This is not at all how ethic boards operate. They very rarely make decisions themselves but define the parameters within which an ethical decision can be made (e.g. what aspects need to be considered and weighted against each other, who needs to be heard, etc.). If you had other experiences, this is not representative for the majority of boards.

This specific take is naive, but ethics is a very rigorous discipline and is also different from moral codes, which are subjective.

Actually, i find this notion harmful. I consider senior PhD students to be able to assess whether an idea in their field is novel, feasible, and in the right scope given fixed resources. I would never expect that from Master students. That does of course not mean that students can’t have great ideas, but it’s not mandatory for a degree.

While this is certainly a very good and comprehensive article, be aware that it is a piece in an ongoing conflict between several ML pioneers in their struggle of controlling their legacy in the narrative of the field.