Daily Archives: November 1, 2022

What is Technology: A Complete Overview – Tech Bubbles

Posted: November 1, 2022 at 2:33 am

So, What is technology? Technology is the study of how people use scientific knowledge to solve practical problems. Technology can be anything from a simple tool or machine to complex computer hardware. The roots of technology can be traced back to ancient civilizations, with innovations like using waterwheels for grinding grain or creating looms to weave fabric. Today, technology has become an inseparable part of our daily lives. To know further about technologies keep reading this article.

Here is a quick index to navigate help you navigate this article well:

Communication

Transportation

Entertainment

Information and Education

The term technology stems from the Greek word techn, meaning art and craft, and the word logo, meaning word and speech. It began to refer to applied arts, but it is now used to describe advancements and changes which impact the environment around us.

Historians have not yet defined the specific point in human history at which the concept of technology emerged. Some ethnographers believe that early humans used tools as soon as they were able to control fire and invent primitive weapons. However, many others believe that technology emerged around the Industrial Revolution in 18th century England. Regardless of when it began, technology has played an important role in shaping human society for centuries.

Technologies are a significant part of daily life in the 21st century. It shapes everything from our social lives to our economic system. Technology has become the worlds uniting force, and it is critically important for businesses and individuals alike to understand its implications. To move forward as a country we must have a deep knowledge of what is technology and how important it is for us. The following are some examples of how technology impacts us on a day-to-day basis:

We use communication devices such as cell phones, computers, tablets, etc., every single day. These devices allow people to communicate with each other at any time or place. They also provide access to information that can be used by anyone who needs it. For example, if you need directions to your destination, you could simply look up directions online using Google Maps. If you want to know what the weather will be like in another city, you could check out Weather Underground. Technologies have made our lives easier and more convenient than ever before!

Cars have been around for hundreds of years but they werent very efficient until recently when we started making them smaller and lighter. Nowadays cars are much faster and safer than they were even a few decades ago. Weve come a long way from horses and buggies! Nowadays AI ( Artificial Intelligence ) has been used to make transportation safer, faster, and easier. The same can be said about airplanes as well. Theyre now so fast that people dont really think twice about flying anywhere on short notice. Its amazing how far technology has taken us over such a relatively small amount of time.

There is no shortage of entertainment options available today. You can watch movies at home or go see live shows in theaters. If you want to listen to music, there are many different ways to do it including CDs, MP3 players, iPods, etc. And if you like sports, the Internet makes watching games easy for everyone. So what else could we possibly need?

We have access to all kinds of knowledge through books, magazines, newspapers, television, radio, and even video games. But with this abundance of information comes an overload of choices.

A single piece of technology may frequently fall outside of a single category, but averagely there are six categories of technology: communication, electrical, energy, manufacturing, medical, and transportation.

Technology is a term that has been used for as long as humans have been able to create and produce anything. The advantages are as follows:

Disadvantages of Technologies are as follows:

Technology has changed our lives in many different ways and continues to evolve as we explore new innovations. It is important to understand how it affects the way we live and the impact it has on society. Technology has influenced the way we live. It has caused people to become more dependent on their smartphones, created social networks which have helped us find other people with similar interests, and made it possible for businesses to market their products worldwide through the internet. These are just a few examples of the ways in which technologies have changed our lives.

Technology can be used for good or bad depending on who uses it and what purpose it serves. For example:

Mobile phones are now so common that most people carry them around all day long. They allow us to communicate instantly with anyone at any time of the day or night. This allows us to stay connected even when away from home, work, school, etc. Habits including excessive mobile phone usage may cause complications, including physical pain, hearing loss, tinnitus, sleep problems, depression, anxiety, stress, and other psychological disorders. It is also possible that these devices could lead to addiction if they become a part of our daily lives.

Technology is an umbrella term for all man-made tools and machines that humans invent. It can be used to refer to any type of human invention, such as machines, inventions, and even social systems. It has its advantages and disadvantages. What will be the outcome of the technology really depends on how we use it.

We believe in this article you have found the answer to the question, what is technology. If you have further inquiries and thoughts to share please let us know in the comment section below.

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What is Technology: A Complete Overview - Tech Bubbles

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What Is Technology Meaning of Technology and Its Use

Posted: at 2:33 am

Definition of Technology

What Is Technology? Technology is a body of knowledge devoted to creating tools, processing actions and the extracting of materials. The term Technology is wide, and everyone has their way of understanding its meaning. We use technology to accomplish various tasks in our daily lives, in brief; we can describe technology as products and processes used to simplify our daily lives. We use technology to extend our abilities, making people the most crucial part of any technological system.

Technology is also an application of science used to solve problems. But it is vital to know that technology and science are different subjects which work hand-in-hand to accomplish specific tasks or solve problems.

We apply technology in almost everything we do in our daily lives; we use technology at work, we use technology for communication, transportation, learning, manufacturing, securing data, scaling businesses and so much more. Technology is human knowledge which involves tools, materials, and systems. The application of technology typically results in products. If technology is well applied, it benefits humans, but the opposite is true, if usedfor malicious reasons.

Many businesses are using technology to stay competitive, they create new products and services using technology, and they also use technology to deliver those products and services to their customers on time and withinbudget. A good example is mobile phones companies like Apple & Samsung, these mobile empires, use high-end technology to create new smartphones and other electronic devices to stay competitive. This competitive edge is gained through employing advanced technology.

Lets look at a simple example of how people use technology on a daily basis.

Technology is dynamic; it keeps on improving because our needs and demands for technology keep on changing. We have moved from the industrial age (industrial revolution) to an information age. During the industrial age, companies with large sums of capital had the potential of employing expensive technological tools to gain the competitive advantage; small businesses had less potential because they could not afford expensive manufacturing or processing technology tools. However, advancement in technology has created a new economic environment which depends on information, and that is what we call the INFORMATION AGE.The information age provides a different work environment, and this has helped small businesses gain position in highly competitive markets.

Lets take a simple example and see how technology has advanced:

We use technology to accomplish various tasks, so technology comes in different forms. Below I have listed some of the different types of technology we use on a daily basis and in each kind of technology I have included an example of that particular technology.

This is a system that uses technical means to transmit information or data from one place to another or from one person to another. Communication is a daily essential for all; it is used to convey ideas, exchange information, and express emotions. Humans use communication technology tools like phones, computers, emails, fax or messaging tools to stay in touch with friends and family. Businesses use communication technology tools to facilitate the flow of information in a workplace, to help in decision making, to serve customers needs and requests, to promote new products or services to targeted consumers and so much more.

Plantronics M165 Marque 2 Ultralight Wireless Bluetooth Headset

This simple elegant device allows for a hands-free conversation on any mobile device, it is completely compatible with Android or IOS. It features dual microphones to reduce noise and wind interference for crystal clear call quality. Also, it boasts over 7 hours talk time.

This is the study of advanced methods and equipment used to build basic and advanced structures. One type includes buildings and heavy engineering structures like bridges. Construction methods use various technological products to erect a structure. The use of construction technology tools like heavy tractors to prepare the land, computer-aided design software to create digital designs for structures in 2D and3D format. These tools along with many others help builders to efficiently complete a project on time, within budget and with minimum accidents.

Milwaukee M18 Fuel 2-Tool Combo Kit

Equipped with the best of Milwaukees technology these tools are prepared for any job you can through at it. Supported by the best brushless motors available and a powerful M18 Battery Pack.

Assistivetechnology is used by people with disabilities to accomplish specific tasks that are difficult or impossible to perform. The term Assistive means helping or providing an extra hand. Assistive technology is being used in many ways, in schools it is used to help students with Autism to learn better, it is used to help people with disabled bodies move, additionally, with the use of speech recognition applications those who are unable to type are able to use a computer and so much more. Due to advancement in technology, we have a variety of assistive technologies that assist many to accomplish tasks that may otherwise be considered impossible.

Off-road Wheelchair

Image from: http://www.wheelchairdriver.com

This off-road wheelchair can assist people with disabilities to move comfortably.

This is the type of technology which is used to extend and improve human life. Medical technology reduces patients pain and cares for an injury. Developed countries have benefited from the use of medical technology in their healthcare systems, and this explains the reason why people in developed countries leave longer than people in developing countries. Medical technology is used to diagnose infections, treat diseases and to research diseases affecting humans, etc..

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Information Technology is a set of hardware and software tools used to store, transfer and process information. Information technology tools help in providing the right people with the right information at the right time. Knowledge workers in an organization use information technology to complete various tasks, and these can include; transferring of information which facilitates decision making within an organization, improve customer service, and so much more. In this information age, it is imperative to manage information systems to ensure accuracy and efficiency. Management information systems (MIS) involves planning for, development, management, and use of information technology tools to help knowledge workers and people perform all tasks related to information processing and management. Big financial institutions like banks use information technology to operate their entire businesses as well as serve their customers.

NETGEAR Nighthawk Pro WiFi Router

This complete router features ultra Fast AC technology allowing forUp to 2.6Gbps of wireless speed. It houses a powerful Dual-core 1.7Ghz processor, a 4 port switch and 2 USB 3.0 slots. All you would ever need for information transfer at home.

This use of technology to create an entertainment experience. Since entertainment is too broad, everyone gets entertained in their way. Technology is used to create video games, to develop musical systems and so much more. Entertainment technology includes things like video, sound, animations, scenery fabrication, computer simulations, interactive environments and so much more.

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A DJ Console with all the bells and whistles. Everything you need to entertain!

This is technology used to run a business and enhance various business operations, it normally consists of a combination of software and hardware. Many businesses are using technology to scale its growth. Small businesses have used technology to create new ways of competing with well-established companies. To some extent, some business technologies can make a small company look like a big company, and this can help a small business gain position in a competitive market.

3D Printer Created by formlabs

This is an affordable 3D printer that allows designers to create advanced 3D objects. Its size and design are a perfect fit for every office desk space. With this 3D printer, you can create as many 3D models as you want. Use its software to generate thin, breakable support structures. Learn more about this FORM2 3D printer here.

Educationtechnology aims at improving a students performance by creating and managing various technological processes and resources in or out the classroom. It is an academic discipline which prepares individuals to acquire deeper understanding and knowledge. It helps them learn how to devise solutions to problems through research, design, evaluation, and utilization. Educational technology helps in improving the way we learn, some of the benefits ofeducational technology include:

Markup:

Teachers you can try this Paperless grading application for iPad. If you want to have a paperless classroom and your students have access to iPads, then this technology will be of great use to you and your students. Markup has completely changed the way teachers mark test and exam papers; students can submit electronic papers to be marked by their teachers electronically, this saves time and resources on both sides. Try out this Markup application for iPad from here (www.showme.com )

Technology is not applied science, both technology and science are closely related, but they are different in so many ways.

Technology develops and explains the human-made world; it involves development, processing, and management;

While

Science explains the natural world; science refers to systematic methodology used to gather accurate information about shared reality.

During the process of gathering this information, technological tools are used. For example, microscopes are biological tools which can be used to study specific facts about anything with life.

Scientific knowledge is gathered from detached observations. Scientists can use this gathered information using technological tools to explain why certain things happen and this all process can be described as research.

As humans, we use both technology and science together, that is why we confuse these two to be the same. Science is knowledge of the natural world while technology is human-made world determined by processing, development, and management.

For you to understand the difference between science and technology, see example in figure (3) below:

Figure (3)

Look closely at the image (a), it shows you a volcanic mountain erupting, this is a natural state of our world, and it is only science which explains how this volcanic activity happens based on extensive research and data gathered by the scientist. In the image (b), we see a scientist using a microscope to do research and gather data. A microscope is a human-made technology designed to help scientists do research. So that means that both concepts work hand in hand, but they are completely different. Humans have developed various technological tools to help us solve problems during our daily lives, but also this technology can affect the natural setup of our environment if misapplied.

Technology is good because it simplifies the way we do things in our daily lives, however, if the technology is wrongly applied, it can be harmful in so many ways. Technology is developed by humans, so we can use it to accomplish almost every task; it makes the impossible look possible. However, for you to understand the advantage and disadvantage of technology today, we can use an example in figure (4) below:

Figure (4)

As you can see in the photo above, if the technology is well implemented it can be of great use to humanity, but it can also cause harm. Below I have detailed points on the advantage and disadvantage of technology in business, classroom or education.

Technology is designed with a purpose of solving problems; it has to meet human needs and wants. We use technology in so many ways; at least everyone uses technology in one-way or another. A problem exists when we encounter difficulty; problem-solving is human behavior, though our approach varies from person-to-person. During the process of solving a problem, the following is taken into consideration;

Example

Look closely at the photo above, on the left we see the problem is the traffic jam in the city and on the right; you can see that one of the solutions of solving this traffic jam is by using high-speed electronic trains. The problem was identified, and technology was used to plan the solution and implement that solution in the city. The use of high-speed electronic trains has reduced traffic jam in big cities like Newyork. Below I have listed four basic phases you need to know about when solving problems with technology.

During this stage, you will need to define the problem by explaining the situation that needs a technological solution and establishing the criteria that technological system or device has to meet. Then you have to gather information needed to begin developing solutions for the problem or situation.

During this phase, you will need to develop possible solutions that can solve a given problem. You will test more than one solution until you refine the best solution to solve that problem permanently and meet the opportunity.

At this stage, you will be modeling the best solution through testing and evaluating all proposed solutions by use of graphics, statistics, and mathematical modeling techniques. For you to select the best technological solution, you will need to compare the design solutions regarding economic, market, technical, production, and environmental criteria to determine the best solution to that particular problem.

Now that you have evaluated all solutions, it is time to communicate the final solution to your team through graphical drawings, reports, and mathematical means. If you agree with your team, you can now go ahead and present the solution for approval from the management or government.

Judging from the four steps of solving a problem using technology, you will see that the technology we are using started with an idea of solving a problem or meeting an opportunity. A person or a group of people saw the problem or the opportunity, and they designed solutions for meeting that problem or opportunity. Today we have various technologies which were designed to solve simple problems, for example, social networks like Facebook.com, twitter.com have solved communication and social interaction problem.

As I conclude this chapter of WHAT IS TECHNOLOGY? , I hope that you deeply understand the meaning of technology, types of technology being used today, the advantages and disadvantages of technology and how you can use technology to solve daily problems or meet opportunities

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New disruptive financial technology from the startup nation Offers a new perspective on digital wallets, loyalty programs, and multi-channel services:…

Posted: at 2:32 am

New disruptive financial technology from the startup nation Offers a new perspective on digital wallets, loyalty programs, and multi-channel services: The CREDOPLUS - All-in-One digital wallet is transforming the experience of fintech consumers USA - English  PR Newswire

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New disruptive financial technology from the startup nation Offers a new perspective on digital wallets, loyalty programs, and multi-channel services:...

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Polyandry in Tibet – Wikipedia

Posted: at 2:31 am

Polyandry is a marital arrangement in which a woman has several husbands. In Tibet, those husbands are often brothers; "fraternal polyandry". Concern over which children are fathered by which brother falls on the wife alone. She may or may not say who the father is because she does not wish to create conflict in the family or is unsure who the biological father is.[1] Historically the social system compelled marriage within a social class.

When the People's Republic of China annexed Tibet, political systems in many regions of Tibet remained unchanged until, between 1959 and 1960, political reforms changed the land ownership and taxation systems.[2]

Since 1981, the Tibet Autonomous Region government no longer permits new polyandric marriages under family law. Even though it is currently illegal, after collective farming was phased out and the farmed land reverted in the form of long-term leases to individual families, polyandry in Tibet is de facto the norm in rural areas.[citation needed]

As elucidated further below, the primary reason for polyandrous marriage among Tibetans appears to be economic: to prevent land, herds, and other assets from being divided and/or to increase the amount of labor available to support the family.

The Tibetan social organization under Lhasa control from the 17th century on was quasi-feudal, in that arable land was divided and owned by aristocratic families, religious organizations, and the central government and the population was subject to those district divisions. The population was further divided into social classes:

These wealthier family units hereditarily owned estates leased from their district authority, complete with land titles. In Goldstein's research about the Gyantse district specifically, he found them owning typically from 20 acres (81,000m2) to 300 acres (1.2km2) of land each. Their primary civil responsibility was to pay taxes (tre-ba and khral-pa means "taxpayer"), and to supply corve services that included both human and animal labor to their district authority.[5] According to Goldstein, the entire family structure and marriage system were subordinated to serve the land and corporate family unit.

The family structure and marriage system of tre-ba were characterized by two fundamental principles:

A "stem family" is one in which a married child is inextricably linked to his natal family in a common household. The "mono-marital principle" dictates that for each and every generation, one and only one marriage is permitted collectively among all the male siblings, and the children born out of this marriage are members of the family unit who have full legal rights.

The family organization was based on these two patterns to avoid the partitioning of their estates. A generation with two or more conjugal families was seen as unstable because it could produce serious conflicts that could divide their corporate family land. As a matter of fact, Tibetan inheritance rules of family land, mainly based on agnatic links, did provide for each generation to partition the land between brothers, but this was ignored to prevent the estate unit from being threatened. Polygamous marriage, therefore arose as a solution to this potential threat.

To elucidate, consider a family with two or more sons. Tibetan inheritance rules gave all males of the family, the right to claim a part of the family estate, so if each son took a different bride, there would be different conjugal families, and this would lead to the partitioning of the land among the different sons' families. To avoid this situation, the solution was a fraternal polyandrous marriage, where the brothers would share a bride. Bi-fraternal polyandrous marriages were more common than tri-fraternal or quadri-fraternal polyandry, because the latter forms of marriage were often characterized by severe familial tensions (reference missing). Different mechanisms were employed to reduce the number of sons within a household, such as making one son a celibate monk, or sending away a son to become an adoptive bridegroom to a family without male children.

Another kind of marriage, although uncommon, is the "polygynous marriage". In a family where all the children were female, sisterly polygynous marriage represented the most common choice. In traditional inheritance rules, only males had rights over the land, but where there were no males to inherit them, the daughters had the right over the corporations land. To maintain the familial estate unit, the daughters would share a bridegroom who will move matrilocally (as opposed to the patrilocal principle where the brides move into the husband's family) and become a member of his wife's family.

Bigenerational polygamy was present as an application of the mono-marital principle. Consider a family in which the mother died before the son was married. If the widower remarried another woman, two conjugal families would have been created, leading to the eventual partition of the estate. Bigenerational polyandry, whereby the father shared a wife with his son, was therefore the solution to avoid this problem. Conversely, when a woman with no male offspring was widowed, she would share a husband with her daughter ("bigenerational polygyny"), thus avoiding land partitioning (reference missing).

In these mono-marital stem families, the family head, who had a dominant role in the family, was called trong bey abo (or simply abo). The abo who managed the property and resources of the family unit, was always a male, and almost invariably the oldest male of the elder generation in power. Sometimes, a younger brother would assume the abo role when the eldest male retired.

In taxpayer families, polyandrous and monogamist marriage were the more common forms of marriage, while much less widespread was the polygynous marriage. Bigenerational forms of polyandry were, however, very rare.

The householder class (du-jung or dud-chung-ba[5]) comprised peasants who held only small plots of land that were legally and literally "individual" possessions. Land inheritance rules were different from taxpayer families, determined by the district authority and not strictly hereditary to the family unit.

The householder family structure unlike the taxpayer families lacked the single marriage per generation requirement to avoid land parceling. When a son married he often established a new household and split off from the original family unit. If taxpayer sons married that created succession for the family corporation and bound them to the estate for patrimonial and land reasons. Householder marriages did not incur that responsibility, and they generally married for love and were more often monogamist. The small number of polyandry cases within the householder class were limited to only the wealthier families.

The landless peasants (mi-bo) were not obligated to and did not have any heritable rights to land. Like the householders, they tended to have less polyandry than the taxpayer families.

As has been seen, fraternal polyandry was a form of marriage that was prevalent among the tre-ba class. Traditionally, marriages were arranged by the parents, often when the children were still very young. As tre-ba marriages were decided for patrimonial reasons, the brides' and bridegrooms' personal preferences were of no consequence. In polyandrous conjugal family, the eldest brother was, more often than not, the dominant person in the household. All the other brothers, however, shared the work equally, and had the right to sexual relations with their common wife, who had to treat them equally.

All children were treated equally, and a "father" was not allowed to show any favoritism, even if he knew who his biological children really were, as biological paternity was not regarded as important. Similarly, the children considered all their uncles as their fathers, and a child avoided treating members of the elder generation differently, even if they knew who their biological father was. The children would usually only address the eldest surviving husband as "father".[7]

Divorce was quite simple. If one of the brothers in a polyandrous marriage felt displeased, he only had to leave the household. Polyandrous marriages were often characterized by tensions and clashes for a variety of different reasons. For example, conflicts might arise because a younger brother wanted to contest the authority of his eldest brother; sometimes, sexual favoritism might occur, generating tension among the male partners in the marriage, especially so when there were significant age differences among the brothers.

Polyandry declined rapidly in the first decade after the establishment of Tibet Autonomous Region, and was banned during the Cultural Revolution as part of the "Four Olds". However, it regained popularity in the 1980s as the policies relaxed and the people's commune system broke down. A 1988 survey by the Tibet University throughout Tibet found that 13.3% of families were polyandric, and 1.7% were polygynous.[8] Currently, polyandry is present in all Tibetan areas, but particularly common in some rural regions of Tsang and Kham that are faced with extreme living conditions.[9] A 2008 study of several villages in Xigaze and Qamdo prefectures found that 20-50% of the families were polyandric, with the majority having two husbands. For some remote settlements, the number was as high as 90%.[10] Polyandry is very rare among urban residents or non-agricultural households. Representatives of an American charity working in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, from 1997 to 2010 observed polyandry still being practiced there.[11]

A regulation issued by government of Tibet Autonomous Region in 1981 approved all polygamous marriages before the date of implementation, but not those formed after the date, with no prosecution for violating the regulation. In practice, such a family would be registered as a monogamous family between the wife and the eldest husband.[12]

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Why is polygamy in the Vaticans synod document? – The Pillar

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  1. Why is polygamy in the Vaticans synod document?  The Pillar
  2. What does the synod document say about ordination of women, LGBTQ issues, and the liturgy?  Catholic News Agency
  3. Enlarge the tent: Synod document sees desire for greater inclusion  Diocese of Scranton
  4. Synod's Global Text Backs 'Radical Inclusion'  Church Militant
  5. View Full Coverage on Google News

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New Zealands Jacinda Ardern at the U.N.: Disinformation Should Be …

Posted: at 2:20 am

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called for more collective action in her address to the U.N. General Assembly on Friday, especially on the issues of climate change, nuclear non-proliferation, pandemic response, and opposing wars of aggression such as Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Arderns authoritarian impulses were on display in her call for tighter regulations on Internet speech, although she insisted she values free speech and merely wishes to cleanse disinformation from international discourse.

{snip}

Ardern called for disinformation to be treated like bullets, bombs, or nuclear weapons, conceding that a lie online or from a podium does not immediately kill people like the weapons of old, but in the long run could be more dangerous:

But what if that lie, told repeatedly, and across many platforms, prompts, inspires, or motivates others to take up arms. To threaten the security of others. To turn a blind eye to atrocities, or worse, to become complicit in them. What then?

This is no longer a hypothetical. The weapons of war have changed, they are upon us and require the same level of action and activity that we put into the weapons of old.

We recognized the threats that the old weapons created. We came together as communities to minimize these threats. We created international rules, norms and expectations. We never saw that as a threat to our individual liberties rather, it was a preservation of them. The same must apply now as we take on these new challenges.

Ardern went on to insist that she prizes the free, secure, and open Internet and our right to protest, and tacitly admitted that it would be difficult to build a consensus around her global crusade against disinformation. After all, one of the first world leaders to present a list of falsehoods he wanted to suppress would be Vladimir Putin, assuming he could beat Chinese dictator Xi Jinping to the global disinformation desk.

Ardern suggested that suppressing violent extremism and terrorist content online might be a place to start, citing the horrific March 2019 attack on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand as an example, without offering any others.

The attack was live-streamed on a popular social media platform in an effort to gain notoriety, and to spread hate, she noted.

As leaders, we are rightly concerned that even those most light-touch approaches to disinformation could be misinterpreted as being hostile to the values of free speech we value so highly, Ardern allowed.

But while I cannot tell you today what the answer is to this challenge, I can say with complete certainty that we cannot ignore it. To do so poses an equal threat to the norms we all value, she continued.

After all, how do you successfully end a war if people are led to believe the reason for its existence is not only legal but noble? How do you tackle climate change if people do not believe it exists? How do you ensure the human rights of others are upheld, when they are subjected to hateful and dangerous rhetoric and ideology? she asked.

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Jacinda Ardern and the woke war on free speech – spiked

Posted: at 2:20 am

Tyranny has had a makeover. Its no longer a boot stamping on a human face forever. It isnt a gruff cop dragging you into a cell for thinking or expressing a dangerous idea. It isnt a priest strapping you to a breaking wheel. No, authoritarianism is well-dressed now. Its polite. It has a broad smile and speaks in a soft voice. It is delivered not via a soldiers boot to the cranium but with a caring liberal head-tilt. And its name is Jacinda Ardern.

New Zealands PM, every online liberals favourite world leader, has gone viral over the past 24 hours following the circulation of the shocking speech she gave at the UN last Friday. Before the assembled leaders of both the free world and the unfree world, Ms Ardern raised the alarm about a new weapon of war. Its a dangerous one, she said. It poses a grave threat to humankind. It threatens to drag us headlong into chaos. We must act now, she pleaded with the powerful, so that we might disarm this weapon and bring [the world] back to order.

What is this terrible weapon, this menacing munition, that Ms Ardern so passionately wants to decommission? Its freedom of speech.

She was talking about words. Seriously. About ideas, disagreement, dissent. Her speech focused on the alleged scourge of mis- and disinformation online. We must tackle it, she said. She acknowledged that some people are concerned that even the most light-touch approaches to disinformation could come across as being hostile to the values of free speech. Youre damn right we are. But us global elites must nonetheless root out virtual bullshit because it can cause chaos, she said.

Really getting into her stride, she said speech can sometimes be a weapon of war. Some people use actual weapons to inflict harm, others use words: The weapons may be different but the goals of those who perpetuate them is often the same [to] reduce the ability of others to defend themselves. War is peace, said Big Brother. Big Sister Jacinda Ardern sees it a little differently: war is speech. Words wound, ideas kill thats the hot take of this globe-trotting luvvie against liberty.

And she really is talking about ideas. Modern politicians who wring their hands over misinformation or disinformation are usually just talking about beliefs they dont like. So at the UN, Ms Ardern gave climate-change scepticism as an example of one of those weapons of war that can cause chaos. How do you tackle climate change if people do not believe it exists?, she asked. Critiquing climate-change alarmism, calling into question the eco-lobbys hysterical claims that billions will die and Earth will burn if we dont drastically cut our carbon emissions, is an entirely legitimate political endeavour. In treating it as a species of Flat Earthism, as disinformation, the new elites seek to demonise dissenters, to treat people whose views differ to their own as the intellectual equivalent of warmongers. Barack Obama also claims that misinformation about climate change which, in his view, includes painting the environmentalist movement in a wildly negative light is a threat to the safety of humanity. Be mean about greens and people will die.

Call me a weapon of war, but I believe freedom of speech must include the freedom to be negative even wildly so about eco-activists. Activists, by the way, whose hype about the end of the world could genuinely be labelled misinformation. But they are never branded with that shaming m-word. Thats because misinformation doesnt really mean misinformation anymore. It means dissent. Deviate from the woke consensus on anything from climate change to Covid and you run the risk of being labelled an evil disinformant.

Indeed, one of the most striking things about Arderns speech was her claim that if the elites ignore misinformation, then the norms we all value will be in danger. This is the most common cry of the 21st-century authoritarian that speech can have a destabilising and even life-threatening impact, especially if it concerns big crises like climate change or Covid-19. So climate deniers are a threat to the future of the human race and thus may be legitimately silenced. Lockdown deniers threaten to encourage the spread of viral infection and thus may be legitimately gagged. The spectre of crisis is cynically used to clamp down on anyone who dissents from the new global consensus. Images of Armageddon are marshalled to justify censorship of troublemakers. Chaos, as Ardern calls it thats what will unfold if your reckless, dangerous ideas are given free rein.

To see how authoritarian the desire to clamp down on misinformation can be, just consider some of the other world leaders who likewise used the platform of the UN to call for tougher controls on speech. Muhammadu Buhari, the brutal ruler of Nigeria, focused on his nations many unsavoury experiences with hate speech and divisive disinformation and joined the calls for a clampdown on the scourge of disinformation and misinformation. Russias foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, bemoaned the disinformation against his nation. The chattering classes cheering Ms Ardern for standing up to fake news are implicitly cheering Buhari and Lavrov, too. They are as one with that woke kween when it comes to chasing misinformation from the public sphere.

Freedom of speech is in peril. And it isnt only threatened by obvious strongmen like the corrupt rulers of Nigeria or the theocratic tyrants of Iran but also by a smiling PC woman who is feverishly fawned over by virtue-signallers the world over. Ms Arderns UN speech exposed the iron fist of authoritarianism that lurks within the velvet glove of wokeness. From her brutal lockdown, which forbade even New Zealands own citizens from returning to their home country, to her longstanding war on extremist speech, this is a woman who poses as liberal but cant even spell the word. If you want a picture of the future, dont imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever imagine Jacinda Ardern putting her arm around your shoulder and telling you with a toothy smile that youre going to have to sacrifice your liberty to save the world from chaos.

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Jacinda Ardern urges Musk to stick to transparency amid extremism fears – The Guardian

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  1. Jacinda Ardern urges Musk to stick to transparency amid extremism fears  The Guardian
  2. Jacinda Ardern responds to Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter after report labels disinformation as one of NZ's top concerns  Newshub
  3. 'Unknown territory': Jacinda Ardern on Elon Musk and Twitter  The Spinoff
  4. 'Twitter has a huge responsibility': New Zealand's Ardern to Elon Musk  South China Morning Post
  5. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Tech giants feel pain as cloud spending cuts suggest slowdown

Posted: at 2:19 am

By Tiyashi Datta, Jane Lanhee Lee and Chavi Mehta

Oct 27 (Reuters) - In a further sign that large companies may be girding against an imminent recession, U.S. tech giants Amazon.com, Microsoft and Intel said this week that customers were taking an axe to cloud and datacenter spending.

Cloud services for years has been one of the largest and most dependable sources of growth for some of the biggest tech companies, including during the pandemic as people worked and studied from home.

Now investors are looking to see whether there is a glut in capacity that will lead to investment cuts as companies deal with rising costs amid soaring inflation, while interest rate increases have squeezed consumer demand. The strong dollar has been a particular headwind.

Growth in Amazon Web Services (AWS), the firm's lucrative cloud unit serving enterprises, has ticked down consistently in the past four quarters, adjusted for changes in forex.

Net sales in the business grew 28% in the July-September period versus 39% a year earlier, the slowest since the fourth quarter of 2020. They fell short of a 31% average analysts' forecast.

Amazon shares slumped 12% after the bell on Thursday after it forecast a slowdown in sales growth for the holiday season, erasing some $140 billion from its market value and capping a week of dismal earnings from global tech firms.

"The AWS slowdown is a clear sign that businesses are beginning to trim costs, so this will likely put more of a squeeze on Amazon's bottom line in the coming quarters," said Andrew Lipsman, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence.

Microsoft's cloud business Azure, which had supercharged revenue growth at the software giant for years, dropped to 35% growth in the July-September quarter from 50% a year earlier, missing estimates of a 36.5% increase according to Visible Alpha.

The company projected another drop in the holiday quarter.

Alphabet's Google Cloud revenue grew 38% in the quarter, beating estimates. That was a silver lining in an otherwise gloomy quarter but a far cry from the 45% growth the company posted a year earlier.

Story continues

EUROPE, CHINA DRAG

Speaking broadly about cloud deployments from AWS, Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet, YipitData research specialist Matt Wegner said: "We really first started to see (a slowdown) in April ... and it's continued. The European region is a source of weakness."

Eurozone inflation is close to 10% and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Thursday acknowledged that the risk of an economic contraction is on the rise due to soaring energy prices and higher interest rates.

Intel, which makes chips for data center customers including AWS, said third-quarter revenue from that business slumped 27% and profits were nearly wiped out. The business was hurt partly due to soft demand from Chinese enterprise customers, Intel boss Pat Gelsinger said.

The company cut its profit and revenue forecast for the year, reflecting economic uncertainty that Gelsinger said he expected to last into next year and that it was taking time to ramp up sales into datacenters.

Cloud services typically help companies save money so budget cuts in this sector could be especially worrying, indicating that companies think cost is king going into tougher times.

Businesses usually build out more cloud and datacenter capacity than needed and then wait for it to be absorbed, said Dean McCarron, president of Mercury Research, which tracks chipmakers.

"The "build more" happened in 2021 and we've been coasting down since then," said McCarron. He added that he expects Intel's datacenter weakness to be bottoming soon "though there are larger macroeconomic concerns about how much improvement we might see on the next growth cycle." (Reporting by Tiyashi Datta and Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru, Jeffrey Dastin in Palo Alto and Jane Lanhee Lee in Oakland, California; Writing by Sayantani Ghosh; Editing by Richard Pullin)

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Asian innovators fight online hate, lies as tech giants fall short

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BANGKOK/JAKARTA: Fed up with the constant stream of fake news on her family WhatsApp group chats in India - ranging from a water crisis in South Africa to rumours around a Bollywood actor's death -Tarunima Prabhakar built a simple tool to tackle misinformation.

Prabhakar, co-founder of India-based technology firm Tattle, archived content from fact-checking sites and news outlets, and used machine learning to automate the verification process.

The web-based tool is available to students, researchers, journalists and academics, she said.

"Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are under scrutiny for misinformation, but not WhatsApp," she said of the messaging app owned by Meta, Facebook's parent, that has more than 2 billion monthly active users, with about half a billion in India alone.

"The tools and methods used to check misinformation on Facebook and Twitter are not applicable to WhatsApp, and they also aren't good with Indian languages," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

WhatsApp rolled out measures in 2018 to rein in messages forwarded by users, after rumours spread on the messaging service led to several killings in India. It also removed the quick-forward button next to media messages.

Tattle is among a rising number of initiatives across Asia tackling online misinformation, hate speech and abuse in local languages, using technologies such as artificial intelligence, as well as crowdsourcing, on-ground training and engaging with civil society groups to cater to the needs of communities.

While tech firms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube face growing scrutiny for hate speech and misinformation, they have not invested enough in developing countries, and lack moderators with language skills and knowledge of local events, experts say.

"Social media companies don't listen to local communities. They also fail to consider context - cultural, social, historical, economic, political - when moderating users' content," said Pierre Franois Docquir, head of media freedom at Article 19, a human rights group.

"This can have a dramatic impact, online and offline. It can increase polarisation and the risk of violence," he added.

Local initiatives vital

While the impact of hate speech online has already been documented in several Asian countries in recent years, analysts say that tech firms have not ramped up resources to improve content moderation, particularly in local languages.

United Nations rights investigators said in 2018 that the use of Facebook had played a key role in spreading hate speech that fuelled the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar in 2017, after a military crackdown on the minority community.

Facebook said at the time it was tackling misinformation and investing in Burmese-language speakers and technology.

In Indonesia, "significant hate speech" online targets religious and racial minority groups, as well as LGBTQ+ people, with bots and paid trolls spreading disinformation aimed at deepening divisions, a report from Article 19 found in June.

"Social media companies ... must work with local initiatives to tackle the huge challenges in governing problematic content online," said Sherly Haristya, a researcher who helped write the report on content moderation in Indonesia with Article 19.

One such local initiative is by Indonesian non-profit Mafindo, which backed by Google, runs workshops to train citizens - from students to stay-at-home mothers - in fact-checking and spotting misinformation.

Mafindo, or Masyarakat Anti Fitnah Indonesia, the Indonesian Anti-Slander Society, provides training in reverse image search, video metadata and geolocation to help verify information.

The non-profit has a professional fact-checking team that, aided by citizen volunteers, has debunked at least 8,550 hoaxes.

Mafindo has also built a fact-checking chatbot in the Bahasa language called Kalimasada - introduced just before the 2019 election. It is accessed via WhatsApp and has about 37,000 users - a sliver of the nation's more than 80 million WhatsApp users.

"The elderly are particularly vulnerable to hoaxes, misinformation and fake news on the platforms, as they have limited technology skills and mobility," said Santi Indra Astuti, Mafindo's president.

"We teach them how to use social media, about personal data protection, and to look critically at trending topics: during Covid it was misinformation about vaccines, and in 2019, it was about the election and political candidates," she said.

Abuse detection challenges

Across Asia, governments are tightening rules for social media platforms, banning certain types of messages, and requiring the swift removal of posts deemed objectionable.

Yet hate speech and abuse, particularly in local languages, often goes unchecked, said Prabhakar of Tattle, who has also built a tool called Uli - which is Tamil for chisel - for detecting online gender-based abuse in English, Tamil and Hindi.

Tattle's team crowdsourced a list of offensive words and phrases that are used commonly online, that the tool then blurs on users' timelines. People can also add more words themselves.

"Abuse detection is very challenging," said Prabhakar. Uli's machine learning feature uses pattern recognition to detect and hide problematic posts from a user's feed, she explained.

"The moderation happens at the user level, so it's a bottom-up approach as opposed to the top-down approach of platforms," she said, adding that they would also like Uli to be able to detect abusive memes, images and videos.

In Singapore, Empathly, a software tool developed by two university students, takes a more proactive approach, functioning like a spell check when it detects abusive words.

Aimed at businesses, it can detect abusive terms in English, Hokkien, Cantonese, Malay and Singlish - or Singaporean English.

"We've seen the harm that hate speech can cause. But Big Tech tends to focus on English and its users in English-speaking markets," said Timothy Liau, founder and chief executive of Empathly.

"So there is room for local interventions - and as locals, we understand the culture and the context a bit better."

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