News
Humanitarian aid turns to AI as crises outpace capacity
2+ hour, 49+ min ago (1006+ words) Purpose-designed AI agents with a focus on safety can provide critical assistance to vulnerable populations. Andre Heller is the director of Signpost at the International Rescue Committee. As rising conflict and forced displacement drive unprecedented humanitarian needs, adoption of artificial…...
AI optimism surges in Asia, unlike in the U. S.
3+ day, 23+ hour ago (122+ words) New research shows Americans are far less excited about AI " and far less trusting of regulators " than their counterparts across Asia. Rina Chandran is a deputy editor at Rest of World, based in San Francisco. Critically, while over half the…...
Why AI alone cannot fix social problems
1+ week, 2+ hour ago (318+ words) Even sophisticated AI systems need human support and institutional capacity to succeed. Deepak Varuvel Dennison is a Ph D student at Cornell University. Aditya Vashistha is an assistant professor of computing and information science at Cornell University. In the decades-long…...
India's frugal AI models are a blueprint for resource-strapped nations
3+ week, 2+ hour ago (763+ words) The new book "Lean Spark" examines frugal innovation in India, including how startups Sarvam AI and Krutrim overcome cost and infrastructure constraints. In a world where AI development is dominated by a few global powers, sovereign AI, that is, artificial…...
Data embassies" and safeguarding digital assets during wartime
3+ week, 1+ day ago (732+ words) To avoid collateral damage, countries consider ditching giant server hubs for smaller, distributed ones'especially now that military and civilian data live side-by-side. None of these options is easy. Global data center capacity could reach 200 gigawatts by 2030, doubling capacity, to meet…...
Nations priced out of Big AI are building with frugal models
3+ week, 5+ day ago (979+ words) Amid a widening global divide in AI adoption, low-cost AI models that can deliver sovereignty and efficiency with a smaller environmental footprint are gaining ground. As big tech firms in the U. S. race to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on…...
AI glasses are catching on in China, from shopping to cheating
1+ mon, 1+ day ago (692+ words) Early adopters are renting AI glasses for $6 a day for navigation, translation, and school exams. Sometimes, she cheats in exams. The glasses scan the questions and display answers on the lens. "Any subject that I may fail at," she said,…...
Why refusing AI is a fight for the soul
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (318+ words) Author Thomas Dekeyser explains why modern resistance to Big Tech is a deeply sane response to a narrow vision of humanity. From medieval monks who banned tools to weavers burning looms in the 17th century, people have long resisted technologies that…...
Can Africa succeed where India failed with the $40 smartphone?
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (534+ words) Mobile operators and global groups are testing ultracheap 4 G phones across six African countries, hoping to close the continent's device affordability gap. Can a $40 smartphone bring Africa online? On March 3, the GSMA, a global advocacy and lobby group for the…...
Western AI models "fail spectacularly" in farms and forests abroad
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (658+ words) Big Tech's AI tools trained on Western data often can't recognize local crops, forests, or farming conditions without adaptation to local environments. Technology, particularly AI, can be a solution, Oren Ahoobim, a partner at consultancy Dalberg Advisors in San Francisco,…...