Showing 1 - 10 of 44
Will AI create more fake news than it exposes?
News, Tyler Cowen, Published on 08/04/2024
» The best large-language models can already write like humans, especially if prompted properly. Photos and images can be faked at low cost. Yet-to-be-released technology can create convincing voice simulations. There are signs that some academic papers contain traces of GPT-4. If even professors are faking it, then surely the dam has burst.
Message to despots
Oped, Postbag, Published on 02/04/2024
» Re: "Pita 'most favoured' to be next PM: poll", (BP, March 25).
Deepfakes will hijack your brain -- if you let them
News, Published on 22/02/2024
» Realistic AI-generated images and voice recordings may be the newest threat to democracy, but they're part of a longstanding family of deceptions. The way to fight so-called deepfakes isn't to develop some rumour-busting form of AI or to train the public to spot fake images. A better tactic would be to encourage a few well-known critical thinking methods -- refocusing our attention, reconsidering our sources, and questioning ourselves.
A 14th century warning for the 21st century
News, Published on 12/02/2024
» A history student told me recently that he loves researching the 20th century but can't see the point of the Middle Ages. I responded that it can be a big help to understanding our own times -- very troubled times -- to view them in the context even of the remote past.
Has McKinsey & Co finally become unleadable?
News, Published on 27/01/2024
» It's a big year for elections -- and that includes McKinsey & Co's poll to pick the Global Managing Partner for the next three years. As in so many elections, there's a difference between the skills needed to get the job and those required once elected.
Don't rely on last year's trends for global economy
Oped, Published on 16/01/2024
» Behavioural economists have popularised the term "recency bias" to describe our tendency to be disproportionately influenced by the latest events compared to earlier ones. Could this cognitive phenomenon explain why numerous analysts have a rather optimistic tilt for the world economy in 2024? Or are there really positive trends counterbalancing the obvious and mounting challenges to global growth?
Chokepoints could cripple trade
News, Published on 16/01/2024
» When traffic through the Suez Canal ground to a halt in 2021, the extraordinary cost and disruptions to global commerce seemed overwhelming. But 8,000 kilometres from the canals of Suez and Panama lie even more important shipping lanes, chokepoints that could cripple global trade should any disaster befall them.
Ditch Google to avoid fake news
News, Published on 15/01/2024
» Searching for information has become instant and effortless -- just go to your nearest device, ask Siri or click a few keys. But are we better informed than we were before Google became a verb?
Are scientific breakthroughs on the decline?
News, Published on 27/12/2023
» This year had barely begun when scientists got some jolting news. On Jan 4, a paper appeared in Nature claiming that disruptive scientific findings have been waning since 1945. An accompanying graph showed all fields on a steep downhill slide.
US-led naval force may not end Houthi ship strikes
News, Published on 22/12/2023
» US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has announced a new military effort in the Middle East: Operation Prosperity Guardian. It will bring together a coalition of nations to safeguard the dangerous waters of the Red Sea, North Arabian Sea and western Indian Ocean from surprisingly sophisticated attacks by Iranian-sponsored terrorists from the Houthi rebellion in Yemen.