There’s
been no shortage of news about how AI language models can
influence people’s behaviour, spread misinformation and sow
confusion about what’s real and what isn’t. But it can be
difficult to picture what those dangers might look like in the
real world.
Political
scientist Archon Fung and legal scholar Lawrence Lessig paint
a chilling scenario of a plausible AI system in the hands
of a presidential candidate’s campaign. They describe how the
hypothetical campaign messaging machine would be able to
target millions of people individually and adjust its approach
to each person over the course of the campaign, all with the
singular goal of changing your voting behavior – including
even convincing you not to vote at all.
Nigeria’s
biggest security threat used to be Boko Haram, whose
activities were mostly limited to the northern region of the
country. Although the previous administration, under Muhammadu
Buhari, claimed to have significantly weakened the insurgent
group, security in Nigeria has actually deteriorated. Boko
Haram continues to operate in the north and other terror
groups as well as bandits have joined the fray. Now, every
region of Nigeria is affected by growing insecurity. This is
what president Bola Ahmed Tinubu has inherited from his
predecessor. But Sallek Yaks Musa thinks all is not lost. He
argues
that the new president needs to address socio-economic factors
that contribute to insecurity. |
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Eric Smalley
Science + Technology
Editor | |
Archon Fung, Harvard Kennedy School; Lawrence
Lessig, Harvard University
Artificial
intelligence looks like a political campaign manager’s dream
because it could tune its persuasion efforts to millions of
people individually – but it could be a nightmare for
democracy. |
Sallek Yaks Musa, University of Northampton
President
Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherits major security challenges. Job
creation, poverty alleviation and inclusive growth may be the
solution. |
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Daniel Merino, The Conversation; Nehal
El-Hadi, The Conversation
Governments
and activist groups are bringing environmental issues
to international courts. They argue that the impact of
climate change and environmental issues affect human
rights.
-
Tatsiana Kulakevich, University of South
Florida
Lack
of control over its borders and corruption are two of
the issues that could complicate Moldova’s bid to join
the EU.
-
Danny Bradlow, University of Pretoria
Geopolitics
is forcing BRICS countries to balance respect for
international law, self-determination, sovereignty and
peaceful resolution of disputes with their friendly
relations with Russia.
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Anna Matveeva, King's College London
The
Wagner Group boss is becoming increasingly critical of
the way the war is being run.
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Howard Manly, The Conversation
Former
enslaved persons have never received a dime for their
labor. Nor have their descendants received reparations
for the legacy of slavery. Should the descendants be
paid? By whom and how much?
-
Susan Rogers Van Katwyk, York University,
Canada
Drug-resistant
microbes are a serious threat for future pandemics,
but the new draft of the WHO’s international pandemic
agreement may not include provisions for antimicrobial
resistance. | |
|
Andrew Mayers, Bournemouth University
Postnatal
depression is thought to affect up to 10% of
fathers. |
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Sent: Monday, June
05, 2023 10:32 AM
Subject: AI and
democracy: where the threats lie |