Scammers could sack you as AI can now create phishing messages in flawless language
Natural language processing continues to find its way into unexpected corners. This time, it is phishing emails. In a small study, researchers found that they could use the deep learning language model GPT-3, along with other AI-as-a-service platforms, to significantly lower the barrier to entry for crafting spear-phishing campaigns at...
India’s casteism: If I make a mistake, it’s not my mistake; it’s labelled the mistake of ‘Untouchables’ community
Raosaheb Kale was born in 1950, three years after India became free from British rule, and the same year India’s constitution came into force. That constitution abolished untouchability and declared caste discrimination illegal. The constitution also introduced reservation policies in public sector jobs, politics and education for marginalised communities, including...
Study of poverty via a child’s eyes reveals stressors that hinder healthy emotional and cognitive growth
In a major shift from traditional data collection on human development, psychologist Seth Pollak says getting to understand what children think of their material status provides important insights into they emotional and cognitive growth. Poverty affects nearly one in seven American children – about 10.5 million kids in total –...
Biden’s burden: Social media platforms turbocharge profits with disinformation, hate speech and conspiracy
There is no way the US government will fix what’s wrong with internet platforms without reducing their profits. President Biden must choose between the happiness of those who own the platforms and the safety and wellbeing of everyone else. Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube turbocharge their profits by using algorithms to...
You’ll still see me around, Eliud Kipchoge assures athletics world as he wins Tokyo Olympics marathon gold
Moments after romping home to take the Tokyo Olympic Games marathon gold, Kenyan’s marathon king Eliud Kipchoge assured the athletics world that “You will see me around.” For a high-achieving man who took the world by storm with the mantra “No human is limited,” the words implied he was not...
Why menopause crisis and sex discrimination have become serious labour warfronts in the UK
Growing numbers of women are taking their employers to court citing the menopause as proof of unfair dismissal and direct sex discrimination, researchers have said. According to the latest UK data, there were five employment tribunals referencing the claimant’s menopause in 2018, six in 2019 and 16 in 2020. There...
Report: G7 Financial Action Task Force idea promotes intolerance in weak democracies
Maja Stojanovic, director of Serbian non-profit Civic Initiatives, which was named in the letter, told Reuters she believes the government is using the data for smear campaigns to undermine NGOs’ work. A report on Financial Action Task Force (FATF), established by the G7 group of advanced economies to protect the...
Rohingya refugees dread ‘government of the night’ run by rival criminal gangs
Before she fled Myanmar as a refugee, Rozina had worked for an NGO for seven years. Now, fear has gradually taken hold of her every evening, when the sun sets and the last aid worker jeep has rumbled out of the vast refugee camps. The refugees’ security, especially, is considered...
Rohingya crisis: Outspoken women are abused, intimidated for being educated
A climate of fear has spread across Bangladesh’s sprawling Rohingya camps as militant groups and criminal gangs compete for control, refugees and humanitarians warn. Community leaders and female Rohingya in particular are threatened and intimidated for being educated or outspoken about women’s rights, stretching conservative norms to a level of...
Gold rush: Why even Usain Bolt, the fastest sprinter in human history, cannot outpace a house cat
In the past three weeks or so, the fastest sprinters on the planet came together at the Tokyo Olympics to compete for the gold in the 100-metre dash. Lamont Marcell Jacobs crossed the finish line in 9.80 seconds to bring Italy its first gold in the event. In the women’s...
