Society
House Passes Gun-Control Measure Expanding Background Checks on Sales
WASHINGTON—The House passed the first of a pair of gun-control bills, a priority for Democratic leaders impatient over years of little success on the issue amid broad Republican opposition. The vote was 227 to 203 on a measure to expand background checks to nearly all gun sales. Eight Republicans supported the bill, while one Democrat …
Online privacy & technology reshaping society – Big Ideas
Online privacy Digital technology has kept us connected through these Covid lockdowns. And remote working, shopping and study may well become the new normal. But when you live your life online, there’s very little privacy. Your personal data can be sold to the highest bidder or retained by government agencies. So how do you take …
Deepfake videos of Tom Cruise show the technology’s threat to society is very real
New deepfake videos of actor Tom Cruise have made their way onto TikTok under the handle @deeptomcruise, and boy do they look real. They’re so realistic, in fact, it’s possible that you wouldn’t even know they’re computer-generated had you not been alerted by the account’s handle. And they were made using not much more than …
WHO COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) Civil Society Consultation
Objective: The C-TAP Secretariat together with its implementing partners is holding a meeting with representatives of civil society organizations to present an update on C-TAP progress as well as to discuss key aspects of C-TAP implementation, such as IP licensing and technology transfer challenges for COVID-19 health related technologies. A detailed agenda for the event …
Technology and Society: Saving Time? | Opinion
If you were to ask me, right now, what is the least recognized important invention that has affected us the most in the last century, I would have to say, the rechargeable battery. Looking around my house, I could not help but notice all these dangling cords, some black, some white, whose sole purpose was …
Coding the future: the tech kids solving life’s problems | Technology
Adarsh Ambati, 15, San Jose, California I started getting interested in coding when I was about 11. I joined a local community lab where biologists and computer scientists come together and conduct experiments. I wanted to join the lab because my brother was really into biology and at the time I wanted to be exactly …
Aetna Better Health makes $15K donation to Children’s Home Society | News, Sports, Jobs
CHARLESTON — Aetna Better Health of West Virginia, a CVS Health company, has announced a $15,000 donation to Children’s Home Society of West Virginia in celebration of National Adoption Month. The funding will go toward the purchase of winter coats, hats, gloves and other essential items to help children in foster care and …
Marie Stopes charity changes name in break with founder’s view on eugenics | Global development
Marie Stopes International (MSI) is to change its name in an attempt to break its association with the family planning pioneer. From Tuesday, the abortion and contraception provider, which operates in 37 countries, will abbreviate the initials and go by the name MSI Reproductive Choices. Born in Edinburgh in 1880, Marie Stopes was an author, …
Investors Battle Fidelity in Court Over Tax-Break Deal
In the final days of 2017, Malcolm and Emily Fairbairn thought they had everything ready to cushion the income-tax hit from more than $200 million in hedge-fund income. They prepared a large charitable donation, using their relationship with Fidelity Investments and a booming energy stock to maximize their tax deduction. It didn’t go as they …
Covid-19’s Global Divide: As West Reels, Asia Keeps Virus at Bay
While a surge in coronavirus infections is forcing U.S. states and European countries to shut down bars, open field hospitals and limit social gatherings to small groups of people, such measures are becoming distant memories in much of Asia. For months now, life across Asia, where the virus first emerged, has mostly returned to normal. …
