AI
Computers could develop consciousness and may need 'human' rights, says Oxford professor telegraph.co.uk w!
Marcus du Sautoy, who took over from Richard Dawkins as Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University in 2008 said it was now possible to measure consciousness and, in the future, technology could be deemed to be ‘alive.’
What to Do When a Robot Is the Guilty Party technologyreview
“We are observing issues around AI and machine learning popping up all over the government,” said Ed Felten, White House deputy chief technology officer. “We are nowhere near the point of broadly regulating AI … but the challenge is how to ensure AI remains safe, controllable, and predictable as it gets smarter.”
Robotics
Robots Might Be Able to Help Germany Integrate Refugees nbcnews
"Kids respond very positively to the small humanoid robot Nao that we are programming," said Stefan Kopp, an artificial intelligence expert working on the project. "They are highly motivated and its fun for them to interact with the technology."
[OPINION] If sweatshops are bad, are roboshops better? cbc.ca
To philosopher and business ethicist Chris MacDonald, as robotics become cheaper, Canadians who oppose buying clothes from 'sweatshops' will face an ethical question: if sweatshops are bad for workers, is replacing them with robots good?
Society
Beijing tracks the elderly as they take buses, go shopping bigstory.ap.org
The data amassed with each swipe of the multi-purpose "Beijing Connect" old person's card goes into a massive database of the elderly in the capital. City authorities hope the information will enable them to better cope with their burgeoning population of over-60s, which already stands at 3 million.
North Korea
Uganda to halt military, security ties with North Korea in.reuters
Uganda hosted 45 North Koreans providing police training as recently as December, according to a February report by a United Nations panel of experts. Another report by the panel last year said North Koreans trained Ugandan police on the use of AK-47s and pistols.
Israel
Anti-Semitism combatted before the UN onenewsnow
“[BDS is] a long-term global effort created by enemies of Israel to delegitimize the State of Israel by any means possible — often in flagrant violation of the law,” the ACLJ explains. “Intimidation, discrimination and lawfare against the Jewish People — and even Christians who support Israel — have become rampant worldwide … even in America.”
If Palestinians are Scared, it Must be Real firstonethrough.wordpress
On May 21, 2016, the New York Times ran a front page story “New Tunnels Instill Fear on Gazan Side Too.” The front page story continued onto page A6 with two black-and-white pictures of attack tunnels dug from Gaza into Israel. The story spoke of the fear of Palestinian Arabs living in Gaza because Israel might seek to destroy the Hamas tunnels. The article described the “parallel anxiety” of Palestinian Arabs and Israelis stemming from the tunnels.
Israel and the Palestinians: What the media won't report gatestoneinstitute.org v
Gatestone seems to well understand what's going on in the world with regards to Israel (from a non-Biblical point of view), and thought this video was worth linking here.
With the appointment of Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli left hangs by a fraying thread independent.co.uk w!
Netanyahu is no fan of Lieberman – indeed he was sniping about the man mere months ago – but has brought him in to the cabinet to shore up support for his shaky coalition government, thus securing his own position at the top. For Netanyahu, the new defence minister – approved by the cabinet on Monday – is less of a threat on the inside, so the appointment is also an enactment of the adage about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.
Also see Senior members of Israeli government fear its imminent collapse
PM partially embraces Arab peace plan, says it could ‘revive’ talks with Palestinians timesofisrael
In a dramatic declaration, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday partially endorsed the Arab Peace Initiative, offering to negotiate with the Arab world the parameters of the plan, which promises Israel full diplomatic ties with 57 Arab and Muslim states after cementing a peace accord with the Palestinians.
Climate
New cloud formation discovery may lessen warming forecast washingtonpost
Essentially, the work reveals a previously unknown natural process that creates atmospheric particles around which clouds form. The most common source of particles is air pollution, usually sulfuric acid from the burning of fossil fuels. There are also natural sources, but they have been considered far less important for cloud formation.
The new work shows that a combination of cosmic rays from space and gases emitted by trees also creates particles, and then clouds, without man-made pollution. The scientists witnessed this in a cloud simulation chamber and from a Swiss mountaintop observatory more than two miles high.
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