• Fake News: Who's Better at Detecting it?

    More than 2 billion voters in 50 countries are set to go to the polls in 2024 — a record-breaking year for elections. But 2024 is also the year when artificial intelligence (AI) could flood our screens with fake news like never before. With the U.S. in election mode, a study finds Republicans are less likely to spot fake news than Democrats. Gender and education are important factors, too.

  • The Maths of Rightwing Populism: Easy Answers + Confidence = Reassuring Certainty

    Rightwing populists appear to be enjoying a surge across the Western world. For those who don’t support these parties, their appeal can be baffling and unsettling. They appear to play on people’s fears and offer somewhat trivial answers to difficult issues. The mathematics of human inference and cognition can help us understand what makes this a winning formula.

  • Tough New Immigration Rules Risk Empowering the Cartels

    It’s undeniable that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, irregular migration—primarily from crisis-stricken countries in Latin America and the Caribbean—has reached unprecedented, unmanageable proportions. But it should be recognized that tight restrictions on asylum and parole will drive migration further underground, where criminal groups profit.

  • EU Migration Control: Morocco's Growing Role

    Morocco intensifies its gatekeeper role in EU migration, stopping 87,000 migrants in 2023. Key to the deal is European acceptance of Morocco’s claim to disputed Western Sahara.

  • 'Separate' They Stand: Despite Iran's Support, Houthi Rebels' Independence Gives Tehran Cover

    While the Huthis are using an arsenal of Iranian weapons to wreak havoc in the Red Sea and are considered part of Tehran’s “axis of resistance,” the Yemen-based rebel group does not necessarily follow Iran’s commands.

  • The Spies Should Go Back into the Cold

    Recent Russian efforts to interfere in US elections, track down and eliminate defectors and other ‘disloyal elements’, and plant disinformation using social media are nothing new. Rather, they are the continuation by modern means of an intelligence war that has been going on since 1917. Following the end of the two world wars and the Cold War, the US and the UK reduced their intelligence capacity when they should have been countercyclical, gearing up for the inevitable next intelligence challenge.

  • U.S. Lawmakers Push for Limits on American Investment in China Tech

    U.S. lawmakers renewed calls Wednesday to pass bipartisan legislation that would restrict American investment in Chinese technology. A pending bill, H.R. 6349, would target specific technology sectors, like AI and quantum computing, which are empowering China’s military development and surveillance.

  • The Hidden Cost of Being Branded a Terrorist by the U.S. Government

    The FBI credits its Terror Watchlist with keeping the country safe, but critics point to the experience of thousands of innocent American Muslims who were swept up by a screening system, and then found themselves trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare as they tried to clear their names. The watchlist currently contains nearly two million names, of which about 15,000 are U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

  • Could an Extremist Soon Head a German State Government?

    Björn Höcke, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the eastern state of Thuringia, is aiming to take the reins in 2024. Analysts fear far-reaching consequences. Höcke has in the past marched alongside neo-Nazis. He criticized Germany’s efforts to atone for the Holocaust, saying that “These stupid politics of coming to grips with the past cripple us.” In the past five years, the AfD has become radicalized and is more aligned with Höcke’s extremist positions then the more moderate positions of other party leaders.

  • Hybrid Urban Water Sourcing Model

    Houston’s water and wastewater system could be more resilient with the development of hybrid urban water supply systems that combine conventional, centralized water sources with reclaimed wastewater. Reclaimed wastewater could make supply systems more resilient.

  • Some Cities See Migrants as a ‘Lifeline.’ Policy Could Follow, Experts Say.

    As congressional leaders wrestle with potential solutions as part of a larger spending agreement, a former top national immigration official offered a proposal: Fund basic help for migrants at the border and in destination cities, send them where they’re wanted and can get jobs, and make quick decisions on asylum to discourage mass entry.

     

  • Is North Korea Preparing for War in 2024?

    North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is ratcheting up the war rhetoric against South Korea and the US once again. This time, however, analysts warn the threat goes beyond the usual bluster.

  • “Killer Robots” Are Coming, and UN Is Worried

    Long the stuff of science fiction, autonomous weapons systems, known as “killer robots,” are poised to become a reality, thanks to the rapid development of artificial intelligence. In response, international organizations have been intensifying calls for limits or even outright bans on their use. Human rights specialist lays out legal, ethical problems of military weapons systems that attack without human guidance.

  • Do Gun Regulations Equal Fewer Shootings? Lessons From New England

    Gun rights advocates often point to low rates of shootings in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont to argue that you don’t need strong gun laws to keep violence in check. Here’s what the data actually reveals.

  • ZeroEyes AI-based Gun Detection, AEGIX Incident Management to Be Deployed in Urah’s 1,086 Public K-12 Schools

    ZeroEyes, the creators of the AI-based gun detection video analytics, and AEGIX Global, a Utah-based provider of incident management services, announced that the Utah State Board of Education has approved a contract to provide the joint solution for all Utah public K-12 schools, including charter schools.