Social issues

Urgent considerations about artificial intelligence and education

by Mauro Jarquín Ramírez,* Mexico

(8 August 2023) (Edit.) The digital form of the media has permanently changed the way people live together. The use of computers and the Internet has become an integral part of our everyday life. Computer science has developed the ability not only to absorb and process information, but also to recognise patterns, analyze them and make predictions. People have been talking about “artificial intelligence” or AI for short since the 1960s.

Why peace is possible at any time

Building on the European peace traditions

by Robert Seidel

(8 August 2023) Today, it can only be a matter of seeking ways to peace and supporting all forces embarking on this path. In the 21st century, all other options are obsolete due to the nuclear threat. Here are some reflections and references to Europe’s rich humanitarian tradition in these times of war.

In Ukraine, US Adds to Barbaric Cluster-Bomb Legacy

U.S. cluster munitions have maimed and killed civilians in countries including Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Afghanistan and Iraq

by Abdul Rahman,* India

(8 August 2023) (Edit. CH-S) The delivery of cluster munitions from the USA to Ukraine is a humanitarian disaster. These weapons are at the expense of the civilian population. In the following article by Abdul Rahman, the circumstances surrounding the US delivery of cluster munitions to Ukraine are examined in more detail.
Cognitive Warfare

The battle for the human minds a new dimension

NATO is trying out entirely new, increasingly sophisticated strategies to inculcate desired perceptions into people’s minds

by Wolfgang Kaufmann

(19 July 2023) Classic psychological warfare serves the purpose of manipulating and weakening the military or civilian population of the enemy. Such “cognitive warfare” is also practised by NATO, although it is now no longer aimed solely at the enemy, because the battle for people’s minds is now to take place equally on their own territory. This emerges from various NATO documents – starting with the thesis paper “NATO’s Sixth Domain of Operations” from September 2020.*
Pedagogics

Good reading skills are crucial

Why smartphones & other digital devices are so damaging to children (not only because they are hooked on them themselves...)

by Michael Felten,* Germany

(19 July 2023) Primary school pupils’ reading levels are declining. Current benchmark studies show that the proportion of children who do not reach the minimum literacy standards is growing – one in four fourth graders cannot read properly.
WHO reform

Amendments to WHO’s “International Health Regulations”

An Annotated Guide

by David Bell,* Brownstone Institute, Texas USA

(4 July 2023) The Covid-skeptic world has been claiming the World Health Organization (WHO) plans to become some sort of global autocratic government, removing national sovereignty and replacing it with a totalitarian health state. The near-complete absence of interest by mainstream media would suggest, to the rational observer, that this is yet another ‘conspiracy theory’ from a disaffected fringe.