Seattle At its Aug. 6-7 meeting, the American Psychological Association's board of directors approved measures addressing issues such as psychology's role in artificial intelligence, the global human rights of women and girls, the Israel-Gaza ceasefire, and the need to seek reparations for politically charged trauma.
The Council approved the policy by a vote of 156 in favor, 2 against, and 1 abstention. (PDF, 61KB) Recognize the important role of psychology and knowledge in guiding various forms, applications, and analysis of AI, and the actual and potential impacts of artificial intelligence on psychological research, psychology training, practice, and applications.
“APA recognizes the important role the field of psychology plays in addressing societal challenges, challenges and opportunities related to health and well-being, and the ethical and privacy implications of AI,” the policy states. “APA is resolutely committed to identifying, mitigating, and eliminating the harmful effects of AI and ensuring that everyone in society can reap the full benefits of AI technology.”
The role of APA and psychology falls into three areas: shaping the societal impact of AI, using AI to promote health and well-being, and addressing and upholding ethics and privacy related to AI.
Council approves resolution on global rights of women and girls (PDF, 104KB) Passed by 157 votes in favor, 4 against, and 3 abstentions, the bill calls for national and international education initiatives to raise awareness of the issue. The bill commits APA to expand formal education on the rights of girls and women and promote “research on the human rights of girls and women and the dissemination of science on the human rights of girls and women, including among people who have been socialized and who have lived through life as women and girls.”
The resolution notes that girls and women are denied numerous human and legal rights, including sexual and reproductive rights, education, labor and economic rights, and the right “to choose when, who and to whom to marry.”[m] and guaranteeing “the right to marry, the right to self-expression and self-determination.” The bill also directs the APA to eliminate research practices that “implicitly but powerfully marginalize the experiences and rights of girls and women.”
The council also passed the bill (PDF, 87KB)The resolution, which voted 106 to 52, with eight abstentions, called for “an immediate, permanent and comprehensive ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Gaza.”
“The APA calls on all parties to prioritize the protection of civilians, adhere to international humanitarian law, and engage in meaningful dialogue and negotiations towards a just and sustainable solution,” the resolution states. It also calls for “increasing access to culturally sensitive, context-specific, and evidence-based psychological resources for people affected by armed conflict and living through humanitarian emergencies.”
In separate action, the council passed a resolution (PDF, 111KB) APA pledges to advocate for reparations and compensation for survivors of individual and collective trauma and their descendants. The bill, which passed with 113 votes in favor, 52 against, and 4 abstentions, defines the types of trauma it covers, including gender-based violence and human trafficking, the Holocaust, the U.S. incarceration of Japanese Americans and Unanga peoples, the U.S. enslavement of Africans and their descendants, and the dispossession of indigenous land and the systematic oppression of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, Alaska Natives, American Indians, Puerto Ricans, and other peoples.
It also calls on the APA to convene a task force to initiate, support, and disseminate a psychology-based report examining the benefits of collective reparations, to “understand best practices in distributing reparations programs and promote the adoption of distributive justice practices in other international organizations.” The resolution provides many examples of reparations, but states that “given the scope of our role, we maintain that the type of appropriate reparation is best determined collectively by victims and (federal and/or state) governments and/or human rights officials and organizations…”