In 2020, a paper published in Ethics and Information Technology, “We need to talk about deception in social robotics!,” begins with a quote from T. S. Eliot: “Most of the evil in this world is done by people with good intentions.” The authors find a risk of users neglecting human relationships in favor of their relationship with the robot.

Arthur Y. Webb has literally written the book on civil service.

This summer, he published “Honorable Profession: My Years in Public Service” because he feels the United States is at a juncture when public servants are not valued.

We must strive for equity. With support from Albany County, state legislators can move forward in creating a district that will both ensure fair pay for ambulance workers while also ensuring rural towns don’t go broke. It is, indeed, a matter of life and death.

Michael Geroux, Assistant Director Academic Advising University at Albany

Shirley Unser, New York Capital District Christian Women's Connection

A draft of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Solid Waste Management Plan lays out a vision of a reduced-waste society, which will be implemented through legislative and agency policy. Waste accounts for 12 percent of the state’s greenhouse-gas emissions, the plan says. 

Thomas F. McGrath, 71, of Slingerlands, was arrested by Bethlehem Police on Tuesday on charges stemming from a two-car crash on May 11 that killed 17-year-old Michael J. Kleinke of Colonie.

All of New York state will be feeling the heat on Thursday and Friday, Governor Kathy Hochul warned as she spoke in Oswego, in central New York, on Wednesday.

The “real feel of temperature” in New York City, Long Island, and the Mid-Hudson area is expected to be over 105, she said.

We consider this a timely and even courageous sentiment. Our nation is splintered — some might lament that our democracy has broken beyond repair. But not our local librarians. They work away at including everyone in their selections of books and movies and in their activities that include all kids.

“This is the new unprecedented,” said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos. “It’s fueled by climate change.” He noted the extreme heat in the southern United States and the high temperatures of ocean waters, calling it “a difficult year, not just here in New York but nationally.”