<https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/aug/16/mathematicians-need-doctor-s...> Mathematicians, computer engineers and scientists in related fields should take a Hippocratic oath to protect the public from powerful new technologies under development in laboratories and tech firms, a leading researcher has said. The ethical pledge would commit scientists to think deeply about the possible applications of their work and compel them to pursue only those that, at the least, do no harm to society. Hannah Fry, an associate professor in the mathematics of cities at University College London, said an equivalent of the doctor’s oath was crucial given that mathematicians and computer engineers were building the tech that would shape society’s future. “We need a Hippocratic oath in the same way it exists for medicine,” Fry said. “In medicine, you learn about ethics from day one. In mathematics, it’s a bolt-on at best. It has to be there from day one and at the forefront of your mind in every step you take.” Fry will explore the power and perils of modern mathematics in December when she delivers the 2019 Royal Institution Christmas lectures. Made popular by figures from Michael Faraday to Carl Sagan, the demonstration-filled sessions were launched in 1825 and became the most prestigious public science lectures in Britain. In the three-lecture series, Secrets and Lies: the Hidden Power of Mathematics, Fry will examine the maths of risk and luck, from finding the perfect partner to keeping healthy and happy. She will also explore how algorithms that feast on data have infiltrated every aspect of our lives; what problems maths should be kept away from; and how we must learn when the numbers cannot be trusted. Fry said she got a sense of the ethical blindspots scientists can have while describing to an academic conference in Berlin the computer modelling of the 2011 riots she had done for the Metropolitan police. The audience, which understood the realities of a police state, heckled her from their seats. [...]