All posts by admin

18Apr/23

Casey review: how the Met police needs to accept that it is institutionally racist and deal with failures

Angus Nurse, Nottingham Trent University

Louise Casey’s review of the standards of behaviour and internal culture at the Metropolitan police makes for uncomfortable reading. It was commissioned following the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens, who was a serving Met officer at the time.

Casey highlights the prevalence of sexism and homophobia. Crucially, in considering police culture she draws different conclusions on the existence of institutional racism than the position taken in 2021 by Boris Johnson’s government on race.

Continue reading

18Apr/23

ChatGPT: what the law says about who owns the copyright of AI-generated content

Sercan Ozcan, University of Portsmouth; Joe Sekhon, University of Portsmouth, and Oleksandra Ozcan, University of Portsmouth

The AI chatbot ChatGPT produces content that can appear to have been created by a human. There are many proposed uses for the technology, but its impressive capabilities raise important questions about ownership of the content.

UK legislation has a definition for computer-generated works. Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 they are “generated by computer in circumstances such that there is no human author of the work”. The law suggests content generated by an artificial intelligence (AI) can be protected by copyright. However, the original sources of answers generated by AI chatbots can be difficult to trace – and they might include copyrighted works.

Continue reading

17Apr/23

The Stanford University report “The State of AI in 2023”

April 17, 2023 /Technology/ — The Stanford University report “The State of AI in 2023” provides a comprehensive overview of the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The report covers a wide range of topics, including AI research, AI applications, and the impact of AI on society.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report: Continue reading

17Apr/23

How does the UK Government’s Data Protection and Digital Information Bill impact the economy?

April 17, 2023 /Technology/ —The UK Government’s Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPID Bill) is a piece of legislation that aims to reform the UK’s data protection framework. The Bill is currently being debated in Parliament, and it is expected to be passed into law in 2023.

The DPID Bill has the potential to have a significant impact on the UK economy. On the one hand, the Bill could lead to increased compliance costs for businesses. This is because the Bill introduces a number of new requirements for businesses that process personal data, such as the need to conduct data protection impact assessments and to appoint a data protection officer.
Continue reading

17Apr/23

How can governments and businesses weigh up the real ecological and social costs against the pursuit of net zero goals?

April 17, 2023 /Economy/ — The global energy transition is a complex and challenging process, with many trade-offs to consider. On the one hand, we need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels in order to mitigate climate change. On the other hand, we need to ensure that the transition is fair and equitable, and that it does not lead to environmental or social problems.
Continue reading

17Apr/23

Reasons why Purchasing-power parity is a better metric for comparing people’s well-being than Exchange rates

April 17, 2023 /Economy/ — Purchasing-power parity (PPP) is a measure of the value of different currencies, taking into account the cost of living in different countries. It is often used to compare the standard of living in different countries.

Exchange rates, on the other hand, are the prices of one currency in terms of another. They are determined by supply and demand in the foreign exchange market.

There are a few reasons why PPP is a better metric for comparing people’s well-being than exchange rates. Continue reading

17Apr/23

Why are so many COVID19 vaccinated people getting shingles?

April 17, 2023 /Healthcare/ — There is no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine causes shingles. However, there is some evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine may trigger shingles in people who are already at risk for the condition. Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. Once a person has had chickenpox, the virus remains dormant in the body. It can reactivate later in life, causing shingles.

There are a number of factors that can increase the risk of shingles, including: Continue reading

17Apr/23

The reason violence has erupted in Sudan

April 17, 2023 /World/ — Violence erupted in Sudan on April 11, 2023, when the country’s military, known as the Transitional Military Council (TMC), dissolved the Sovereign Council, the joint civilian-military body that had been governing the country since the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019. The TMC also detained several civilian leaders, including Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

The violence has been met with widespread international condemnation, and the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have all imposed sanctions on the TMC. The African Union has also suspended Sudan from its activities.
Continue reading

17Apr/23

The future of AI-powered disinformation

April 17, 2023 /MEDIA/ — The future of AI-powered disinformation is a concerning one. As AI technology continues to develop, it will become increasingly easy to create and spread false or misleading information. This could have a devastating impact on our society, as it could erode trust in institutions, undermine democracy, and lead to violence.

There are a number of ways in which AI could be used to spread disinformation. For example, AI could be used to create fake news articles, social media posts, and videos that are designed to look like they are from legitimate sources. AI could also be used to target people with personalized disinformation, based on their interests and beliefs.
Continue reading

17Apr/23

Future of the dollar, as oil deals are increasingly done in other currencies

April 17, 2023 /Economy/ — The future of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency is uncertain. The dollar has been the world’s reserve currency for over 70 years, but there is a growing trend of countries using other currencies for oil deals. This trend is being driven by a number of factors, including the rise of China and other emerging economies, the increasing volatility of the dollar, and the desire of some countries to reduce their reliance on the United States.
Continue reading