Tag Archives: Articles

12Sep/22

Man vs Machine: Delivery driver fights algorithm in Bollywood film

  • “Zwigato” shows struggles of gig worker on food-delivery app
  • India has about 8 million workers, many on low wages
  • Film could help change our views of future of work

By Rina Chandran

Sept 8 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A worker loses his job during the pandemic, and signs up to become a driver for a food-delivery app: this was the reality for millions in the past two years, and is also the story of a new Bollywood film that examines the gig economy in India.
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02Sep/22

LionRocket to Unveil Virtual Face App “VeryMe” at IFA 2022

On September 1st, AI startup LionRocket (CEO Jeong Seung-hwan) announced that it will participate in IFA 2022, the largest consumer electronics and information technology trade show, held in Berlin, Germany, on September 2. At the event, LionRocket will unveil “VeryMe,” the world’s first virtual face creator app. LionRocket is also a member of the Born2Global Centre. Continue reading

02Sep/22

happiness curve is wrong: many people do not get happier as they get older

David Bartram, University of Leicester

On average, happiness declines as we approach middle age, bottoming out in our 40s but then picking back up as we head into retirement, according to a number of studies. This so-called U-shaped curve of happiness is reassuring but, unfortunately, probably not true.

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01Sep/22

Will Pakistan floods spur better climate disaster planning?

  • Disasters globally worsened by lack of planning
  • Cash shortages, lack of political will contribute to risks
  • Disasters often share causes, pointing to ideas for action

By Laurie Goering

LONDON, Aug 31 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A third of Pakistan is underwater, with at least 1,100 people dead – including 380 children – but monsoon rains “on steroids”, likely fuelled by climate change, are not the only cause of the nation’s misery.
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01Sep/22

South African tech entrepreneurs tackle digital divide in townships

  • Tech education taken to South Africa’s townships
  • WiFi access and apps could boost informal economy
  • But technology alone is not the answer, experts warn

By Kim Harrisberg

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Moss Marakalala was 11 when he first used a laptop at an after-school programme in Johannesburg, sparking an interest in technology that inspired him to provide young people like himself from South African townships with digital education. Continue reading

23Aug/22

US tech monitors for gunfire but critics say targets Black areas

  • U.S. homicides jump 44% in two years
  • Government may fund divisive gunshot detection systems
  • Critics say the tech is biased and doesn’t work

By Carey L. Biron

WASHINGTON, Aug 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – When Toledo experienced a spike in gun violence, the Ohio city police force turned to a simple if controversial tool: it miked up part of the city to capture the sound of gunfire.
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23Aug/22

Workplace romance: four questions to ask yourself before dating someone from the office

Chantal Gautier, University of Westminster

In the digital age, online dating and swiping right are the status quo for romance. Practically gone are the days of meeting “the one” in a pub. But what about flirting by the water cooler or over Zoom? The consensual office relationship has been both a romance trope and a taboo for decades.

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19Aug/22

What Netflix documentary The Most Hated Man on the Internet gets right (and wrong) about ‘revenge porn’

Jennifer Grant, University of Portsmouth

The most hated man on the internet, according to a new Netflix docuseries, is Hunter Moore. The convicted criminal and self-described “professional life ruiner” Moore enabled the non-consensual distribution of thousands of private images by founding “revenge porn” website Is Anyone Up?.

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15Aug/22

OPINION: Besides AI, regulation key to fight mis/disinformation

By Anya Schiffrin, director of the Technology, Media and Communications specialization at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

When worries about online mis/disinformation became widespread after the 2016 U.S. election, there was hope that the tech giants would use artificial intelligence (AI) to fix the mess they created. The hope was that platforms could use AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to automatically block or downrank false. illegal or inflammatory content online without governments having to regulate.
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15Aug/22

How trauma survivors can harness spiritual contemplation to process stress – new research

Catrin Eames, Liverpool John Moores University

Trauma, such as surviving or witnessing road accidents, natural disasters and violence, can shake up our lives, challenging our core beliefs and views of the world.

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