April 18, 2023 /World/ — The Ukraine war has divided the world in many ways. Some countries have condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and have imposed sanctions on Russia. Others have been more hesitant to take action, fearing that it could escalate the conflict.
The war has also divided the world on a ideological level. Some countries see the war as a battle between democracy and authoritarianism. Others see it as a proxy war between the United States and Russia. Continue reading
April 18, 2023 /Business/ — Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox Corporation and its Fox News Channel on March 26, 2021, alleging that the network defamed the company by repeatedly making false and defamatory claims about its voting machines in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
The lawsuit alleged that Fox News hosts and guests, including former President Donald Trump, made false and defamatory claims about Dominion’s voting machines, including that they were “rigged” and “susceptible to hacking.” The lawsuit also alleged that Fox News’s coverage of Dominion’s voting machines was “reckless and false” and that it caused Dominion to suffer “severe and irreparable harm.”
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OverDrive announced today at the London Book Fair that more than 400,000 digital ebook and audiobook titles are now available in the “OverDrive Max” access model. Available in OverDrive Marketplace, the world’s largest catalog for school and library digital book sales, OverDrive Max was specifically designed to provide greater flexibility and value for library budgets to meet the increased demand for digital books. It is quickly becoming the fastest growing sales model for authors and publishers seeking to maximize their revenue from institutional buyers. Continue reading
Philippe Burger, University of the Free State
Public debt repayments in some African countries are at their highest levels since 1998. The Conversation Africa’s founding editor Caroline Southey talks to dean and economics professor Philippe Burger about the danger of debt problems some African countries face.
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.
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.
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
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.
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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.
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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