This week’s Massachusetts news on GBH’s Under the Radar is all about safety — whether it’s the parasites and bacteria that are (probably not) in your water supply, or the artificial intelligence that (probably is) in your day-to-day life.
In recent weeks, cyclospora has led Americans to shun lettuce in recent weeks. The parasite that causes intestinal illness has dominated headlines — though, thankfully, not digestive systems in Massachusetts.
But an even deadlier outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease has struck Manhattan’s Upper East Side, with New York City health officials tracing the bacteria to rooftop cooling towers.
The Berkshire Eagle’s Kevin Moran said this is an issue Massachusetts has dealt with recently. Cooling towers, which dispel heated water generated by air-conditioning units, can become a “petri dish for the growth of bacteria” if not cleaned properly, he said.
Last summer, in Pittsfield, a string of Legionnaires’ cases in hospital patients led to two wrongful death lawsuits against Berkshire Health Systems, which accused the company of failing to treat cooling towers atop the Berkshire Medical Center.
“The public wasn’t warned despite prompting by the State Department of Public Health. The hospital never got word out until mid-September that it indeed had had an outbreak,” he said.
In a statement to The Eagle in March, a Berkshire Medical Center spokesperson denied the hospital’s role in these deaths and stated they had found “no detectable levels of legionella” in its most recent tests. But Moran pointed to a sample taken from two cooling towers last July that found “120 times” the amount of bacteria “considered under control.”
“You do have to make sure that the cooling towers are treated with chlorine and cleaned regularly, and that there is regular testing here,” Moran said.
Meanwhile, MASSterlist editor Katie Lannan said another, far different type of “urgent safety problem” is uniting residents: artificial intelligence. A new poll conducted by MassINC found that 75% of voters support the state’s “AI regulation package,” which would place guardrails on major players such as Meta and Google.
“AI safety is on a lot of people’s minds,” said Lannan, who referenced the “hack” carried out by a rogue OpenAI model last week. “For Massachusetts voters... they’re not necessarily hesitating to adopt AI in their own lives, [or] to build it into their routines. But they think there should be some sort of cop on the beat, essentially.”
While this legislation could take time to make its way through Beacon Hill, some AI juggernauts are taking a more active approach in regulating their products. Anthropic, the company behind Claude, sponsored the MassInc poll, and announced a partnership with Dartmouth College in December that would pair its flagship systems with students’ “wisdom and critical thinking.”
“There’s pushback from faculty members about this partnership, but it [also] allows a higher ed institution to have a say in some of the development,” said Jill Kaufman, a reporter, producer and host at New England Public Media. This month, a federal judge upheld a decision that Anthropic pay authors — including 130 Dartmouth faculty members — a combined $1.5 billion for copyright infringement.
“Where does that fit in with the Dartmouth partnership here?” Kaufman said. “Where is all of this going? There’s a lot to be figured out and I think it’s still appearing, as state lawmakers realize.”
Plus, as younger candidates challenge establishment politicians, is Massachusetts the next state to embrace democratic socialism? And what’s the latest on the ongoing saga between the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons?
It’s all on this week’s Massachusetts news roundtable!
Guest
- Jill Kaufman, reporter, producer and host at NEPM – New England Public Media
- Kevin Moran, executive editor of the Berkshire Eagle
- Katie Lannan, editor at MASSterList
Stories featured in this week’s roundtable
- The Berkshire Eagle: Two people died of Legionnaires’ at Berkshire Medical Center. Now their families are suing
- The Berkshire Eagle: Seven patients tested positive for Legionella. Two died. What happened?
- GBH News: Most Mass. voters support proposed AI regulations now up for debate on Beacon Hill
- New England Public Media: WMass DSA chapter sees bolstered membership amid national electoral wins
- The Berkshire Eagle: At the Boston Symphony, more discordant notes over Music Director Andris Nelsons’ role
- The Berkshire Eagle: As signs multiply, Lenox considers stricter downtown regulations
- MassLive: HBCU network launches in WMass with send-off for students, mixer for networking
- WCVB: Mass. senators propose 'fun agenda’ to revitalize nightlife and recreation across state
