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Social isolation and loneliness are growing concerns around the globe that put people at increased risk of disease and early death. One much‐touted approach to addressing them is deploying artificially intelligent agents to serve as companions for socially isolated and lonely people. Focusing on digital humans, we consider evidence and ethical arguments for and against this approach. We set forth and defend public health policies that respond to concerns about replacing humans, establishing inferior relationships, algorithmic bias, distributive justice, and data privacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the ethics of rescue medicine. The author states that in tragic situations, rescue medicine renews hope and has the power to restore faith in human beings. The author notes that despite strong positive emotions, rescue efforts provoke chaos. The author mentions that when rescue medicine prevents other values such as long-term care and universal access to health care, it becomes unjust and an irrational system for allocating health care.

The author offers insights on the use and necessity of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), in response to the article "Irrational Exuberance: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation as Fetish" by P. M. Rosoff and L. J. Schneiderman, published within the issue. Topics explored include the perception of healthcare providers, patients, and the media on CPR, the need to consider patient outcomes associated with the procedure, and the need to respect wishes and values of the patient before performing CPR.

Our response to death may differ depending on the patient's age. We may feel that death is a sad, but acceptable event in an elderly patient, yet feel that death in a very young patient is somehow unfair. This paper explores whether there is any ethical basis for our different responses. It examines in particular whether a patient's age should be relevant to the determination that an intervention is medically futile. It also considers the responsibilities of health professionals and the rights of family members in situations where an interventions is clearly futile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the ethical and psychological issues that arise when family members request that `everything be done' for a particular patient. Review of the case of Helga Wanglie; Reasons why family members request futile treatments; How health professionals should respond to requests of futile treatments; Importance of caring for patients over requests for futile interventions.

Argues that justice must be considered in the analysis of physician's duties to abused patients. Privacy beliefs as barrier to physician's response to domestic violence; Beneficence and nonmaleficence towards abused patients; Self-respect as requirement of justice; Requiring domestic violence training in medical education; Treatment plans and protocols to identify abuse and provide assistance.

The article discusses expanded access programs describing the usage of experimental therapy that benefits research participants. Topics discussed information on Food and Drug Administration's approval of nusinersen for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), justification for patient selection criteria on the bases of utilitarian and deontological arguments, and incremental improvement in well-being.

Focuses on the functions of the theory of professionalism in the medical setting. Resolution of ethical problems; Exposure of invidious bias; Gain of a broader perspective.

Evaluates the ethical rationale of exploiting human subjects for testing a new treatment when a proven treatment exists for a given condition. Conditions for assuming that research subjects are not being exploited in clinical trials; Definition of the term exploitation; Requirements for constituting fair terms for interacting with human research subjects.

Deals with ethical problems of medical practice. Diverse practice of healthcare ethics consultation; Significance of making rules of interpretation and perception explicit in detecting sexism in ethics consultation; Cases which illustrate instances where sexist attitudes emerge in complex rules of action and perception.

The article discusses issues concerning the use of prudential life approach to health care provision to patients. Topics covered include the impact of the approach on patients with severe dementia as well as the implications of the approach to protect researchers from bias samples. Also mentioned is the risk associated with the use of this approach.