Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine

27/10/2026

Can an AI help raise a child after a parent's death? Giovanni Spitale on Dubai Eye

Giovanni Spitale, Co-Director of the ITE Lab at the Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine, University of Zurich, was interviewed by Georgia Tolley on The Agenda, Dubai Eye 103.8 FM. The topic was a case that has drawn attention in the United Arab Emirates: a will that asks a child's guardian to consult ChatGPT.

According to Spear's, a mother living in the UAE has drafted a will with lawyer Byron James of Expatriate Law. It requires her son's guardian to put every major decision to ChatGPT, including schooling, health, faith and where the child will grow up. The model is guided by a document in which she wrote down her values, principles and wishes. The guardian must log every question, answer and decision. They may depart from the model's answer, but must explain why.

The case closely matches scenarios described in "The Making of Digital Ghosts: Designing Ethical AI Afterlives", which Spitale published with Federico Germani in Ethics and Information Technology in June 2026. The paper proposes a nine-dimension taxonomy of digital afterlife technologies. It names decision support, posthumous proxy agents and systems involving children among the configurations that need the strictest safeguards.

In the interview, Spitale discussed where such an arrangement can help and where it becomes risky. A faithful record of a parent's explicit wishes can be more useful than a static letter. But the decisions the model will be consulted on are the ones the mother never anticipated. On those, it stops reporting her views and starts generating new ones. The system does not pretend to be the mother, so the risk is not impersonation. The risk is authority: if every departure has to be justified, advice becomes something close to a binding instruction, delivered by a commercial product that owes the family nothing.

Reference: Spitale G, Germani F. The Making of Digital Ghosts: Designing Ethical AI Afterlives. Ethics and Information Technology 28:34 (2026). DOI: 10.1007/s10676-026-09910-4 (open access, CC BY 4.0)

26/10/2026

𝗡𝗶𝗸𝗼𝗹𝗮 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿-𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝗜𝗛𝗠𝗥 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗵𝗶

In October 2026, Prof. Nikola Biller-Andorno was invited to give talks at the International Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR, Delhi) Delhi.

She contributed to the workshop «Medical Device Ethics for Responsible Decision-Making», organized by IIHMR Delhi in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Bioethics Unit, and gave a talk on the ethics of ultra-processed foods. We thank our colleagues at IIHMR for the warm hospitality and the stimulating exchange.

22/10/2026

𝗔𝗜 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸

In a Feature Article published in eLife on 14 October 2026, Giovanni Spitale and Federico Germani, co-directors of the ITE Lab at the Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine (University of Zurich), set out a criterion for evaluating AI-generated syntheses of the scientific literature — and argue that the criteria currently in use cannot see the problem that matters most.

The article takes its title from Douglas Adams: a supercomputer returns “42” as the Answer to the Ultimate Question, but the question itself has been lost. An answer severed from its question and its context is inert — it cannot be used, and it cannot be checked. The authors argue that machine summarisation reproduces this structure. Compression works by leaving things out, which is pure efficiency up to a threshold; beyond it, the summary loses the conditions under which the original finding holds. For scientific findings, the authors note, those scope conditions are not background a reader can supply: they are part of the finding.

Two consequences follow. First, since the threshold depends on the reader and on the question being asked, no single level of compression can be correct for everyone — which is why “superhuman” synthesis is the wrong benchmark, and why existing evaluations miss the issue. Second, and more consequentially, the authors predict a form of drift: a summary compressed for one purpose carries no record of that purpose, and may later be reused where the omitted information was decisive. Each such failure begins as a correct use of the tool, so better models will not prevent it.

Their proposal is to make recoverability a reported property of machine-generated synthesis, through three measures that do not require knowing the reader’s question: coverage, the proportion of claims linked to a source; depth, the effort needed to reach the passage that warrants a claim; and warrant, whether the cited source in fact supports the citing sentence. Recent evaluations of deep-research agents show why the third matters: link validity above 94% alongside factual support as low as 39%.

The authors note that journals already require the human equivalent of this standard, in the ICMJE recommendation that quoted material carry full attribution. Reporting recoverability applies the same principle to machine output, making the traceability of claims measurable rather than a matter of citation practice.

20/10/2026

𝗜𝗕𝗠𝗘 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗨𝗭𝗛 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

The Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine (IBME) has been awarded funding from the UZH Global Funding Scheme (Global Champion Fund) for the project “Saving Lives in Humanitarian Crises: A Multilateral Network on the Ethics of Triage and Medical Evacuation”. The project runs from January 2027 to December 2028, with the World Health Organization as partner organisation.

In humanitarian crises, decisions about who is treated and who is evacuated are made at two connected levels: by teams in the field, and by the funders, states and organisations that determine how much care and evacuation capacity is available in the first place. The project builds on IBME’s SNSF-funded project “Ethics of Triage” (2022–2025) and on its recent work on humanitarian triage.

As a WHO Collaborating Centre, IBME serves as the academic anchor of a network that brings together the WHO Global Health Ethics Team, the WHO Collaborating Centres in Bioethics, ethics experts from Médecins Sans Frontières and the Swiss Red Cross, and academic partners in Switzerland, Egypt and Canada. The network combines bioethics, public health, humanitarian medicine and social psychology. Its aim is to contribute to the development of WHO guidance on ethics in humanitarian crises, in particular on triage and medical evacuation.

13/10/2026

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗰𝗼 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 #𝗣𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗼𝗰𝘆𝗯𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆"

Affiliate Researcher Diego Borbón has published a new fully open access article in ():

In April 2025 New Mexico enacted the Medical Psilocybin Act, the first legislated statewide medical psilocybin program in the United States, which places access in the hands of licensed clinicians for treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, substance use disorders and end-of-life care, and adds an advisory board, a treatment equity fund and a research fund. The article reviews the statute and situates it within a three-model typology of US psychedelic policy: decriminalization in Denver and Washington DC, regulated non-medical services in Oregon and Colorado, and clinician-governed medical programs in New Mexico, Utah, Texas and New Jersey. It also covers the federal turn marked by Executive Order 14401 of April 2026, the FDA's national priority vouchers for psilocybin candidates and its 2026 guidance on clinical investigations, along with parallels in Australia and New Zealand. The argument is that the clinician-governed model occupies a distinctive position, narrower than general legalization and broader than research-only pilots, though it also raises concerns about selection and assessment bias in provider-collected data and about the incentives to run randomized trials.

06/10/2026

𝗜𝗕𝗠𝗘 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗱𝗼𝗰, 𝗗𝗿. 𝗥𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗩𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘆 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱'𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗜, 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 & 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Rasita Vinay has been included in the 2026 edition of the Swiss Top 100 Women in AI, Data & Robotics report, launched at the Zurich AI Festival on the 28th September 2026.

The report, published by the ETH AI Center and Greater Zurich Area, highlights women from academia, industry and start-ups who are shaping Switzerland's AI ecosystem through leadership and real-world impact. The 2026 edition adds robotics to its scope and recognises work that contributes to technological progress, societal responsibility and well-being.

Rasita is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Zurich, CORE Director for Digital Ethics and Care for Older Adults at the Centre for Digital Health Interventions (CDHI), and Lecturer at ETH Zurich. Her research brings together ethical AI, precision digital therapeutics and care for older adults, including work on GRACE, the voice assistant for people with early dementia, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

We congratulate her on this well-deserved recognition.

Read the full report here (link: https://www.greaterzuricharea.com/en/news/top-100-women-ai-data-robotics-switzerland-2026)

30/09/2026

𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗸 𝗮𝘂𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝘂̈𝗵𝗻𝗲 – 𝗱𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝘄𝗼 𝗗𝗮𝗱𝗮 𝗴𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲. 🎤

Wie bringt man eine ethische Frage aus der Medizin in wenigen Minuten auf den Punkt, live und vor Publikum?

Beim ersten Pusterla Medical Ethics Slam haben Medizinstudierende aus der ganzen Schweiz genau das gezeigt – am 22. September im Cabaret Voltaire in Zürich.

Die Gewinnerinnen:

🥇 Sarah Bulovic, Université de Genève

🥈 Silvia Nicole Adiliberti, Universität Zürich

🥉 Marie Boyer, Université de Genève

👏 Publikumspreis: Leudita Sherifi, Universität Bern

Alle vier Siegerbeiträge gibt es jetzt als Video auf unserer Website:

https://www.ibme.uzh.ch/de/Biomedizinische-Ethik/lehre/Essay-Wettbewerb/2026.html

Herzlichen Dank an die Jury (Felicitas Sofia Holzer, Tanja Krones, Joël Perrin), an Tobias Eichinger für die Moderation, an Nikola Biller-Andorno für die Preisübergabe – und an Dr. med. Edio Pusterla, der diesen Preis möglich macht.

16/09/2026

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 (𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁): 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 (𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗠𝗝)

This Swiss wide study explores how patients themselves frame and report the motivations underpinning the decision to pursue assisted su***de in Switzerland. Thereby offering valuable insights into their experiences, perspectives, and decision-making processes.

This collaborative project centered at CHUV | Lausanne university hospital and joined by researchers from Université de Lausanne, UZH IBME Solenne Blanc, Lea Heistrüvers, Sofia Savinelli, Mathieu Bernard, Gian Domenico Borasio, Ralf J. Jox, Philip Larkin, Anca-Cristina Sterie and Claudia Gamondi worked on expanding the discussion on assisted su***de in Switzerland.

It shows that decisions to pursue assisted su***de emerged as prospective, meaning-making processes, embedded in personal values, relational considerations, and a temporal awareness, rather than as solely reactive responses to physical suffering.

Recognizing this complexity may support more ethically attuned clinical dialogue and contribute to a deeper understanding of how patients make sense of assisted su***de and end-of-life decisions.

We are pleased to highlight the contribution of our institute's PhD candidate Lea Heistrüvers, who is a co-author of this work.

Read the full article:

15/09/2026

𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 | 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗞𝗲𝘆𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲

We are pleased to announce that Nikola Biller-Andorno, Director of our Institute, will deliver the opening keynote at the Neuer Qualitätskongress Gesundheit 2026 in Berlin.

📍 Berlin, 12–13 November 2026

🎤 Opening Keynote: "No Longer Patient: Quality and Democratic Participation in the Learning Health System?"

🗓️ Thursday, 12 November 2026 | 09:15–09:45

Held under the theme "Change as Opportunity – Rethinking Care," this year's congress addresses how quality and care provision in the health system might be reconceived going forward. The opening keynote examines the role of patients as active participants in shaping a learning health system, rather than as passive recipients of care.

We look forward to two days of exchange with colleagues from research, practice, and policy.

Link to the congress programme:

https://www.qualitaetskongress-gesundheit.de/

11/09/2026

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵: 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘇𝗲𝗿, "𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀" (𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀𝗯𝘂𝗿𝘆)

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new book by Dr. Felicitas Sofia Holzer Holzer who is a postdoctoral researcher at the IBME. The official launch will take place on October 1.

Description

What does it look like for host communities in international health research to be treated fairly?

Multinational pharmaceutical companies and research funding institutions from high-income countries frequently sponsor clinical trials in low- and middle-income countries, where underdeveloped health and welfare systems raise significant ethical concerns. The power asymmetry between well-resourced foreign sponsors and local communities with limited bargaining power further amplifies concerns of unjust treatment and fears of exploitation.

By drawing upon arguments from health research ethics, political philosophy — particularly global distributive justice — and the literature on the principle of fair play, this book addresses a significant gap in the current discourse: the lack of a solid conceptual foundation for the claim that host communities are entitled to fair benefits. Holzer discusses concerns related to structural injustice and proposes alternative mechanisms to secure fair benefits for host communities. Ultimately, Holzer argues that obligations of fair benefit-sharing arise from the requirements of fair cooperation between distinct stakeholders.

Link:

What does it look like for host communities in international health research to be treated fairly?Multinational pharmaceutical companies and research funding in…