Showing 1 - 10 of 11
Europe must build its own cloud
News, Robin Berjon, Published on 08/11/2025
» We tend to take for granted the infrastructure on which our economies and societies run -- until something goes wrong. Just ask residents of Spain and Portugal, who were suddenly faced with a total blackout last April, when a series of cascading voltage surges shut down their electricity grids. Both Spain and Portugal are now pursuing massive investments in strengthening their grids' resilience. But citizens should not have to wait until after a disaster strikes for their leaders to commit to investing in critical infrastructure, which nowadays includes cloud services.
Protesting ethically for the planet
News, Peter Singer & Martin Skladany, Published on 05/09/2024
» Climate protesters have disrupted the tennis at Wimbledon, thrown tomato soup at the glass protecting famous paintings, sprayed orange powder on Stonehenge, and blocked traffic. In response, European governments have been cracking down on environmental protesters with detentions and fines, and, in one case, with a five-year prison sentence for advocating civil disobedience in a Zoom call.
An ugly side to the beautiful game
News, Martin Ivens, Published on 15/11/2022
» When the World Cup kicks off next weekend, a Western sense of fair play will be outraged that a country without any native tradition in the game has won the right to host the tournament through financial muscle. Insult is added to injury too -- due to Qatar's extreme temperatures, the World Cup isn't being staged during the usual summer break but in November, disrupting domestic soccer competitions in the northern hemisphere for six weeks. Fans and players just have to lump it.
The true meaning of being safe on the internet
Oped, Martin Ignacio Díaz Velásquez, Published on 06/08/2022
» When we talk about cybersecurity, we usually think of commercial antivirus software, ransomware attacks on large corporations or leaks of politically scandalous emails. But little is said about public security in the digital realm, and that is a big problem when we increasingly depend on information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the Internet of Things to carry out our ordinary daily activities.
Media literacy helps dispel fake news
Oped, Peifen Hsieh & Robin Ramcharan, Published on 04/11/2021
» To fight fake news and other forms of disinformation, the best arsenal is education on media and information literacy (MIL). Unlike legality, MIL relies directly on users' awareness. While other solutions are not without interest, their shortcomings become apparent quickly.
'Infodemic' infects Southeast Asia
Oped, James Gomez & Robin Ramcharan, Published on 25/08/2021
» Covid-19 and its subsequent "infodemic" of false or misleading information has impacted access to accurate public health information in Southeast Asia. A suite of existing legislation and recent emergency measures have been used by governments to silence their critics rather than repress the infodemic and have served to block accurate pandemic information. Compounding matters is the weak adherence to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), indicators that aim at fostering more open societies through greater access to information online.
World must step in to help
Oped, Ian Martin & Charles Petrie, Published on 24/04/2021
» Today, Asean is to deliberate on possible courses of action regarding Myanmar. Across the country, brave people, many of them children, are being murdered daily; health services are ceasing to function in the middle of a pandemic; the economy is collapsing and every well-informed analyst predicts only a future of deepening civil war, chaos and further outflows of refugees.
Govt hate speech spikes in SE Asia
Oped, James Gomez & Robin Ramcharan, Published on 16/10/2020
» Hate speech against youths by government officials, military and the police in the media and over social media is on the rise as students lead protests calling for a change in government and demanding political reforms in Belarus, Thailand and Hong Kong. In Thailand, the two state of emergency decrees, the first, used since March 2020 for the management of the Covid-19 pandemic, the most recent to maintain public order in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area, both shield the Thai government from criticism.
New hate speech rules threaten Asian democracy
Oped, James Gomez & Robin Ramcharan, Published on 18/07/2020
» Southeast Asia is experiencing new forms of hate speech that are increasingly played out over social media and a wide range of increasingly accessible digital platforms. Updated measures to tackle new forms of hate must move away from outdated policies focused on narrow definitions of hate speech.
Covid crisis stifles political criticism in SE Asia
Oped, James Gomez & Robin Ramcharan, Published on 27/05/2020
» Covid-19 has spurred the use of fake news laws to censor political criticism in Southeast Asia.