Showing 1 - 10 of 173
New debate format
Oped, Postbag, Published on 23/01/2026
» Re: "Academics sound alarm ahead of poll", (BP, Jan 14). A one-on-one debate format between political parties would greatly help us decide who we want to solve basic structural problems in our economy, society and justice system -- and the media should play a key role in arranging such a debate and setting the theme.
Missed timing undermines Big Tech competition
Oped, Madhavi Singh, Published on 18/12/2025
» When a US federal judge ruled in late November that Meta does not maintain an illegal monopoly in social media, it was a reminder that even the strongest evidence can look weak when enforcers act too late.
New tech disrupts global order
Oped, Mark Blyth & Daniel Driscoll, Published on 18/11/2025
» News media tend to focus on the world's major powers because they command more resources by dint of their relatively larger economies, militaries and energy endowments. But there are costs to such dominance. For example, a single American Gerald R Ford-class aircraft carrier costs $13 billion (421.6 billion baht), while the F-35 fighter jet costs about $100 million. So, if you can build your military equipment for less than your opponent, you can gain a strategic advantage.
Why climate finance is no longer enough
Oped, Laura Carvalho, Published on 11/11/2025
» With the UN Climate Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, kicking off, it is clear that the world's widely shared commitment to a just energy transition is falling by the wayside. In the year since governments signed on to the agreement at COP29 to scale up climate finance -- with a goal of mobilising $1.3 trillion (42 trillion baht) annually by 2035 -- wealthy countries have been retreating from their pledges. Worse, these signs of bad faith are coming just as the costs of climate adaptation and decarbonisation in developing countries are mounting.
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.
What's to blame for inequality?
Oped, Keun Lee, Published on 01/09/2025
» Over a decade ago, Nobel laureates Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson, together with their co-author Thierry Verdier, contrasted America's "cutthroat" brand of capitalism with Western Europe's "cuddly" version. The qualities that make cutthroat capitalism more conducive to innovation, they argued, also lead to higher levels of inequality, while cuddly reward structures tend to lead to lower growth and higher welfare. Today, inequality is soaring, notably in the United States. Do policies aimed at boosting innovation risk making a bad situation worse?
The scramble for the world's critical minerals
Oped, Rabah Arezki & Rick van der Ploeg, Published on 07/08/2025
» The world's superpowers have developed a seemingly insatiable appetite for the critical minerals that are essential to the ongoing energy and digital transitions, including rare-earth metals (for semiconductors), cobalt (for batteries), and uranium (for nuclear reactors). The International Energy Agency forecasts that demand for these minerals will more than quadruple by 2040 for use in clean-energy technologies alone. But, in their race to control these vital resources, China, Europe, and the United States risk causing serious harm to the countries that possess them.
India's power sector needs reform
Oped, Arvind Subramanian, Navneeraj Sharma, Abhishek Anand & Praveen Ravi, Published on 06/08/2025
» As the use of energy-guzzling AI grows, the countries that embrace renewables will gain an obvious competitive advantage. And on this front, China has established a substantial lead. According to the Financial Times, the country is on track to source 50% of its power from renewables (mainly solar and wind, but also nuclear, hydro, and battery-storage systems) by 2028.
Can a country build its own social media?
News, Sebastian Vogelsang, Published on 26/07/2025
» When I built my first website back in 1998, the internet felt expansive. You could publish something in Berlin, and someone in Boston or Belgrade might stumble on it within seconds. But today, as a small number of tech monopolies hoover up attention and strangle innovation, that spirit of connection has been lost.
S112 fit for purpose
News, Postbag, Published on 13/07/2025
» Re: "MPs take up amnesty proposals", (BP, July 10).