Machine Intelligence for Individualized Decision Making Under a Counterfactual World: A Rejoinder

Computers have evolved from mere number crunchers to systems demonstrating an astonishing degree of sophistication, decision-making ability, and autonomy. Silicon is no longer the only substrate facilitating information processing. Despite these progresses, machine intelligence is still far from rivaling human intelligence. Nonetheless, we might be all too ready to rely on inferior agents for decision making, to give away sensitive information without fully understanding the consequences involved, or to tinker with genetic code to program carbon-based machines without fully appreciating the risks. This article explores the potentials and risks that information societies may face in the wake of current and emerging intelligent computing paradigms.

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Differential impact of non-pharmaceutical public health interventions on COVID-19 epidemics in the United States

10.21203/rs.3.rs-60056/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoshuang Liu ◽

Xiao Xu ◽

Guanqiao Li ◽

Xian Xu ◽

Yuyao Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

United States ◽

Decision Making ◽

The United States ◽

School Closure ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Health Crisis ◽

The Us ◽

Individualized Decision

Abstract Background: The widespread pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses an unprecedented global health crisis. In the United States (US), different state governments have adopted various combinations of non-pharmaceutical public health interventions (NPIs), such as non-essential business closures and gathering bans, to mitigate the epidemic from February to April, 2020. Quantitative assessment on the effectiveness of NPIs is greatly needed to assist in guiding individualized decision making for adjustment of interventions in the US and around the world. However, the impacts of these approaches remain uncertain.Methods: Based on the reported cases, the effective reproduction number (Rt) of COVID-19 epidemic for 50 states in the US was estimated. Measurements on the effectiveness of nine different NPIs were conducted by assessing risk ratios (RRs) between R t and NPIs through a generalized linear model (GLM). Results: Different NPIs were found to have led to different levels of reduction in Rt. Stay-at-home contributed approximately 51% (95% CI 46%-57%), wearing (face) masks 29% (15%-42%), gathering ban (more than 10 people) 19% (14%-24%), non-essential business closure 16% (10%-21%), declaration of emergency 13% (8%-17%), interstate travel restriction 11% (5%-16%), school closure 10% (7%-14%), initial business closure 10% (6%-14%), and gathering ban (more than 50 people) 7% (2%-11%).Conclusions: This retrospective assessment of NPIs on Rt has shown that NPIs played critical roles on epidemic control in the US in the past several months. The quantitative results could guide individualized decision making for future adjustment of NPIs in the US and other countries for COVID-19 and other similar infectious diseases.

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Differential impact of non-pharmaceutical public health interventions on COVID-19 epidemics in the United States

10.21203/rs.3.rs-60056/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoshuang Liu ◽

Xiao Xu ◽

Guanqiao Li ◽

Xian Xu ◽

Yuyao Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

United States ◽

Decision Making ◽

The United States ◽

School Closure ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

The Us ◽

The Impact ◽

Individualized Decision

Abstract The widespread pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses an unprecedented global health crisis. In the United States (US), different state governments have adopted various combinations of non-pharmaceutical public health interventions (NPIs) to mitigate the epidemic from February to April, 2020. Quantitative assessment on the effectiveness of NPIs is in great need to assist in guiding the individualized decision making for adjustment of interventions in the US and around the world. However, the impact of these approaches remain uncertain. Based on the reported cases, the effective reproduction number of COVID-19 epidemic for 50 states in the US was estimated. The measurement on the effectiveness of eight different NPIs was conducted by assessing risk ratios (RRs) between and NPIs through a generalized linear model (GLM). Different NPIs were found to have led to different levels of reduction in. Stay-at-home contributed approximately 51% (95% CI 46%-57%), gathering ban (more than 10 people) 19% (14%-24%), non-essential business closure 16% (10%-21%), declaration of emergency 13% (8%-17%), interstate travel restriction 11% (5%-16%), school closure 10% (7%-13%), initial business closure 10% (6%-14%), and gathering ban (more than 50 people) 6% (2%-11%). This retrospective assessment of NPIs on has shown that NPIs played critical roles on epidemic control in the US in the past several months. The quantitative results could guide individualized decision making for future adjustment of NPIs in the US and other countries for COVID-19 and other similar infectious diseases.

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Individualized decision making in ovulation induction (OI)/ovulation stimulation (OS) cycles: can clinical outcome be predicted utilizing patient and cycle specific characteristics?

Fertility and Sterility ◽

10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.07.308 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 110 (4) ◽

pp. e102

Author(s):

I. Souter ◽

R.S. Legro ◽

M. Diamond ◽

H. Zhang ◽

N. Santoro

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Clinical Outcome ◽

Ovulation Induction ◽

Ovulation Stimulation ◽

Individualized Decision

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International Institutions and Individualized Decision-Making: An Example of UNHCR's Refugee Status Determination

German Law Journal ◽

10.1017/s2071832200000651 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. 1779-1804 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Maja Smrkolj

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Asylum Seekers ◽

International Institutions ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Refugee Status ◽

Security Forces ◽

High Commissioner ◽

Sudanese Refugees ◽

Individualized Decision ◽

Asylum Seekers And Refugees

In autumn 2005 a group of Sudanese asylum seekers and refugees discontented with the unbearable conditions in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refuges (UNHCR) office in Cairo started a sit-in protest near the office. The protesters were, besides venting their anger at the suspension of Refugee Status Determination procedures for Sudanese refugees due to the ceasefire between the Sudanese government and Sudan's People Liberation Army, also making their frustrations heard regarding UNHCR's lengthy procedures, its failure to provide them with proper assistance, the high numbers of rejected applications, improper interviews and their general treatment by UNHCR's personnel as well as their difficult social and health conditions which had been aggravated by the lack of proper assistance. They were demanding that this situation be remedied and calling for transparent and fair procedures. Shortly thereafter they were joined by many more protesters so that in the following three months a group of between 1,800 and 2,500 people stayed around UNHCR's premises. However, meetings and negotiations with UNCHR eventually failed. The crisis ended in a tragedy. On December 30, 2005 the Egyptian security forces proceeded with the forcible removal of the protesters from the venue in an action in which 28 refugees were killed, more than half of which were children and women, with several protesters missing after the events. The Cairo incident illustrates what the cited report on the events has rightly called “a tragedy of failures and false expectations” regarding international humanitarian and human rights institutions.

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