Tuesday, February 4, 2025

We do not want an American-style healthcare system the UK

We do not want an American-style healthcare system in the UK. It would be catastrophic for millions

Excerpt: ″“Americans spend more money on health care on a per capita basis than people in any other developed nation, yet almost half say they've struggled recently to pay for medical treatment or prescription drugs, according to a new study from Gallup and West Health … About 45% of those polled by the organizations said they'd recently had to skip treatment or medicine either because of cost or lack of easy access.”″

Source: jujuliagrace.substack.com

As Trump Attacks Diversity, a Racist Undercurrent Surfaces - The New York Times

As Trump Attacks Diversity, a Racist Undercurrent Surfaces - The New York Times
"His attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion aren't about a particular program or some acronym — they're just a sanitized substitute for the racist comments that can no longer be spoken openly," Margaret Huang, the Southern Poverty Law Center's president and chief executive"

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/us/politics/trump-diversity-racism.html

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Celebrities get new right to fight against AI piracy

Celebrities get new right to fight against AI piracy

Excerpt: ″Senior figures in the creative sector are scathing about the government’s plans, accusing the technology secretary Peter Kyle of having drunk “big tech’s Kool-Aid” and selling out an industry that is worth £126 billion to the economy″

Source: thetimes.com

BPI says AI proposals risk 'destroying the UK's status as a creative superpower' | Labels | Music Week

BPI says AI proposals risk 'destroying the UK's status as a creative superpower' | Labels | Music Week:

Excerpt: ″While there is much to welcome in the ambitions of the AI Action Plan to improve public services and ways of working, this publication does nothing to explain why upending our gold standard copyright system is required to achieve these goals,” said BPI (British Phonographic IndustryCEO Dr Jo Twist OBE.″

Source: musicweek.com

Saturday, February 1, 2025

Celebrities get new right to fight against AI piracy

Celebrities get new right to fight against AI piracy: Excerpt: ″Musicians, artists and authors would be given the right to opt out from allowing companies to train AI models on their material under a system to be called “rights reservation”.″

Source: thetimes.com

Big cars are going global. I hope other countries don't make these mistakes.

Big cars are going global. I hope other countries don't make these mistakes.: Excerpt: ″Like a disease, car bloat is spreading. The United States is patient zero: 4 out of 5 new cars in the U.S. are now SUVs or pickups, a sharp increase from a few decades ago. Now, oversized cars are becoming almost as common in Berlin and Beijing as they are in Baltimore. SUVs alone comprised nearly half of car sales worldwide in 2023, up from 20 percent 15 years ago. The global ascent of giant cars is an ominous trend for climate change, as well as for road safety in the rich and developing worlds alike.″

Source: slate.com

‘Mainlined into UK’s veins’: Labour announces huge public rollout of AI

‘Mainlined into UK’s veins’: Labour announces huge public rollout of AI | Politics | The Guardian: Excerpt: ″Susie Alegre, a barrister specialising in technology and human rights, cited the Post Office scandal “as a reminder of the dangers of putting too much faith in technology without the resources for effective accountability”. She said: “Any plan for Britain’s future with AI needs to look at real-world consequences for people and the planet and cannot afford to look away from uncomfortable truths.”″

Source: theguardian.com

A Woman With a Rare Gene Mutation Fights to Avoid Her Mother’s Fate

A Woman With a Rare Gene Mutation Fights to Avoid Her Mother’s Fate - The New York Times: Excerpt: ″Will Linde receive a useful treatment before her mind begins to slip away? Of the 10 tau experts interviewed for this article, nine said they were optimistic that it would happen, whether with a drug like Biogen’s that suppresses tau or, in the longer term, a gene-editing cure.″

Source: nytimes.com

Teams Solve Problems Faster When They’re More Cognitively Diverse

Teams Solve Problems Faster When They’re More Cognitively Diverse: Excerpt: ″Functional bias is a problem for teams facing new uncertain and complex situations because, with little cognitive diversity, the team will have limited ability to see things differently, engage in different ways (e.g., experiment versus analyzing), or create new options. Similarly, when organizations initiate change programs, they often seek out and identify advocates or change agents to support activities. Those selected often have a similar approach to change. This lack of cognitive diversity has two impacts. First, it reduces the opportunity to strengthen the proposition with input from people who think differently. Second, it fails to represent the cognitive diversity of the employee population, reducing the impact of the initiatives.″

Source: hbr.org