Tag: The Conversation
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Watered-down LGBTQ ‘understanding’ bill shows how far Japan’s parliament is out of step with its society – and history
Japan has passed legislation aimed at “promoting the understanding” of members of the LGBTQ community – a watered-down bill that will do little to put the ... -
How the Unabomber’s unique linguistic fingerprints led to his capture
Can the language someone uses be as unique as their fingerprints? As I describe in my forthcoming book, “Linguistic Fingerprints: How Language Creates and Reveals Identity,” ... -
Why is sanctioning the call to vote BNS a political mistake?
The Final Report on Electoral Activities for the 2021 legislative elections was recently released by the Commission of Electoral Affairs (CAEAL). I will not comment on ... -
Three lessons from Aristotle on friendship
While most love songs are inspired by the joys and heartaches of romantic relationships, love between friends can be just as intense and complicated. Many people ... -
Religions revere motherhood in sometimes unexpected ways
As we approach Mother’s Day, many groups will hold special events or services to celebrate the holiday. In the United States, Mother’s Day was originally founded ... -
Can China broker peace in Yemen – and further Beijing’s Middle East strategy in the process?
After nearly a decade of grinding conflict, Yemen looks to be inching toward a peace deal. Talks between the Houthi movement controlling much of the country’s ... -
Jerry Springer and the history of that [bleeping] bleep sound
Since Jerry Springer’s death on April 27, 2023, writers have been working through the cultural significance of his eponymous daytime talk show. For 27 years, Springer’s ... -
Human activities in Asia have reduced elephant habitat by nearly two-thirds since 1700, dividing what remains into ever-smaller patches
Despite their iconic status and long association with humans, Asian elephants are one of the most endangered large mammals. Believed to number between 45,000 and 50,000 ... -
Cognitive flexibility is essential to navigating a changing world – new research in mice shows how your brain learns new rules
Being flexible and learning to adapt when the world changes is something you practice every day. Whether you run into a new construction site and have ... -
Genocide resisters, long overlooked by history, step into the spotlight
The anniversary of the Armenian Genocide is marked every year on April 24. That was the date in 1915 when hundreds of Armenian community leaders were ... -
Five essential reads about the new era of creativity, job anxiety, misinformation, bias and plagiarism
The light and dark sides of AI have been in the public spotlight for many years. Think facial recognition, algorithms making loan and sentencing recommendations, and ... -
AI-generated spam may soon be flooding your inbox — and it will be personalized to be especially persuasive
Each day, messages from Nigerian princes, peddlers of wonder drugs and promoters of can’t-miss investments choke email inboxes. Improvements to spam filters only seem to inspire ... -
Defamation is at the heart of Dominion’s lawsuit against Fox News – but proving it is no small feat
The aftershocks of the 2020 presidential election continue to reverberate in politics and the media, building to an crescendo in a high-profile defamation lawsuit. The trial ... -
‘Effective altruism’ has caught on with billionaire donors – but is the world’s most headline-making one on board?
One of the ways tech billionaire Elon Musk attracts supporters is the vision he seems to have for the future: people driving fully autonomous electric vehicles, ... -
Is the US in a space race against China?
Headlines proclaiming the rise of a new “space race” between the U.S. and China have become common in news coverage following many of the exciting launches ... -
Banning TikTok could weaken personal cybersecurity
TikTok is not be the first app to be scrutinized over the potential exposure of U.S. user data, but it is the first widely used app ... -
A new femininity is starting to emerge in China
Over the course of the last century, Western beauty ideals – thinness, light skin, large breasts, large eyes, a small nose and high cheekbones – have ... -
Regulating AI: Experts explain why it’s difficult to do and important to get right
From fake photos of Donald Trump being arrested by New York City police officers to a chatbot describing a very-much-alive computer scientist as having died tragically, ... -
Why tornadoes are still hard to forecast – even though storm predictions are improving
Meteorologists began warning about severe weather with the potential for tornadoes several days before storms tore across the Southeast and the Central U.S. in late March ... -
Trump’s indictment stretches US legal system in new ways – a former prosecutor explains four key points to understand
When former President Donald Trump turns himself over to authorities in New York on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, and is arraigned, the charges on which a ... -
Room-temperature superconductors could revolutionize electronics
Superconductors make highly efficient electronics, but the ultralow temperatures and ultrahigh pressures required to make them work are costly and difficult to implement. Room-temperature superconductors promise ... -
SVB’s newfangled failure fits a century-old pattern of bank runs, with a social media twist
The failure of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10, 2023, came as a shock to most Americans. Even people like myself, a scholar of the U.S. ... -
Generative AIs could help protect against fraud and misinformation
Shortly after rumors leaked of former President Donald Trump’s impending indictment, images purporting to show his arrest appeared online. These images looked like news photos, but ... -
What peace in Ukraine and a post-conflict world look like to Xi and Putin
Just a few days after being branded a war criminal in an international arrest warrant, Russian President Vladimir Putin was talking peace with his most important ... -
The risks the app poses and the challenges to blocking it
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23, 2023, amid a chorus of calls from members of Congress ... -
Federal Reserve’s ‘soft landing’ goal has become bumpier
U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers have targeted a “soft landing” for the U.S. economy since beginning their effort a year ago to tame runaway inflation by hiking ... -
Building better brain collaboration online – the decade-long Human Brain Project
Recent years have seen both impressive advances in computational technologies and neuroscience and increasing prevalence of mental disorders. These forces sparked the launch of brain science ... -
Inflation is proving particularly stubborn – but jitters over banking failures complicate rate decision
The U.S. Federal Reserve is facing a rather sticky problem. Despite its best efforts over the past year, inflation is stubbornly refusing to head south with ... -
Why SVB and Signature Bank failed so fast – and the crisis isn’t over yet
Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failed with enormous speed – so quickly that they could be textbook cases of classic bank runs, in which too ... -
Russia wants military aid from China – this deal could help China, too
China is considering sending weapons, ammunition and drones to Russia, according to information the Biden administration declassified at the end of February 2023. China’s military aid ... -
How Frances Willard shaped feminism by leading the 19th-century temperance movement
As younger adults opt for “wellness” products, many are practicing alcohol abstinence. Sometimes referred to as “sober curious,” this trend of often forgoing alcohol has forged ... -
How access to ChatGPT-style tech is about to change our world
ChatGPT burst onto the technology world, gaining 100 million users by the end of January 2023, just two months after its launch and bringing with it ... -
Why TikTok is being banned on gov’t phones in US and beyond
The United States is ratcheting up national security concerns about TikTok, mandating that all federal employees delete the Chinese-owned social media app from government-issued mobile phones. ... -
Why users are falling hard for an app that raises serious ethical questions
The warm light of friendship, intimacy and romantic love illuminates the best aspects of being human – while also casting a deep shadow of possible heartbreak. ... -
Spy balloon drama elevates public attention, pressure for the US to confront China
Seven days after a Chinese spy balloon began drifting across the United States, the U.S. military downed it with a single missile. But the balloon, in ...
