Sunday, December 22

Tag: means

Changing What It Means To Be Human – AI Is Killing Choice And Chance
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AI, TECHNOLOGY

Changing What It Means To Be Human – AI Is Killing Choice And Chance

The history of humans’ use of technology has always been a history of coevolution. Philosophers from Rousseau to Heidegger to Carl Schmitt have argued that technology is never a neutral tool for achieving human ends. Technological innovations – from the most rudimentary to the most sophisticated – reshape people as they use these innovations to control their environment. Artificial intelligence is a new and powerful tool, and it, too, is altering humanity. Writing and, later, the printing press made it possible to carefully record history and easily disseminate knowledge, but it eliminated centuries-old traditions of oral storytelling. Ubiquitous digital and phone cameras have changed how people experience and perceive events. Widely available GPS systems have meant that drivers rarely ge...
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Americans Yet Again Have Trouble Understanding What Multiracial Means With Kamala Harris
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POLITICS, SOCIAL JUSTICE

Americans Yet Again Have Trouble Understanding What Multiracial Means With Kamala Harris

News that Sen. Kamala Harris was Joe Biden’s choice for the 2020 Democratic vice presidential nominee drove speculation and argumentation about her identity. The big question appeared to be, “Is Kamala Harris truly African American?” There were numerous articles and opinion pieces about whether Harris can legitimately claim to be African American; the authenticity of her Black identity if she has an Indian mother; what it means for her to be biracial; and other articles opining and speculating about her racial, ethnic and even national identity. Harris, the daughter of immigrant parents from Jamaica and India, identifies as Black/African American while also embracing her Indian heritage. Yet the questions in social media and news outlets swirling around her identities demonstrate a conti...
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The Time 100 Are Dominated By Graduates Of Elite Universities – Why And What It Means For The Rest Of Us
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EDUCATION

The Time 100 Are Dominated By Graduates Of Elite Universities – Why And What It Means For The Rest Of Us

When Time magazine released its annual Time 100 list of the most influential people around the world in September, The Cornell Daily Sun – an independent newspaper run by students at Cornell University – wasted no time in trumpeting the fact that three of the school’s alumni had made the list. The three “Cornellians” were billionaire tech investor and philanthropist Robert F. Smith, Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen and Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the U.S., who has become a household name since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Although it may be notable that three graduates from one of America’s top universities has made the Time 100, in some ways it is hardly surprising. As researchers who specialize in higher education and gifted students, we have analyzed the educatio...
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15 Minutes Of Exposure And What It Means For You An Epidemiologist Explains The New CDC Guidance
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HEALTH & WELLNESS

15 Minutes Of Exposure And What It Means For You An Epidemiologist Explains The New CDC Guidance

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has new guidance clarifying what exactly “close contact” means when it comes to transmission of SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The previous guidance suggested that a close contact occurred when a person was within six feet of an infectious individual for 15 consecutive minutes. Now, the CDC is acknowledging that even brief contact can lead to transmission. Specifically, the new guidance suggests that those spending a total of 15 minutes of contact with an infectious person over the course of a 24-hour period should be considered in close contact. Despite the change, most public health professionals have been clear for months that there is nothing magic about six feet. In the same way, there is nothing magic about 15 minutes. The...
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What the CDC eviction ban means for tenants and landlords: 6 questions answered
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BUSINESS

What the CDC eviction ban means for tenants and landlords: 6 questions answered

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order on Sept. 1 banning evictions of people who lost work as a result of the pandemic. To benefit, renters must sign a declaration that they don’t make more than US$99,000 a year or $198,000 for those filing a joint return and that they essentially have no options other than homelessness. But the order, which takes effect on Sept. 4, leaves some questions unanswered. We asked Katy Ramsey Mason, an assistant professor of law and director of the University of Memphis Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic, to answer some of them. 1. What does the order do? The order prohibits property owners from evicting covered tenants from any residential property because of nonpayment of rent before Dec. 31, 2020. It does not apply to any evictions that...
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What the huge COVID-19 testing undercount in the US means
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COVID-19, VIDEO REELS

What the huge COVID-19 testing undercount in the US means

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other institutions recently published a study which estimated that the true number of people infected by COVID-19 could be six to 24 times higher than the number of confirmed cases. Melissa Hawkins, professor of public health at American University, explains what this large undercount means and why insufficient data is hampering the U.S.‘s ability to control the pandemic. Melissa Hawkins explains the implications of the COVID-19 testing undercount. What are some reasons for the large disparity between the true number of infected cases and the confirmed case count in the U.S.? We just passed 4 million total confirmed cases and over 150,000 deaths. But those confirmed cases really only tell part of the story since we know th...
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