Stanford University Student Journals
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Harvesting Hope:: Securing Farmworker Futures in the Age of AI
Full text linkCalifornia’s 900,000 farmworkers constitute half of the nation\u27s farm labor force, playing a critical role in U.S. agriculture by harvesting one-third of the country’s vegetables and 90 percent of its strawberries. Despite their essential contributions, these workers face significant economic and social challenges. Most farmworkers have over a decade of experience in the U.S. agricultural sector, yet many struggle with job security, low wages, and lack of access to stable employment opportunities. Immigration status further compounds these hardships, as an estimated 50 percent of California’s farmworkers are undocumented, making them particularly vulnerable to labor exploitation, deportation threats, and exclusion from social services. Recent federal immigration enforcement policies, including mass deportation raids and proposed changes to the H-2A visa program, have heightened workforce instability, raising concerns about labor shortages in agriculture. Farmworker advocacy groups are calling for legislative reforms to provide legal pathways to residency or expand guest worker protections. Addressing these challenges is essential for ensuring both the well-being of farmworkers and the long-term sustainability of California’s agricultural economy. This paper examines the threats posed by automation and shifting immigration policies and proposes policy solutions, including public-private partnerships, to support displaced farmworkers in the evolving agricultural landscape.
Mark Coeckelbergh Wants “Democratic AI” to Build a Common World
Full text linkIn Why AI Undermines Democracy and What to Do About It, Mark Coeckelbergh challenges the prevailing notion of AI as politically neutral, asserting that it amplifies threats to democracy. He explores how AI furthers technocracy, authoritarianism, and centralized power in the hands of corporate elites. Moreover, he shows that as AI-driven algorithms increase polarization and misinformation, they ruin the civic culture essential to democracy, including a public sphere of trust, tolerance, and rational deliberation that produces consensus. However, Coeckelbergh envisions a future where AI enhances democracy rather than eroding it. He advocates for "democratic AI" — technologies designed to support public discourse, serve the common good, and foster a common world. Through this principle underlying tech design, in addition to civic education and stronger oversight of Big Tech, he outlines a pathway toward reclaiming AI for democracy. While there are unresolved tensions, such as between liberty and the common good, Coeckelbergh offers a compelling philosophical framework to inspire actionable reforms
The “Big” Blueprint: An Analysis of Tobacco Regulation as a Framework for Technology Regulation.
Full text linkIn October 2023, 42 attorneys general filed lawsuits against Meta, alleging that its platforms are addictive and harmful to youth. These suits echo legal strategies used against Big Tobacco in the 1990s, particularly the Master Settlement Agreement and subsequent regulatory reforms. This paper examines the viability of applying tobacco regulation as a blueprint for regulating Big Tech, especially in light of mounting concerns about digital addiction and youth vulnerability. Through a comparative analysis of tobacco and social media industries, it identifies key parallels: both target young users, downplay known harms, and engineer user dependence. However, the paper also highlights critical differences—social media is not inherently carcinogenic and offers meaningful societal benefits, complicating direct regulatory transfer. Drawing on emerging literature on digital addiction, platform design, and public health risk, the paper evaluates whether elements of tobacco control—such as warning labels, youth advertising restrictions, and public education—can be adapted for the tech sector. It concludes that while tobacco regulation provides a powerful legal and rhetorical model, effective oversight of social technology requires a new regulatory infrastructure tailored to its unique risks. The “Big” blueprint should inspire, not constrain, the future of digital platform governance
‘Neuralizing’ Injustice: How neuroscience misunderstands racism, addiction, and crime
Full text linkThe science of the brain has emerged to the forefront of public thought and policy regarding many social issues, enabled by technological advancements in cognitive neuroscience and psychology. While this research presents exciting possibilities for informing social activism and policy, centering neuroscientific explanations for complex social issues often obscures social injustices not easily measurable with neuroscientific tools. Here, I discuss neuroscientific and psychological research into racism, drug addiction, and criminality that has 1) ‘over-individualized’ these issues by neglecting structural and environmental complexities,, and 2) ‘over-neuralized’ these issues by reducing them to neural phenomena, inscribing historical injustices into the ‘hardwiring’ of the brain under a veneer of scientific objectivity. Taken together, this research—on implicit racial bias, the ‘brain disease’ model of addiction, and the ‘criminal brain’—casts the brain as a moral scapegoat, allowing us to show mercy towards individuals without grappling with collective responsibility for the conditions of injustice at the heart of racism, addiction, and crime. Finally, I discuss recommendations for neuroscientific and psychological inquiry that is attentive to non-neural explanations and responsive to how the science of the brain is translated and communicated into broader society
Enhancing Online Access for K-12 Education: Policy Implementation Strategies for States
Full text linkThe COVID-19 pandemic forced K-12 education to pivot to a virtual platform requiring students to connect to the Internet to access school. This abrupt transition primarily impacted students living in underserved areas, particularly in rural communities and impoverished communities already suffering from the digital divide. To combat this, state and local initiatives were implemented nationwide to provide the necessary devices and reliable Internet connections to students. Our research assessed 69 programs providing Internet access to students using three criteria: Connectivity, Implementation Speed, and Cost. A negative relationship exists between Connectivity and Implementation Speed, indicating that the most effective solutions require significant time resources. This highlights the importance of implementing both short-term and long-term solutions to ensure students are able to connect to online resources required for school. Short-term solutions, such as hotspots, will help students gain Internet access as soon as possible and long-term solutions, such as construction of broadband infrastructure, will create lasting change for communities in need. The primary obstacle to realizing these goals is funding, and this research identified four alternatives for obtaining funding for increased Internet access: BroadbandUSA Program, individual State funding, the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline Program, and tax incentives for individuals working from home. Sustained funding policies, such as the BroadbandUSA Program and the use of state funding, align best with implementation of relatively expensive, yet long-term solutions, namely infrastructure construction. Economic policies aimed at mitigating the affordability aspect of the digital divide, such as the Lifeline Program and tax incentives, are best aligned with short-term solutions because they are not designed to provide extended support to citizens. Using the data and analysis of these 69 programs, we demonstrate a plurality of policies to address the digital divide and connect students to the Internet
Designer Babies: A Phenomenological Study on Genetic Engineering
Full text linkThis study looks to determine a person\u27s opinion on editing embryos depending on the severity of a disease versus their opinions on editing for physical preferences. This study will focus on high school students because it would provide insight into the next generation of those that would most likely have the availability to genetic engineering. All participants that voluntarily sign up to be a part of the study will be given an online survey that will assist in interpreting their beliefs on editing embryos. The results of this study could aid in making this technology more readily available for the public, whether it be for clinical purposes or enhancement purposes
Predicting the Likelihood of Mass Shootings in a Location Using Prominent Risk Factors
Full text linkMass shootings are incidents in which 4 or more casualties - injuries or deaths - have occurred due to gun violence. If the shooting has 4 or more deaths, then it is considered a major mass shooting. These mass shootings have become a significant problem in the United States in the past few years with over 600 incidents in just 2022, resulting in over 700 deaths and around 3000 injuries (Gun Violence Archive, 2023). Additionally, in the first 4 months of 2023, over 150 mass shootings have happened in the United States at a rate of about 1.5 shootings per day (Gun Violence Archive, 2023). Despite the largely frequent occurrences of these shootings in American society, the government has taken very little action to prevent these mass shootings from occurring. While part of this is because of the widely varying ideals on gun control on the different sides of the political spectrum (Braga, 2001), a large part of this inaction is also due to the unpredictability of these mass shootings (Duwe et al., 2022). Even though mass shootings happen quite often, they are erratic in their nature which makes it hard to observe patterns among them. However, if someone were to create a way to easily predict the odds of the occurrence of these mass shootings using certain factors that are noticeable, this could allow the public to understand apparent patterns in mass shooting occurrence and help the government create legislation to help prevent future mass shootings. Thus, this study aims to develop a predictive model to assess the likelihood of mass shootings based on key socio-economic and geographic factors. By identifying high-risk cities, this model could provide policymakers with tools to implement targeted preventive measures. To approach this serious topic of mass shootings and learn more about these potential factors, the history of these shootings must first be examined
Investigating the Inhibitory Potential of Solfeggio Frequencies on Quorum Sensing-Dependent Biofilm Formation of Enterococcus faecalis
Full text linkQuorum sensing (QS), a complex biochemical communication mechanism utilized by bacteria, plays a pivotal role in orchestrating the transcription and expression of genes involved in crucial pathogenic activities such as biofilm formation and virulence. Biofilms are microbial communities encased in a self-produced matrix, which helps bacteria adhere to surfaces and resist immune defenses. This study aims to investigate the QS ability of Enterococcus faecalis, a gram-positive bacterium predominantly found in the gastrointestinal tracts of humans, by exploring the intricate interplay between the exposure of bacterial samples to selected solfeggio frequencies (396 Hz, 432 Hz, 528 Hz, 741 Hz, and 963 Hz) and the resulting differences in biofilm thickness. The biofilm formation (BF) in each sample has been evaluated through the crystal violet staining method along with spectrophotometric analysis. The results obtained from this research revealed noteworthy variations in the patterns of biofilm formation, intriguingly influenced by the different solfeggio frequencies applied. Specifically, the groups subjected to the distinctive frequencies of 432 Hz, 741 Hz, and 963 Hz demonstrated a notable reduction in biofilm thickness, suggesting a discernible attenuation in the quorum sensing of the Enterococcus faecalis strain. These findings provide experimental evidence that specific solfeggio frequencies (SF) possess the capacity to modulate quorum sensing, thus presenting a highly promising avenue for manipulating bacterial behavior and offering potential therapeutic interventions to combat the formidable challenges posed by biofilm-related infections
SatNet: A Low-Cost, Neural-Network based Algorithm Utilizing Satellite Images for Disease Hotspot Detection
Full text linkThe rapid spread of infectious diseases poses a significant global health challenge, requiring timely and accurate detection for effective intervention. Traditional disease detection services, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), play a crucial role in monitoring and responding to outbreaks. However, these services are largely inaccessible to people worldwide due to their high costs and resource-intensive processes, as they often rely on expensive data sources. Fortunately, satellite images are a great alternative data source. Modern satellites can provide detailed images that display a region’s financial status and pollution levels, two critical metrics in potential disease outbreaks. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a more affordable algorithm (SatNet) that utilizes publicly available satellite imagery to perform disease hotspot detection. The algorithm works by retrieving zoomed in satellite images of the city inputted by the user and feeding these images into a novel, hybrid, recursive convolutional neural network. This model, designed to classify regions within the images as low-income, high-income, or industrial areas, was trained and tested on a custom data set of 7,448 images and achieved a 94.872 training accuracy and 84.183 testing accuracy. The output of this model is then used to create a detailed heat map for the city, which indicates the regions most in danger of disease outbreaks. Overall, the affordability and accessibility of SatNet will allow governments/organizations worldwide to provide their people with the healthcare they need and significantly reduce the spread of diseases in an increasingly interconnected world
The Political Economy of Trade Policies: Origins, Effectiveness, and Limitations
Full text linkThe history of trade policy is one of the longest among all forms of economic interventions of government. Different economic schools and their vanward scholars have various opinions, creating a conflict between free-trade literature and protectionism. This essay compares the different perspectives of protectionism, the incentives of government to set up protectionist policies, and an evaluation of both. It also compares the costs and benefits, effectiveness and limitations of representative economies which introduced such policies.
Key Words: Trade, globalisation, public economics, government policies, protectionism, political econom