews’s years ago led me to research donating a kidney to a stranger. I requested my physician about it, and surprisingly, as a substitute of encouraging me to save lots of a life, he tried to speak me out of it.

He advised me that it's unlawful to donate a kidney to a stranger! I reside in Hong Kong, and possibly the explanation for prohibiting even the donation of a kidney to a stranger is the concern that folks would secretly settle for cost from the kidney recipient. However I don’t know why. Anyway, I considered donating whereas on a trip within the US, however it will require an excessive amount of time, so I gave up.

Sadly, my second kidney will in all probability die with me in previous age, and somebody with kidney failure will needlessly die. Anyway, possibly one other story concept can be about paying kidney suppliers in nations apart from the US?

Most individuals aren’t as beneficiant as you!

Within the US, solely a sliver of dwelling donations go to strangers. In the meantime, over 100,000 folks sit on kidney waitlists. And, as you point out, the necessity for kidneys is a worldwide downside, too.

Many locations solely enable donations to kinfolk or recognized recipients (or require powerful ethics evaluations for unrelated donors), whereas a minority — just like the US, UK, Canada, and Australia — provide a proper pathway for nameless “good Samaritan” donors. In Hong Kong, the place you’re primarily based, you may donate to a member of the family simply, however unrelated donations want official approval, and there’s no customary program for that. (That’s in all probability why you have been discouraged.)

This patchwork exists for a motive.

Within the Nineties and 2000s, there was a critical trafficking and transplant tourism downside. In 2007, the WHO estimated that about 5–10 % of kidney transplants concerned trafficking, and nations just like the Philippines and Pakistan turned hubs for overseas sufferers shopping for organs from determined locals. Transplant specialists met in Istanbul in 2008 and wrote what turned the worldwide rulebook. The Istanbul Declaration pushed nations to crack down on coercive gross sales of organs. Each nation had its personal legal guidelines, however started incorporating the declaration’s suggestions. Because of this, transplant tourism dropped sharply in Israel and the Philippines as soon as new guidelines kicked in, and tighter oversight turned the norm throughout Europe.

<img alt="A sign on the back of a vehicle pleading for someone to donate a kidney to a sick man in Ontario, Canada." data-chromatic="ignore" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="mvmjsc0" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='/%3E%3C/svg%3E")" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px" srcset="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=256 256w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=376 376w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=384 384w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=415 415w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=480 480w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=540 540w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=640 640w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=750 750w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=828 828w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=1080 1080w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=1200 1200w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=1440 1440w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=1920 1920w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=2048 2048w, https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=2400 2400w" src="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/gettyimages-1057315336.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=2400"/> An indication on the again of a car pleading for somebody to donate a kidney to a sick man in Ontario, Canada. Artistic Contact Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto by way of Getty Photos

However, in its efforts to close down trafficking, the declaration argued that compensating donors in any respect “leads inexorably to inequity and injustice.” There was little empirical information to again that declare, however as a result of it got here from a serious worldwide assertion it hardened into gospel: organ donation should be “ financially neutral .”

However neutrality isn’t truly impartial in follow. Dwelling donors lose wages, take day without work work, take medical danger, and generally even face increased insurance coverage premiums after donating. We don’t name that exploitation — however it is a penalty for doing the fitting factor.

And it’s inconsistent with how we deal with different socially worthwhile, dangerous, or disagreeable work. We pay folks to do jury responsibility. We pay scientific trial members. In lots of locations, we even pay plasma donors.

There's one placing exception: Iran.

It’s the one nation with a regulated system that pays kidney donors. Iran established this technique in 1988, and at present performs about 2,500-2,700 kidney transplants yearly, and it claims to have basically eradicated its ready record. It’s a proof-of-concept that incentives will be structured.

The US debate is inching in that path. Congress’s Finish Kidney Deaths Act would offer a federal tax credit to individuals who donate a kidney to a stranger. Donors would obtain a $10,000 tax credit score yearly for 5 years, so not fairly direct cost, however definitely a assist. The act, which has not been voted on but, acknowledges that donation includes actual prices: day without work work, medical dangers, restoration time. The trail ahead globally isn’t throwing out Istanbul’s anti-trafficking work, however to construct on it with good incentives and guardrails so folks can donate altruistically in the event that they wish to. Which means truly testing new approaches, however doing it fastidiously. Give donors impartial advocates, be certain that there’s time to suppose it over, and assure lifelong follow-up care.

Within the meantime, you may not have the ability to simply donate your kidney to a stranger proper now in Hong Kong, however the needle is shifting in the fitting path.

— Pratik Pawar, Future Excellent fellow

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