Showing 1 - 10 of 20
Don't call AI bigoted
Life, James Hein, Published on 06/11/2019
» Despite what some claim, Artificial Intelligence is not racist. Google built a system to detect hate speech or speech that exhibited questionable content. Following the rules given, it picked out a range of people with what some try to claim was a bias toward black people. Wrong. The AI simply followed the rules and a larger number of black people and some other minorities, as defined in the US, were found to be breaking those rules. It didn't matter to the machines that when one group says it, it isn't defined as hate speech by some; it simply followed the rules. People can ignore or pretend not to see rules, but machines don't work that way. What the exercise actually found was that speech by some groups is ignored while the same thing said by others isn't. As the saying goes, don't ask the question if you're not prepared to hear the answer.
The glue doesn't stick
News, Postbag, Published on 16/06/2019
» The excuse that the "skewed scales must have been due to poor glueing during its making" offered by the director of the Chumpholphonphisai School in explanation for the controversial Wai Kru flower arrangements as reported in the Bangkok Post's June 15 edition, is priceless.
No, Brexit Britain doesn't want its empire back
News, John Lloyd, Published on 14/01/2019
» Britain is moving towards an exit from the European Union on March 29, possibly with no agreement, and thus courting – according to the Bank of England – an 8 percent drop in GDP and a 7.5% rise in unemployment. A drear prospect, attended by matching drear commentaries on the stupidity of the 52 percent of the British electorate who voted for Brexit in 2016.
We can move to a post-privilege era. Who's first?
News, Published on 06/09/2023
» Privilege is often carved into walls and etched into the landscape.
Khashoggi and MBS's blunderers
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 03/03/2021
» If Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, were a burglar, he wouldn't be George Clooney in Ocean's Eleven. He'd be a cartoon burglar in a carnival mask and a top with black-and-white horizontal stripes, carrying a sack labelled "SWAG".
Have we solved the floaty-bag problem?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 17/02/2023
» The United States has been having "a bit of a floaty-bag problem over its airspace", as South Africa's Daily Maverick news site put it.
Time for a new look
Oped, Postbag, Published on 02/12/2022
» Re: "Fame at last", (PostScript, Nov 27).
Thailand's Big Brother is upping the ante
Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 06/08/2022
» In the late 18th century, British philosopher Jeremy Bentham visited his younger brother, Samuel, in Russia, who arranged unskilled factory workers in a circle so that he could supervise them. Inspired by this principle, Bentham developed "the panopticon", an inspection tower surrounded by cells. Its uniqueness was that it enabled a watchman to monitor prisoners without them knowing they were being watched.
Why Bezos Is Staying On as Executive Chairman
Business, Patrick Thomas, Published on 05/02/2021
» Jeff Bezos, the founder and longtime chief of Amazon.com Inc., is giving up his chief executive position, but not his seat of power.
Modern world leaders are just walking cliches
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 30/07/2019
» One of the most striking things about Boris Johnson, who became UK prime minister, is how precisely he fits the stereotype of the eccentric upper-class Brit. With his elevation, Britain joins several major nations led by people who embody their national stereotypes and not the best of them at that. However, it could be argued that it's leaders defying such cliches who take their countries forward.