Daily Archives: January 9, 2022

January 6 and the Paradoxes of Americas Democracy Agenda: Why Protecting Liberalism Will Require a Dose of Populism – Foreign Affairs Magazine

Posted: January 9, 2022 at 4:57 pm

More than any constitution or law, democracy rests on what the late political scientist Robert Dahl called a system of mutual security. Each side in the democratic contest must have confidence that the other side will play by the rules of the democratic game, accept defeat if that is its fate, and return to fight another day. The political fight must be restrained by mutual respect, mutual trust, and mutual restraintrespect for the right of opposing political forces to contest and criticize, trust that the other side will not eliminate it if it comes to power, and restraint in the methods used to contest for and hold power. No democracy can long survive a political atmosphere devoid of these norms. Yet that is the abyss into which American democracy is descending.

One year ago today, the United States suffered its most serious brush with constitutional failure since the Civil War. Many things remain unknown about the tragic and horrifying assault on the U.S. Capitol. There is no doubt, however, about the scale of the violence or about how close the United States came to seeing the peaceful transfer of power sabotaged for the first time in the countrys history. The damage of former President Donald Trumps Big Liethat he did not really lose the 2020 presidential electionhas been poisonous and long lasting. Most Republicans and up to a third of the American public do not believe that President Joe Biden was legitimately elected. And a variety of different polls, using varying wording and methodologies, have all documented a growing willingness of the American people to consider or condone political violence. When the polarization between two political camps reaches the point that each side regards the other as morally intolerable, as an existential threat to the countrys future, democracy is at risk.

The January 6 insurrection was neither the beginning nor the end of this descent. For some two decades, political scientists have been worrying about the growing polarization of American politics, as evidenced in rising congressional gridlock, an unwillingness to compromise, and the maximalist, take-no-prisoners tone of cable news, talk radio, and social media. Well before Trump began to use the power and prestige of the presidency to trample on democratic norms, ratings agencies noted a decline in the quality of U.S. democracy. Analysts at Freedom House have shown the decline unfolding steadily between 2010 and 2020, dropping the countrys freedom score by 11 pointsfrom 94 to 83on a 100-point scale. Due in part to eroding public trust in democratic institutions, the Economist Intelligence Unit downgraded the United States to a flawed democracy in 2017. And in 2020, International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance), a widely respected international think tank focused on democratic development, classified the United States as a backsliding democracy.

Among Washingtons democratic allies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region, as well as many emerging democracies worldwide, there is mounting concern, even alarm, at the deeply troubled state of democracy in the United States. As Americans tear their own country apart, fragile democracies are retreating before a tide of illiberal populism, dictatorships in China and Russia are surging in power and ambition, and the norms and restraints of the postWorld War II liberal orderincluding the indispensable norm against territorial aggressionare crumbling. Last month, the Biden administration finally held its long-awaited Summit for Democracy to rally international resolve and push back against the illiberal tide. It was an important symbolic step, because despite the collective weight of the European Union and the geopolitical courage and generous assistance of small European democracies such as the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Norway, and Swedenwhich refuse to be cowed by China and Russiathe United States remains the worlds most important democratic bulwark. A global democratic countermovement will find its energy and conviction challenged, however, as long as it depends for leadership on a democracy as troubled as the United States. This is the paradox of global democracy today: the fate of freedom still rests on a deeply flawed and unstable democratic superpower. Inside that paradox rests a series of other paradoxesa set of sobering obstacles to the dream of global democratic renewal.

The first of these paradoxes is that reviving democracy in the United States requires depolarization and hence compromises that can bridge partisan divides and build coalitions from the center out. Compromise suggests a middle ground between two poles and actors on each side willing to seize that ground. But a key feature of the countrys democratic crisis is that one of the two major political parties is undermining the essential conditions for free and fair elections, particularly neutral and nonpartisan procedures for administering and certifying elections. In the year since January 6, numerous U.S. states have seen Republican legislators push and in some cases adopt laws enabling them to assert partisan control over the electoral process and thus possibly to reverse the results of a free and fair election. And even more states have adopted provisions that make voting more difficult for the kinds of people who tend to favor the other party.

There exists a legislative remedy to this threat to democracy: the Freedom to Vote Act, forged through compromise between progressive and moderate Democratic U.S. senators. It would address not only the rising dangers of voter suppression and partisan sabotage of the electoral process but two other scourges of American democracy, gerrymandering and dark money. It would bring American democracy at least somewhat closer to the standards of impartial, independent, professional election administration that make this vital function noncontroversial in wealthy democracies, such as Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, and most EU members, and even in numerous less prosperous democracies, including Costa Rica, India, and Mexico.

Yet the Freedom to Vote Act lacks support from even a single Republican in the U.S. Senate. Hence it can be adopted only by removing one of the most arcane and dysfunctional features of American democracy, the Senate filibuster. This raises a second paradox. Although it has been for some two centuries a model and inspiration for emerging democracies, the U.S. system has grown stale in its resistance to reform and has failed to keep pace with global democratic innovations. The United States lacks many of the national institutions of accountability and good governance that are common in peer democracies, such as an independent anticorruption commission, a human rights commission, and an ombudsman to investigate citizen complaints. The country remains stuck with a first past the post electoral system that has been rigged for partisan advantage via redistricting and that is highly vulnerable to polarization, because it tends to entrench just two political parties: voters usually reject third-party options so that they do not waste their votes.

On January 6, the United States suffered its most serious brush with constitutional failure since the Civil War.

During much of the twentieth century, the two parties competed for median voters and kept more radical tendencies at bayalbeit at the horrible price of ignoring pervasive racial discrimination and Black disenfranchisement in the South. But as realignment occurred beginning in the late 1960s, parties became more coherent, primaries increasingly selected more partisan and ideological nominees, and congressional compromises got harder and harder to forge. In truth, however, the problem runs even deeper. In the Senate, the filibuster now blocks political reform, but institutional reform was slow even before the filibuster became (only in recent decades) an automatic requirement for legislation. Hence a third paradox: although the United States holds itself up as a model of democratic experimentation and adaptation, the U.S. Constitution is among the worlds most difficult to amend. Dramatic change often requires decades of advocacy and mobilization of the kinds that produced female suffrage and equal rights for racial minorities.

Of course, reform can happen incrementally, state by state. Alaska and Maine have recently adopted an electoral reform called ranked-choice voting, which offers real promise of reducing polarization. Under that system, it makes sense for independents and third-party candidates to run for office and for dissatisfied voters to vote for them, because no votes are wasted. Instead of voting for just one candidate, voters rank their choices, and if no one wins a majority of first-preference votes, the least popular candidates are eliminated and lower-preference votes are counted in instant runoffs until someone wins a majority. This and other options, including various systems of proportional representation that could replace first past the post in multimember congressional districts, offer the best long-term prospect of reducing the countrys polarization.

And then consider a fourth paradox: although voter suppression and electoral subversion now seriously threaten U.S. democracy, the countrys flawed electoral processes still offer the best hope of arresting democratic decay. Other countries have transcended this paradox to preserve or revive democracy. In India in the mid-1970s, Chile in the late 1980s, Mexico in 2000, and more recently in Peru, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, and Zambia, authoritarian regimes and illiberal forces were defeated through broad and resolute electoral mobilization. Today, opposition blocs in Hungary and Turkey are mobilizing to the same end, facing long odds against regimes that have stacked the decks in their own favor.

A crucial lesson emerges from these diverse circumstances. People do not generally cast their votes for or against democracy; the abuse of power has to get very bad and typically remain bad for a long time before it will become the dominant issue. So political forces seeking to defend or renew democracy must speak to other issues, in particular the economy, and they must craft the broadest possible coalitions in doing so. This requires going against the trend of polarization by showing respect for the concerns of people who previously backed illiberal options. In the 2019 municipal elections in Turkey, the opposition made stunning gains against the ruling authoritarian party by crafting just such an inclusive campaign. Leaders dubbed their strategy radical love. In Hungary, in the recent primary to nominate a candidate to face Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the coming parliamentary elections, the countrys disparate, six-party opposition coalition took a similar approach, choosing the centrist outsider Peter Marki-Zay, the mayor of a small provincial city. Marki-Zay is promising a return to Europe and accountable governmentbut with a populist edge.

And therein lies perhaps the most difficult and important paradox of all: sometimes, it takes a dose of populism to fight populism. Although successful pushbacks against illiberalism must bridge partisan polarization, they often triumph by condemning corruption and crony capitalism and by mounting appeals to economic fairness and inclusionpromises also made by aspiring autocrats, who abandon them once in power and divert attention from their policy failures and limitations through appeals to identity and cultural grievance. Democracys defenders need to avoid the brutal divisiveness, contempt for institutions, intolerance of pluralism, and exaltation of the leader that define illiberal populism. But they should try to energize voters by expressing moral outrage and empathy for peoples insecurity and loss and, when possible, by putting forward charismatic candidates who embody a message of change. Such a strategy lifted the environmental activist Zuzana Caputovato the presidency of Slovakia in 2019, and it now gives opposition parties a fighting chance of winning electoral victories in Hungary, Poland, and Turkey.

Broadening the base of support for democratic reform is crucial, because authoritarians and illiberal democrats always seek to tilt the political playing field to a degree that requires the opposition to win a larger than normal victory. Oppositions that dismiss this dangerand fail to transcend their own divisions and alternative identity claimstypically falter.

As Americans tear their own country apart, fragile democracies are retreating before a tide of illiberal populism.

The January 6 insurrection was the product of a political climate, if not a political plot, intentionally produced by an authoritarian populist leader and movement. Trump may well seek a return to the White House, this time with a leg up in critical battleground states where his Republican allies have made it easier to invalidate the legitimate results of elections. To defeat his brand of populism, Democrats need to avoid militant appeals to identity-based grievances that illiberal populists seize on to paint Democrats as advocates of cancel culture, reverse discrimination, and efforts to defund the police. In addition to fighting against racial exclusion and prosecuting violent white nationalism, Democrats should borrow a page from New York City Mayor Eric Adamss playbook and get tough on crime. The radical right will seek to stoke racial anxiety in any case, but Democrats shouldnt make it easier for that message to resonate with swing voters.

In 2022 and 2024, elections must be squarely focused on the question of which party offers the people a fairer economic deal. Shifting away from identity politics would go against the grain of the moment, which is defined by demographic change and social media passions. It would require a disciplined focus on job creation, childcare support, early childhood education, health-care expansion, infrastructure investment, the new green economy, and bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States. The three Democratic presidents who managed to serve two full terms in the last centuryFranklin Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obamaall understood the need for a message of hope and optimism focused on bread-and-butter economic issues. Democratic success might also require a presidential candidate who can craft an outsider, anti-elite image more authentic and persuasive than the one Trump has perfectedbut shorn of illiberal tendencies. In the near term, that might be the hardest paradox for American democracy to overcome.

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January 6 and the Paradoxes of Americas Democracy Agenda: Why Protecting Liberalism Will Require a Dose of Populism - Foreign Affairs Magazine

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Bidens uphill battles against COVID, Putin and populism – Sydney Morning Herald

Posted: at 4:57 pm

Meanwhile, rapid antigen and PCR tests are still in short supply despite the White House being warned months ago that it needed to prepare to roll out stock. Federal vaccine mandates for large companies and health facilities are being challenged in court this week, the pandemic-fuelled economy remains fickle, and only 62 per cent of Americans are fully inoculated against COVID - far fewer than the nine out of 10 Australians who are double jabbed.

Biden also made unity a central plank of his election campaign, portraying himself as a healer-in-chief who could mend the wounds of a deeply fractured nation.

We can join forces, stop the shouting and lower the temperature, he said in his inaugural address on January 20.

But Americas divisions didnt start and end with Trump, and the US today still feels as polarised and partisan as ever, on everything from vaccines and voting rights, to the Capitol building attack and critical race theory in schools.

Whats more, simmering tensions between Democratic progressives and moderates have reached boiling point, compounded last month by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchins decision to oppose Bidens $US2 trillion ($2.78 trillion) suite of reforms to healthcare, climate, immigration, education and tax laws.

Manchin, a Democrat centrist, cited concerns about growing federal debt and higher consumer prices as reasons to not support the Build Back Better bill in its current form. Not surprisingly, party progressives such as New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and fellow members of the so-called Squad were livid.

As for the imminent global challenges?

In his first foreign policy speech as President, Biden declared that diplomacy was back, while singling out the advancing authoritarianism of China and Russia as geopolitical priorities.

But diplomacy is a high stakes game for a leader whose approval rating has been in free fall ever since the middle of last year, coinciding with the hasty withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

The relationship between the US and Russia was tested again last week, when Biden held a 50-minute telephone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to de-escalate tensions over Ukraine, ahead of talks between their respective officials this week. They each made threats, Biden warning the US would respond decisively if Russia invaded, while Putin, according to his office, said a breakdown in relations would be a colossal mistake.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden held a 50-minute phone call last week.Credit:AP

These are merely some of the challenges paving the way for a nail-biting midterm election year, which many expect will result in Republicans taking back Congress and further thwarting Bidens first-term agenda.

After all, history suggests the party that wins the White House is not likely to also control the House of Representatives for a full term. Trump, for example, won office in 2016 but Republicans lost the majority in 2018; Obama became president in 2008 but Republicans took back the chamber in a landslide in 2010.

Boiled down, Democrats currently have 221 votes in the House, while Republicans have 213, and Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi cannot afford to lose more than three votes in the chamber to push through bills.

The 100-member Senate is evenly split, with Vice-President Kamala Harris holding the deciding vote if theres a tie.

But in a somewhat ominous sign, 23 House Democrats have already announced they will not be seeking re-election this year. Little wonder Republicans are feeling confident about their prospects.

Biden, however, insists he is optimistic about the year ahead, and Democratic strategists say there are indeed good stories to tell: the $US1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that sent much-needed stimulus cheques to millions of people during the pandemic; bipartisan support for a $US1 trillion revamp of the nations infrastructure; the unemployment rate dipping to 4.2 per cent last month.

Maybe so, but much of the message does not appear to be cutting through. The extent to which Democrats can recalibrate and reframe the debate in the next few months will make all the difference for Bidens political fortunes this year and beyond.

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Bidens uphill battles against COVID, Putin and populism - Sydney Morning Herald

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The Forever Culture War – The Atlantic

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The future of American politics is taking shape, and it is frightening. I, along with many others, thoughtor at least hopedthat Joe Bidens tenure in the White House would allow enough Americans to unspool themselves from the daily efforts of outrage and apocalyptic thinking. Biden was bland enough that politics could revert to something more measured than it had been under his predecessor, Donald Trump. This was wishful thinking.

Politics seems more existential, not less. Pundits and partisans cast everything as a culture war, even those things that have little to do with culture. Policy debates that might have otherwise been boringover COVID-testing protocols or the cost of the Build Back Better bill, for examplehave become part of an apocalyptic battle between the forces of good and evil. As the conservative writer Jack Butler characterized the growing unease: Were in the battle at the end of time, and the prince of darkness is already at the door, and the whole world is now a contest between activist left and activist right.

In retrospect, it was a mistake to think that the sheer intensity of recent political debate was unusual or temporary, when it is likely to be neither. After a couple of relatively tame and boring decades, the shift made itself apparent during the Trump years. In 2012, 45 percent of Americans cited the economy as the most important problem facing the country. By 2017, that number had dropped to around 10 percent. The United States was far from exceptional, however. In 2018, immigration had become the top concern for voters in seven European countries, with terrorism following closely behind. The economy has since become a primary concern again, partly because of the pandemic. Yet economic debates themselves have become less polarized. There is broad agreement and even consensus across the ideological spectrum. In much of Europe, right-wing populist parties have taken a sharp left turn, positioning themselves as the true defenders of the welfare state and the working class.

The American right has lagged behind. Traditions of frontier libertarianism and trickle-down economics make old habits hard to shake. But this, too, is changing, helped along by Republicans growing indifference to deficit spending. Trumps embrace of far-right nationalist tropes has obscured the Republican Partys lurch leftward on economic issuesa shift that the writer Matthew Yglesias calls unhinged moderation. This impulse of right-wing identity politics and economic populism is inspiring a younger generation of conservatives on the new right, profiled recently by Sam Adler-Bell in The New Republic and David Brooks in The Atlantic.

David Brooks: The terrifying future of the American right

Trump was radical in style and, occasionally, on policyat least by conservative standards. He abandoned earlier Republican efforts to privatize Social Security and cut Medicare. His scrambling of traditional left-right politics gave license to young conservatives to embrace economic populism, which isnt very conservative. The influential journal American Affairsinitially launched as a quasi-Trumpist intellectual organwelcomes contributors from the other side and features more socialist ideas than unabashedly capitalist ones (I wrote an essay for the journal on formulating a new left-wing populism).

Various right-wing intellectuals have long fantasized about an electoral holy grail of economic populism and social conservatism. In Britain, they were known as red Tories, but such grand projects of realignment tended to fizzle out. They were compelling in theory but not necessarily in practiceperhaps until now. As the conservative writer and podcaster Saagar Enjeti argued in 2020: The whole reason that the GOP has been able to even compete for so long is that despite their horrible economics, they do hold the cultural positions of so much of the American people. But they keep thinking theyre winning because of their economic policy and losing because of their cultural policy, when really its the opposite.

As Democrats hemorrhage working-class supportnot only among white people but also among communities of color whom the party was counting onthe new right sees an opportunity. Glenn Youngkins victory in the Virginia gubernatorial elections was an early test case. Youngkin, a Republican, was happy to pledge increased spending on education, for example. Few in his party seemed to mind. What mattered was culture, which is precisely what the otherwise mild-mannered former executive zeroed in on in the campaigns final weeks. Education was the dividing line, but these werent your old Bush-era debates about charter schools, class size, teacher training, test scores, and budgets. Republicans may have weaponized the threat of critical race theory, but school closures and remote learning undoubtedly forced parents to pay closer attention to what their kids were actually learningor not learning. The divide wasnt about whether kids were solving their math problems; it was about values, history, and culturethe fear that the state, through its schools, was discarding the pretense of neutrality and instead promoting contested ideological propositions.

Whether this growing sense of cultural overreach by the left ultimately pushes Republicans to Ronald Reaganstyle electoral victories is an interesting question. An even more interesting question is what this shiftif it becomes permanentmeans for the future of American politics. And what it means is discouraging at best.

In effect, because of the GOPs dash to the center on spending as well as on industrial and trade policy, economics has been neutralized as the countrys primary partisan cleavage. To the extent that a left-right divide is still meaningful, it matters much more on race, identity, and the nature of progress than it does on business regulation, markets, and income redistribution. Because the former are fundamentally about divergent conceptions of the good, they are less amenable to compromise, expertise, and technocratic fixes. These are questions about who we are rather than what works.

Elites in both parties enjoy a certain privilegeone appropriate to a rich, advanced democracythat allows them to emphasize culture while deprioritizing economic well-being. Civilizational concerns gain more political resonance precisely as perceptions of civilizational decline intensify on right and left alike. But this particular kind of decadencecharacterized, per The New York Times Ross Douthat, by reproductive sterility, economic stagnation, political sclerosis, and intellectual repetitionis an ideal foil for young conservatives cum reactionaries. It gives them something worthy of reaction. And, importantly, it doesnt require being religious as much as it requires a recognition that religion is a vital societal good, regardless of whether its true.

Like Trump, the most secular president of the modern era, many of the new rights most prominent figures are not particularly religious. Their (potential) constituency of young Republicans isnt particularly religious either. The number of unaffiliated Republicans has tripled since 1990, much of that concentrated among the young and the relatively young.

Civilizational health, to use the term of the Claremont Institutes Matthew Peterson, is what unites believers and nonbelievers alike. They appreciate religions role and utility in buttressing Western civilization, offering as it does transcendence as well as tradition. And, of course, elevating religion as the wellspring of morality is a pretty good way to own the libs, for those who place special value on that.

If this division around morality, the meaning of the American founding, and civilization solidifies, we should all be at least slightly worried. It would mean a multifaceted culture war for, perhaps, the rest of our lives. Thats putting it somewhat dramatically, but there is good reason to view some changes, rather than others, as extremely sticky, if not quite permanent.

Read: Democrats are losing the culture wars

There wasnt always a left-right cleavage organized around class, redistribution, and the means of production. But it came to be, and it has persisted for a very long time. In their seminal 1967 study, Party Systems and Voter Alignments, Seymour Martin Lipset and Stein Rokkan argued that state formation, the industrial revolution, and urbanization allowed economic divides to supersede religious ones. That economic cleavages are (or were) paramount in most Western democracies, then, is no accident. Over time, the economic dimension of conflict in Western democracies became frozen in the form of parties that self-defined according to economic interests.

Parties play an important role too. They decide what issues to prioritize in order to distinguish themselves from the competition. As the political scientists Adam Przeworski and John Sprague note, class is salient in any society, if, when, and only to the extent to which it is important to political parties which mobilize workers. But neither Democrats nor Republicans are likely to become workers parties anytime soon. Conservatives rhetorical interest in the working class remains largely electoral and opportunistic. Meanwhile, the left is preoccupied with language policing, elite manners, and a kind of cultural progressivism far more popular among hypereducated white liberals than working-class Latino, Black, Asian, and Arab Americans.

Republicans and Democrats may simply converge around a diffuse and vague economic populism and call it a day. To distinguish themselves from each other in a two-party system, they will have to underscore what makes them different rather than what makes them similar. And what makes them differentunmistakably differentis culture. This isnt just instrumental, though, a way to rally the base and mobilize turnout. If one listens to what politicians and intellectuals in these two warring tribes actually say, it seems clear enough: They believe that civilization is at stake, and who am I to not take them at their word? If the end of America as we know it is indeed looming, then the culture war is the one worth fightingperhaps forever, if thats what it takes.

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The Forever Culture War - The Atlantic

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Technology in Our Life Today and How It Has Changed – Updated …

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How has technology helped communication? The advancement of technology has made communication unbelievably fast and convenient. Its incredible to look back and see how much easier communication has gotten over the years. Communication tools offer one of the most significant examples of how quickly technology has evolved.

In the past, writing a letter, sending faxes, or finding a wired telephone was the best way to communicate remotely with someone. To connect with someone in society today, you have many more efficient options at your fingertips. You can send them a message on social media, text them, video chat, email, or put a call through.

These new methods can help you keep in touch with loved ones, especially if youre aging in place or living alone. Video chat helps caregivers check on seniors who may not need continual check-ups in person. Social media is a great way to keep in touch in general, allowing you to see what your loved ones are doing through the photos and updates they post.

Who hasnt heard of Facebook, Twitter, or Skype? Theyve become household names. Even if you dont use these platforms, theyre a part of everyday life and not going away anytime soon. Regardless of your location, messages via social media get delivered on these platforms at the same rate and speed whether the recipient is right beside you or on the other side of the globe. You can also send voice messages through these platforms, and it is delivered in nanoseconds.

The way we use mobile phones has changed dramatically as well. In addition to social media platforms, there are numerous other applications specifically designed for communication. If social media isnt for you, WhatsApp and other messaging apps enable you to quickly message family and friends and even make calls over Wi-Fi.

You can email through your phone or send SMS text messages through your mobile provider, but many smartphones have their own messaging platforms built directly into the phone. On Apple iPhones, iMessage allows you communicate with anyone else who has an iPhone for free using WiFi or cellular data. iMessage has gotten increasingly sophisticated over the years. Sending photos, videos and emojis are just the basics with what you can do, and the platform has now expanded to include gaming, voice notes, and various app integrations to send information more quickly.

Messaging Apps can be a great option if you have friends in other countries or if you dont have a phone plan.

Within the last decade, medical emergency response systems have seen some impressive advancements, both in terms of technology and in safety measures that have made seniors feel safer than ever before. One of the earliest and most important advancements has been the introduction of mobile medical alert systems. These systems allow users the freedom to leave their homes and live their normal lives, while still having the peace of mind that emergency help is available in case of an emergency. Several devices, such as the Medical Guardian Mobile 2.0, allow users to set up a network of emergency contacts who can also view their whereabouts and be notified in case of an emergency.

Recent advancements in medical alert technology also include a built-in fall detection feature. With this feature, special sensors in your medical alert pendant automatically detect when a fall occurs and send an alert to your monitoring call center. With new GPS and cellular technology, the operator can then determine where you fell, regardless of whether you can communicate your whereabouts or know the address. This technology allows the operators to then send emergency medical assistance to you more quickly, thus providing a great sense of security for yourself and your loved ones.

The use of hearing aids allows people to maintain a happy, healthy life by reducing the strain caused by reduced hearing ability. According to a study facilitated by the Better Hearing Institute, eight out of 10 hearing aid users report being satisfied with the changes that their hearing aids have made in their lives. Hearing aids allow users to engage in common daily activities that would otherwise be far more difficult or even impossible such as talking, watching TV and listening to music. Hearing aids can also help you have a better quality of life by assisting you in:

Communication has even evolved beyond mobile devices and personal computers. We can now send messages through tablets, voice assistants, smartwatches, and more. The smartwatch is a relatively new technology that captures almost all the capabilities of smartphones in a convenient touch-screen watch. You can receive notifications, track your activity, set alarms, and even call and text directly through these wearable devices.

Smartwatches can also serve as a way to communicate with emergency responders. Medical alert companies like MobileHelp and Medical Guardian have partnered with smartwatch developers or created proprietary technologies to provide seniors the safety of a medical alert right on their wrist. These watches include many of the same features as a typical smartwatch, such as activity tracking and personal messaging.

Even the makers of popular smartwatches on the market outside of the medical alert industry providing people the ability to communicate quickly in the case of an emergency. The Apple Watch Series 4 and its subsequent versions have built-in fall detection, which will automatically alert emergency assistance. In addition to its automatic response capabilities, Apple Watch technology also allows users to initiate an emergency call from any location worldwide manually. Apples Medical ID Health app can provide emergency responders access to your medical conditions and designated emergency contacts.

Technology allows us to communicate instantly with people in our neighborhoods or around the globe. This innovation not only keeps us connected but can help us live safer and healthier lives.

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Technology in Our Life Today and How It Has Changed - Updated ...

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25 technologies that have changed the world – CNET

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This story is part of CNET at 25, celebrating a quarter century of industry tech and our role in telling you its story.

Apple's Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone on Jan. 9, 2007, calling it a "revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone,"

If 1995 seems a long time ago, that's because it was. The DVD player was the hot new entertainment device, mobile phones were bulky and did little besides place calls, and accessing the internet was a novel (and slow) experience confined to desktop computers. It also was the year CNET began publishing news and reviews.

Technology has changed immensely in the 25 years since then. One could argue that it's continued to improve our lives, keeping us more connected to information, entertainment and each other. You also could argue just the opposite, but either way, there are a few gadgets and technologies that have changed our lives and the world forever. Here are 25 influential advancements from the past quarter century.

Though it wasn't the first smartphone, Apple really got the ball rolling with the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. Social media, messaging and the mobile internet wouldn't be nearly as powerful or universal if they hadn't been freed from the shackles of the desktop computer and optimized for the iPhone and its dozens of competitors.

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Armed with powerful features and able to run thousands of apps, they squeezed more functionality into one device than we'd ever seen before. The mobile revolution also brought the death of point-and-shoot cameras, dashboard GPS units, camcorders, PDAs and MP3 players. Now we use smartphones to shop, as a flashlight and sometimes even to call people. It's tech's version of the Swiss Army knife.

Now, 13 years after the iPhone's introduction, more than 3.5 billion people around the world use a smartphone, nearly half the Earth's population. You may even be using one to read this article.

Wi-Fi has become essential to our personal and professional lives.

The smartphone and the internet we use today wouldn't have been possible without wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi. In 1995 if you wanted to "surf" the internet at home, you had to chain yourself to a network cable like it was an extension cord. In 1997, Wi-Fi was invented and released for consumer use. With a router and a dongle for our laptop, we could unplug from the network cable and roam the house or office and remain online.

Over the years, Wi-Fi's gotten progressively faster and found its way into computers, mobile devices and even cars. Wi-Fi is so essential to our personal and professional lives today that it's almost unheard of to be in a home or public place that doesn't have it.

The internet of things allows consumer devices to connect and share information without human interaction.

Wi-Fi hasn't just allowed us to check email or escape boredom at the in-laws, it also made possible a ton of consumer devices that connect and share information without human interaction, creating a system called the internet of things. The term was coined in 1999, but the idea didn't start to take off with consumers until the past decade.

Today, there are tens of billions of internet-connected devices around the globe that allow us to perform smart home tasks such as turning on our lights, checking who's at our front door and getting an alert when we're out of milk. It also has industrial applications, such as in health care and management of municipal services.

Spending on internet of things technology is expected to hit $248 billion this year, more than twice the amount spent three years ago. In five years, the market is expected to top $1.5 trillion.

Voice assistants tell you the weather forecast, play music and help water your lawn.

For many consumers, the heart of the smart home is a voice assistant such as Amazon's Alexa, Google's Assistant and Apple's Siri. In addition to being a prerequisite for controlling devices in your home, their connected speakers will tell you the weather, read you the news and play music from various streaming services, among thousands of other "skills."

There were more than 3.25 billion voice assistant devices in use around the world in 2019, and that number is expected to more than double to 8 billion by 2023. But they also present a privacy headache, since the devices are essentially internet-connected microphones that transmit your conversations to servers at Amazon, Google or Apple. All three companies have admitted to using human contractors to listen to select conversations from the voice assistants in an effort to improve their software's accuracy.

Bluetooth has allowed us to hold telephone conversations while keeping both hands on the wheel.

Another wireless communication technology that has proven indispensable is Bluetooth, a radio link that connects devices over short distances. Introduced to consumers in 1999, Bluetooth was built for connecting a mobile phone to a hands-free headset, allowing you to carry on conversations while keeping your hands available for other uses, such as driving a car.

Bluetooth has since expanded to link devices like earbuds, earphones, portable wireless speakers and hearing aids to audio sources like phones, PCs, stereo receivers and even cars. Fitness trackers use Bluetooth to stream data to mobile phones, and PCs can connect wirelessly to keyboards and mice.

Between 2012 and 2018, the number of Bluetooth-enabled devices in the world nearly tripped to 10 billion. Today, Bluetooth is being employed in the smart home for uses such as unlocking door locks and beaming audio to lightbulbs with built-in speakers.

VPN helps employees work remotely and helps individuals avoid censorship.

The virtual private network, essentially an encrypted tunnel for transferring data on the internet, has proven invaluable for both businesses and individuals. Developed in 1996, the technology initially was used almost exclusively by businesses so their remote employees could securely access the company's intranet .

VPN use has grown in popularity since then, with about a quarter of internet users using a VPN in 2018. Today, other popular uses for VPNs include hiding online activity, bypassing internet censorship in countries without a free internet and avoiding geography-based restrictions on streaming services.

Bitcoin incorporates technology, currency, math, economics and social dynamics.

Bitcoin is the digital cryptocurrency that racked up headlines with its meteoric rise in value a few years back and then its equally breathtaking decline, and it's another technology made popular by anonymity. It cracked the $1,000 threshold for the first time on Jan. 1, 2017, topped $19,000 in December of that year and then lost about 50 percent of its value during the first part of 2018.

The decentralized currency incorporates technology, currency, math, economics and social dynamics. And it's anonymous; instead of using names, tax IDs or Social Security numbers, bitcoin connects buyers and sellers through encryption keys.

Computers running special software -- the "miners" -- inscribe transactions in a vast digital ledger. These blocks are known, collectively, as the "blockchain." But the computational process of mining for bitcoins can be arduous, with thousands of miners competing simultaneously.

Blockchains work as a secure digital ledger.

Perhaps bigger than bitcoin is blockchain, the encryption technology behind the cryptocurrency. Because blockchains work as a secure digital ledger, a bumper crop of startups hope to bring it to voting, lotteries, ID cards and identity verification, graphics rendering, welfare payments, job hunting and insurance payments.

It's potentially a very big deal. Analyst firm Gartner estimates that blockchain will provide $176 billion in value to businesses by 2025 and a whopping $3.1 trillion by 2030.

MP3 technology made music more portable

Entertainment has become a whole lot more portable in the past quarter century, in large part due to the introduction of the MP3 and MP4 compression technologies. Research into high-quality, low-bit-rate coding began in the 1970s. The idea was to compress audio into a digital file with little or no loss of audio quality. The MP3 standard that we know today emerged in the mid-'90s, but the first mobile MP3 player wasn't available to consumers until 1998, when South Korea's Saehan released MPMan, a flash-based player that could hold about 12 songs.

The format's popularity took off in 1999, when 19-year-old student Shawn Fanning created the software behind the pioneering file-sharing service Napster, allowing users to swap MP3 files with each other across the internet for free. That activity famously cut into the profits of the recording industry and artists, which filed lawsuits that eventually toppled Napster, but the format helped give rise to the market for streaming music services like Spotify, Apple Music and many others.

Facial recognition helps us unlock devices but also track individuals.

Facial recognition is a blossoming field of technology that's playing an ever-growing role in our lives. It's a form of biometric authentication that uses the features of your face to verify your identity.

The tech helps us unlock devices and sort photos in digital albums, but surveillance and marketing may end up being its prime uses. Cameras linked to facial recognition databases containing millions of mugshots and driver's license photos are used to identify suspected criminals. They also could be used to recognize your face and make personalized shopping recommendations as you enter a store.

Both activities raise privacy concerns, which range from law enforcement overreach, to systems with hidden racial biases, to hackers gaining access to your secure information. And some systems aren't always very accurate.

Even so, the market isn't showing any signs of stalling. In the US alone, the facial recognition industry is expected to grow from $3.2 billion in 2019 to $7 billion by 2024.

On the internet, artificial intelligence is used for everything from speech recognition to spam filtering.

Artificial intelligence simulating human intelligence in machines used to be confined to science fiction. But in recent decades, it's broken into the real world, becoming one of the most important technologies of our time. In addition to being the brains behind facial recognition, AI is helping to solve critical problems in transportation, retail and health care (spotting breast cancer missed by human eyes, for example). On the internet, it's used for everything from speech recognition to spam filtering. Warner Bros. even plans to use AI to analyze its potential movies and choose which ones to put into development.

But there's also fear that a dystopian future is looming with the creation of autonomous weapons, including drones, missile defense systems and sentry robots. Industry leaders have called for regulation of the technology to prevent the potential harm from tools like deepfakes, which are video forgeries that make people seem to say or do things they didn't.

Drones have been used to shoot movie sequences, deliver packages and spray pesticides over crops to protect farms.

Drones have really taken off in recent years. What started out as a hobbyist gadget has transformed industries, with the unmanned aircraft shooting movie sequences, delivering packages to hard-to-reach places, surveying construction sites and spraying pesticide over crops to protect farms.

Drones now range from noisy quadcopters to payload-carrying mini-planes. On the US-Mexico border, Customs and Border Protection uses $16 million military-style Predator drones that can fly as high as nine miles, equipped with radar strong enough to detect footprints in the sand.

In the not-too-distant future, drones are expected to crowd the skies, acting as personal air taxis and performing lifesaving duties such as delivering medicine, helping with search and rescue, and fighting fires.

DNA testing has been helpful in identifying previously unknown relatives as well as criminal suspects.

With a simple swab of your cheek or a sample of your saliva, DNA testing kits have helped deepen our understanding of ancestry, introduced us to living relatives around the world, determined paternity and shed light on a predisposition to specific health issues and diseases.

Over the past few years, the kits have become quite affordable and popular. Law enforcement agencies in particular have grown fond of the kits. Using a technique called genetic genealogy, they've cracked dozens of murder, rape and assault cases, some from decades ago.

Then investigators use traditional genealogical research to identify possible suspects, who are then tested for a DNA match to the crime scene. But the practice relies on investigators having access to a large cache of DNA profiles, and it stirs worries among privacy watchdogs.

Quantum computing is making dramatic leaps in computing power each year.

Companies and countries are pouring billions of dollars into quantum computing research and development. They're betting it will pay off by opening up new abilities in chemistry, shipping, materials design, finance, artificial intelligence and more.

The technology is beginning to show some of the promise researchers have hyped for decades. Last year, a Google-designed quantum processor called Sycamore completed a task in 200 seconds that, by Google's estimate, would take 10,000 years on the world's fastest supercomputer.

Honeywell, which once sold massive mainframes, predicts the performance of its quantum computers will grow by a factor of 10 every year for each of the next five years -- meaning they'd be 100,000 times faster in 2025.

Social media apps jockey for your attention.

The online world was a very different place two decades ago. Social networkers of a certain age may remember Friendster, the site that launched in 2002 and allowed people to fill out an online profile and connect with people they knew in real life. But two years later, Mark Zuckerberg changed everything when he launched a social-networking site for college students called Facebook. It opened to the general public in 2006 and quickly left Friendster and MySpace far behind.

Today Facebook helps people connect and stay connected, but its real business is advertising. Last year, it brought in $32 billion in ad revenue. It also helped pave the way for other social networks that help people chat, share photos and find jobs, among other activities. It now has 2.37 billion users nearly a third of the world's population.

A 3D printer in action.

3D printing -- the process of synthesizing a three-dimensional object -- is one of those technologies that edges ever closer to mainstream use every year. We've seen the concept play out on TV and in movies for years, and now with home 3D printers it's finally growing beyond a wildly exotic hobby for a small enthusiast audience.

3D printing got an early foothold as a way to design prototypes of just about anything. The technology allows manufacturers to build plastic components that are lighter than metal alternatives and with unusual shapes that can't be made by conventional injection molding methods.

The devices are used to create materials inside football helmets and Adidas running shoes, and Porsche plans to roll out a new 3D printing program that will allow customers to have their cars' seats partially 3D-printed.

Some call 3D printing the fourth industrial revolution. Spending in the field is growing at about 13% annually among large US companies, consulting firm Deloitte estimates, and will likely reach $2 billion in 2020.

Video streaming services are quickly replacing cable and satellite subscriptions for many consumers.

Twenty-five years ago, a new media storage format was taking the entertainment world by storm. DVDs had superior picture and sound quality to the VHS tape, and they took up less room on your shelves. Movie rental stores abandoned VHS for DVDs, and online rental services like Netflix popped up, offering the convenience of mailing rented discs directly to you.

Then Netflix introduced its streaming service, allowing people to watch movies and TV shows across the internet. Consumers fell in love with the convenience of on-demand programming and began the phenomenon of "cutting the cord." As more streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and YouTube emerged, consumers started canceling cable and satellite subscriptions and rental services such as Blockbuster went belly up.

By next year, more than one-fifth of US households are expected to have cut the cord on cable and satellite services, according to eMarketer.

Streaming represents 85% of all music consumption in the US.

Vinyl will always be popular among audiophiles, but streaming is still the future of music listening. Streaming music is cheap or even free (in the case of Pandora and Spotify) and outpaces any physical format when it comes to convenience.

Streaming now represents 85% of all music consumption in the US, a 7.6% increase over 2018, according to BuzzAngle Music. In 2019, on-demand audio stream consumption hit a record 705 billion streams, a 32% increase over the previous year.

In 2019, total music industry revenues rose 13% to $11.1 billion, with streaming accounting for nearly 80% of that total, according to the RIAA. But at the same time, album sales fell 23% in 2019 and song sales dropped 26%. And that's after declines of 18.2% and 28.8%, respectively, the previous year.

There are millions of apps on the market, helping perform almost any task you can imagine

Mobile apps have changed the way we consume media and communicate, from news and streaming services to texting and social media apps. They have also changed the way we go about living our daily lives, helping us find on-demand rides, short- and long-term rentals, and have food delivered to our door, just to name a few of the countless benefits.

There are more than 2 million apps in the Apple App Store, generating about $50 billion in revenue.

An Uber self-driving Ford Fusion.

The promise of autonomous vehicles has been touted for more than a decade: Without human drivers, proponents say, cars will be safer and more comfortable, especially on long trips. Technology companies have been working on making them a reality for a long time. The driverless vehicle fleet from Waymo, the autonomous car company owned by Google parent Alphabet, has driven more than 20 million miles on public roads since its founding in 2009.

Fully self-driving cars may not arrive in dealerships for another decade, but we're already benefiting from the technology being developed for autonomous vehicles, including adaptive cruise control, automatic forward-collision braking, automatic parking, autopilot and lane-keep assist.

RFID helps many car woners unlock and start their cars without using a key.

Retailers fell in love with radio frequency identification tracking some 20 years ago, touting the little chips as a convenient way to control inventory and reduce theft, without people having to make contact with the tagged item. Today, they have a variety of applications, including tracking cars, computer equipment and books. They're implanted into animals to help identify the owners of lost pets, farmers use them to monitor crops and livestock, and they help food companies track the source of packaged goods.

Thanks to growing demand, especially in the medical and health care industries, where the tracking technology is used to monitor patients and label medications, spending in the RFID tag industry is projected to hit $17 billion, more than twice the $8.2 billion spent in 2018.

Virtual reality isn't just about gaming.

Companies large and small have begun using virtual reality, which transports users to a computer-generated world. Once confined to the realm of science-fiction movies like Walt Disney's Tron, virtual reality has grown into a real-world industry worth an estimated $18 billion.

While the video game industry was expected to get an economic boost from virtual reality, the broader tech industry sees other applications for the nascent technology, including education, health care, architecture and entertainment.

A boy in the San Francisco Bay Area meets up with his preschool classmates and teachers with the Zoom videoconferencing app.

As the coronavirus pandemic has changed the world we live in, forcing us to avoid contact with others and shelter in place, videoconferencing has exploded in popularity. A few months ago, this technology wouldn't have made our list, but now it's proving indispensable. Video telephony has been around in some form since the 1970s, but it wasn't until the web debuted that the technology took off.

Along with webcams, free internet services such as Skype and iChat popularized the tech in the 2000s, taking videoconferencing to all corners of the internet. The corporate world embraced the tool as a way to cut down on employee travel for meetings and as a marketing tool.

As companies and schools implemented policies on work and study from home, video chatting and conferencing apps grew in popularity as a way to get work done and communicate with friends and family, especially among people who had never used the tech before.

E-cigarettes were pitched as a healthier alternative to cigarettes, but they have provoked new health concerns.

Battery-operated e-cigarettes hit the US market about a decade ago, touted as a safer alternative to traditional tobacco cigarettes. However, they didn't really gain traction until 2015, when Juul Labs debuted its discreet USB-size vaporizer and quickly became the industry leader.

In 2019, an increasing number of people who vape were winding up in hospital with symptoms that include coughing, shortness of breath and other health problems after vaping -- and at least 54 people have died.

Juul is accused in a lawsuit of illegally targeting young people online in advertising campaigns. Vaping companies have been sued on similar grounds in other courts. San Francisco banned the sale of e-cigarettes in June.

Ransomware attacks cost more than $7 billion each year.

The first ransomware attack can be traced to the late 1980s, but the malware has grown in prominence as one of the greatest cybersecurity threats since 2005. Ransomware locks down a victim's computer system until a ransom, usually in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency, is paid. Hackers often threaten to erase data. It spreads like other malware does, through email attachments or unsecured links.

Ransomware attacks skyrocketed in 2019, hitting nearly 1,000 government agencies, educational establishments and health care providers in the US, at an estimated cost of $7.5 billion.

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Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning | U.S. Department …

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Technology ushers in fundamental structural changes that can be integral to achieving significant improvements in productivity. Used to support both teaching and learning, technology infuses classrooms with digital learning tools, such as computers and hand held devices; expands course offerings, experiences, and learning materials; supports learning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; builds 21st century skills; increases student engagement and motivation; and accelerates learning. Technology also has the power to transform teaching by ushering in a new model of connected teaching. This model links teachers to their students and to professional content, resources, and systems to help them improve their own instruction and personalize learning.

Online learning opportunities and the use of open educational resources and other technologies can increase educational productivity by accelerating the rate of learning; reducing costs associated with instructional materials or program delivery; and better utilizing teacher time.

The links on this page are provided for users convenience and are not an endorsement. See full disclaimer.

Virtual or online learning: 48 states and the District of Columbia currently support online learning opportunities that range from supplementing classroom instruction on an occasional basis to enrolling students in full-time programs. These opportunities include dual enrollment, credit recovery, and summer school programs, and can make courses such as Advanced Placement and honors, or remediation classes available to students. Both core subjects and electives can be taken online, many supported by online learning materials. While some online schools or programs are homegrown, many others contract with private providers or other states to provide online learning opportunities.

Full-time online schools: The following online or virtual schools enroll students on a full-time basis. Students enrolled in these schools are not attending a bricks and mortar school; instead they receive all of their instruction and earn all of their credits through the online school.

State operated

District operated

Charter operated

Blended learning: Blended learning opportunities incorporate both face-to-face and online learning opportunities. The degree to which online learning takes place, and the way it is integrated into the curriculum, can vary across schools. The strategy of blending online learning with school-based instruction is often utilized to accommodate students diverse learning styles and to enable them to work before or after school in ways that are not possible with full-time conventional classroom instruction. Online learning has the potential to improve educational productivity by accelerating the rate of learning, taking advantage of learning time outside of school hours, reducing the cost of instructional materials, and better utilizing teacher time. These strategies can be particularly useful in rural areas where blended or online learning can help teachers and students in remote areas overcome distance.

State operated

District operated

School operated

Open educational resources: Open educational resources are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain and are freely available to anyone over the Web. They are an important element of an infrastructure for learning and range from podcasts to digital libraries to textbooks and games. It is critical to ensure that open educational resources meet standards of quality, integrity, and accuracyas with any other educational resourceand that they are accessible to students with disabilities.

Use digital resources well: Schools can use digital resources in a variety of ways to support teaching and learning. Electronic grade books, digital portfolios, learning games, and real-time feedback on teacher and student performance, are a few ways that technology can be utilized to power learning.

Additional resources:

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7 ways the technology sector could support global society in 2022 – VentureBeat

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Hear from CIOs, CTOs, and other C-level and senior execs on data and AI strategies at the Future of Work Summit this January 12, 2022. Learn more

Some of the excesses of 2021 have shown us how digital technologies can undermine what philosophers call future human flourishing. A lot has been written on this topic in the first few days of the new year, but take two examples MIT Technology Reviews list of the worst excesses of technology and Fast Companys 5 best and worst tech moments of 2021 and its evident how little power people affected by technologies have when things go wrong under current systems.

Whats also clear as we enter 2022 is that global tolerance for technologys unchecked disruption of societal institutions, conventions, and values is waning. This is the year governments will pass legislation to control the effects of digital technologies on societies, across many jurisdictions and in relation to numerous existing and emergent technologies. The EU AI and Digital Services Acts, the UK Online Safety Bill, and the US SAFE TECH Act are just a few of the efforts underway.

Legislation is a marker of societal concern, but its also clear that non-specialist, ordinary people have an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the relationship between technology and society. Whether you are a liker or hater of the absurdist satire Dont Look Up that debuted in December, it holds up a mirror to the importance of goal setting by big tech and how thats shaping our civilization. The films dilemma Do we act to save the planet or the comets valuable mineral resources? could equate to Do we make technologies work for corporate or societal goals?

The complex environment that Duke professor Peter Haff called the technosphere is ripe for change, and its not an easy, technical fix. It will require us to think big beyond current frameworks and at scale and to make international changes that complement and support each other, for example to avoid creating regulation-free domains (Switzerlands of technology development).

Economist Joseph Stiglitzs insight that the system that brought us regulation also brought us regulatory capture should make us look hard at solutions that only further encode corporate and societal power imbalances. As anthropologist David Graeber pointed out, The ultimate hidden truth of the world is that it is something we make, and could just as easily make differently.

In the spirit of bold new beginnings and thinking big, here are seven suggestions for different goals, approaches, and behaviors that the technology sector could adopt in 2022, which would support global society rather than corporate goals.

The technology sector has long wanted to be seen as leading the world in decarbonizing and enabling other sectors to become more energy efficient. But research still shows technology companies routinely underrepresent their carbon footprints by failing to account for emissions in value chains, from raw material extraction to end-product use. The seemingly frivolous excesses of blockchain uses like Dogecoin or non-fungible tokens (NFTs), metaverses or entrepreneur-driven moonshots evidence a value system that still overlooks the enormous energy overhead that underpins every use of technology.

Misrepresenting the realities of technologies like artificial intelligence to support an aspirational futurist vision of technologyis still endemic, as is failing to acknowledge when real-world technologies dont deliver on expectations. For example, evidence shows that digital contact tracing apps have not made thesubstantial contribution to protecting public health that was hoped for, autonomous vehicles still have a higher rate of accidents than human-driven cars, and emerging products like Web 3.0 are surrounded by confusing hype.

The dominant media narrative is that technology is driving humanity along a trajectory of progress, interrupted by occasional real-world failures. It might benefit us more to see technology companies as one among many contributors to the future of human potential alongside a myriad of expert philosophers, engineers, humanitarian workers, particle physicists while recognizing that chasing goals that benefit their corporate structures more than they benefit society might be a significant distraction from the task at hand.

International regulators are jumping through hoops to rein in multinational technology companies. The EU AI Act is an ambitious attempt to set an international standard for the development of trustworthy AI through risk-based categories; the UK Online Safety Bill and the EU Digital Services Act take the route of requiring standardized transparency reporting; and the US SAFE TECH Act aims to reaffirm civil rights, victims rights, and consumer protections.

States like California, Virginia, and Colorado were early adopters of privacy protection laws, but investigative journalism has uncovered a lobbying juggernaut that identifies international privacy regulation as a target and gives companies like Amazon huge influence over the drafting of legislation. Meta (formerly Facebook) is publicly adamant that it wants regulation, but the informed view says the company wants to retain credibility in policy while steering legislators to areas where its comfortable seeing tighter government controls.

Regulators are responding by hiring the best and brightest from industry and ethical research for example, the FTC has shored up its AI Strategy Group with academic experts in economics, law, technology, and policy. These are people who are equipped to tackle this complex task, because they understand the technical architectures and processes of technology. They are working to societal goals and will benefit from industry support.

Without the support of industry to make them fit, the cycles of unadopted ethics frameworks (most recently the UNESCO recommendations) will continue. And the parable of Alexa and the penny (as Meredith Whittaker points out) demonstrates that the fundamental issues baked into the relationship between AI and society cant be solved through practices like engineering hygiene and algorithmic auditing alone.

But measures that support a better understanding of how technologies work are gaining traction, like algorithmic transparency standards for public-sector bodies developed by the UK Government. Moving from transparency to recourse leads to accountability mechanisms, and the creation of a relational dynamic with regulators, affected communities, and members of the public that enables them to participate meaningfully in how technologies are designed and deployed. More radical ideas, like enforcing interoperability of platforms and portability of data to rebalance the power dynamic towards users, could change technology, business models, and peoples relationships with digital tools and services.

The corporate capture of research, simply put, means that youre damned if you take the tech company dollar and excluded from access to technologies and data if you dont. Witness Facebook rescinding access to NYU researchers looking into political ad targeting data. Or Timnit Gebrus expulsion from Google over the Stochastic Parrots paper exposed the companys problematic relationship with ethical research that undermines its carefully crafted narratives. To ensure that technology companies arent able to undervalue or coopt peer-reviewed research practices, that power balance willneed to be reset.

New, independent and community-rooted organisations like Gebrus DAIR Institute, the Minderoo Foundations frontier technology network nodes in Oxford, Cambridge, New York, Los Angeles, and Western Australia, and the Ada Lovelace Institute in London (where I work) are vital players, monitoring bad practice, applying pressure, and effecting change. To be truly impactful, they will need research access to technology companies practices, policies, and infrastructures.

Tech worker whistleblowers continue to emerge: Frances Haugen recently provided evidence to the US Congress and the European Parliament that Facebook was aware its platform services were amplifying misinformation. But these individual acts of bravery are not enough to shift the power imbalances between corporate structures and workers perpetuated by entrenched corporate cultures and practices. To disrupt the corporate capture of ethics and support those working in technology, we need a more nuanced understanding of the moral and ethical positioning of tech workers. And we need to mobilize this understanding to empower tech workers to act within companies as directed by their own moral compasses.

Conversations about public understanding of technologies frequently focus on trust that the public needs to be made to trust technologies. But research shows that distrust is frequently a rational response, and it would be better to move the focus to changing industry practices, and building companies and technologies that are demonstrably worthy of trust.

Many technology companies genuinely want to build products that support human flourishing, but if some companies primary goals are mediated through shareholder interests, they risk provoking a further backlash in public trust (2021 Pew Research Center data says 56% of Americans support more regulation of technology companies), and a third AI winter.

The advent of legislation in 2022 will be a giant leap forward. It will begin to move the needle towards rebalancing power dynamics for example towards historically oversurveilled and disadvantaged communities. But such rebalancing will only find real traction with the support of all technology companies, particularly those who hold the knowledge of the code and processes that determine technologies and have the power to create or prevent change.

Octavia Reeve is Interim Lead at the Ada Lovelace Institute.

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Technology could lead to the answers for Nashville’s trash woes – Tennessean

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JJ Rosen| Special to Nashville Tennessean, USA TODAY NETWORK newsrooms in Tennessee

Lets talk about trash.

Although trash is not pleasant to talk about (or smell), for many Nashvillians its become an unexpected topic of conversation.

Just in time for the holidays, when trash cans are brimming with discarded fruitcakes and recycling bins are maxed out with hundreds of Amazon boxes, we got word that curbside recycling services would be suspended.

Its been the perfect storm that would have been hard for anyone to predict. The company that the city contracts with for trash and recycling pickup was already fighting pandemic-related staffing shortages before they ultimately filed for bankruptcy protection this fall.

Dec. 21 story:Nashville suspends recycling pickup services as trash collection woes sap Metro resources

While they attempt to reorganize their company, Metro has had to scramble to keep curbside pickup services from falling behind. With a limited budget and an old fleet of trucks, this is no easy task. Their only choice is to temporarily prioritize trash pickup over recycling while they work through a plan to get everything resolved.

The situation stinks, but it also provides an opportunity to think outside the box.

The term smart city has become popular in recent years to describe the future of city living.The idea is simply to leverage technology to solve old problems in new ways.Tech solutions to solve traffic problems get most of the press but rethinking every challenge that a city faces with a smart city mindset is worth the effort.

So, how can tech help us with our trash problem?

If we look at the challenge holistically, a major goal of a smart waste management system is to reduce the number of pickups that must be made each week to keep the city clean and green. This includes not just residential service, but also public trash cans, dumpsters, and recycling drop-offs that keep public works trucks driving all over town every day.

Smart city tech can help us meet this goal in several ways:

Using tech to reduce the number of pickups and improve the routes comes with the added benefits of less carbon emissions, less traffic tie ups behind garbage trucks, and less wear and tear on collection equipment.

Fortunately, we can look at other cities around the world who have already implemented smart waste and recycling technologies as proof that its a good investment. Cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and Amsterdam have already successfully deployed technologies to ease their heavy trash and recycling demands.

With Nashvilles rapid population growth, the amount of trash we are producing will only continue to grow. So, its not a matter of if we need to implement more smart waste management but when.

They say one persons trash is another persons treasure. Optimizing our trash and recycling infrastructure with smart city technology is something we will all treasure someday. For now, though, this situation is making a lot of us feel like Oscar the Grouch.

JJ Rosen is the founder ofAtiba,aNashville software developmentandIT support firm.Visitwww.atiba.com for more info.

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High-tech & high-touch: The role of technology and empathy in advancing health equity – MedCity News

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Maine currently has the oldest state population in America. For MaineHealth, the states largest integrated health system, that poses a unique challenge: As healthcare evolves, how do you ensure everyone has access to the right resources? How do you work toward a better patient experience that doesnt leave anyone behind?

The short answer is technology. But the long answer, which I was inspired to write about after hosting an event on modernizing the healthcare experience, is about using technology thoughtfully and with empathy.

What is health equity?

In healthcare, equity means serving people logistically, clinically, emotionally and financiallyno matter who they are.

Many underserved patient populations have delayed or even avoided care due to mistrust toward the system. Recently, weve seen mistrust impact the national Covid-19 vaccination rates: data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that Blacks and Latinos are less likely to be vaccinated than people in other racial or ethnic minority groups. Worse, Black and Latino people are more likely to get seriously ill and die from Covid-19.

Socioeconomic status, location, gender, race, religion, ethnicity, age or sexual orientation should not be a reason that patients do not get the care they need when they need it. The goal is for providers and payers to treat underserved populations with empathy while deploying solutions that reflect their priorities.

This is where technology comes in. When implemented the right way, it gives healthcare organizations the ability to tailor the patient experience at tremendous scale. For example, in Maine, patients with access to modern technology are very satisfied with telehealth and other virtual services; but in a rural state, the key is expanding access to those without it. In a case like this, finding great partners was crucial for MaineHealth. For example, the National Digital Equity Centers Maine Digital Inclusion Initiative promotes inclusion for residents by expanding no- or low-cost digital literacy services to traditionally underserved populations, helping them master technology that leads to financial stability and improved health.

Using healthcare technology wisely

As we look to the future, were seeing some promising signs. Take telehealth, which skyrocketed during the pandemicnot just for medical care, but mental health services too. By April 2020, the use of virtual care for office visits and outpatient care was an astonishing 78 times higher than in February 2020. Since that dramatic spike, virtual care use has nonetheless stabilized at levels 38 times higher than pre-pandemic.

Telemedicine offers a bridge to care that simply was not possible before. Its a major step in innovation to improve accessibility and affordability across healthcarehelping patients avoid the need to travel to a providers office, secure child care, or contend with unpaid work hours lost to an appointment.

Fostering equity starts with making a great first impression with your digital front door. Its essential for people to feel as if they are treated with dignity and respect throughout the patient journeyfrom booking an appointment all the way to paying the bill.

Here are tactical ways to get it done:

How people bring technology to life

To be clear, technology will never replace human interaction in healthcare. Technology is only as good as the people and processes behind it.

Digital solutions are more often than not the foundation rather than the full solution- for a top-notch patient experience and increased patient engagement. For example, the Patient Experience Program at Maine Medical Center, MaineHealths flagship hospital, employs tactics like empathy training for all employees and professional staff, in order to foster an environment in which patients and their families are fully engaged and empowered to take ownership of their health.

What works well for one patient can leave another feeling confused and frustrated. Thats why its important to combine technological solutions with high-touch relationships as we all work toward greater equity.

This is especially true when it comes to the financial experiencepayment parity is a must. There shouldnt be a two-tier system for medical bills, nor should there be a one-size-fits-all approach. Forget about confusing paper statements, inflexible payment options, and aggressive collection tactics. Provide straightforward information about pricing and options, both pre- and post-visit. And no matter the messaging, remember to be kind. Approach billing communications as if they were going out to a family member or close friend.

Ultimately, if technology presents a barrier at any point during the patient journey, (human) help should never be more than a phone call away. Implementing new tools can be a gradual process. Make sure phone lines and call centers are sufficiently staffed to handle those incoming callsand ideally hire staffers with bilingual capabilities. Aim to reduce wait times to avoid frustrations so everyone feels supported.

Conclusion

If you can achieve the right mix of high-tech, high-touch options, youve hit the sweet spot for improving equity and accessibility, patient engagement, health outcomes, loyalty, and profitability. When technology is implemented thoughtfully, it can transform our broken healthcare system and give every patient a fair and positive experience, no matter who they are.

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Helping Next-Generation 5G Cell Technology See Past the Trees – SciTechDaily

Posted: at 4:55 pm

NIST researchers studied the effects of trees on millimeter waves, which are planned for use in 5G communication. Credit: N. Hanacek/NIST

Measurements of trees impact on 5G transmissions could prove vital to using a new class of signal.

As 5G technology gets fully implemented over the next several years, cellphones and other wireless tech will grow more powerful with increased data flow and lower latency. But along with these benefits comes a question: Will your next-generation cellphone be unable to see the forest for the trees?

Thats one way to describe the problem confronting cell network designers, who have to embrace both the benefits and shortcomings of a new class of signals that 5G will use: millimeter waves. Not only can these waves carry more information than conventional transmissions do, but they also usefully occupy a portion of the broadcast spectrum that communication technologies seldom use a major concern in an age when broadcasters vie for portions of spectrum like prospectors staking out territory.

However, millimeter waves also have drawbacks, including their limited ability to penetrate obstacles. These obstacles include buildings, but also the trees that dot the landscape. Until recently little was known about how trees affected millimeter wave propagation. And just as few of us would want to imagine a landscape without greenery, few designers would be able to plan networks around it without such a crucial fundamental detail.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has set out to solve this problem by measuring trees effect on millimeter waves. The effort could make a profound difference in our next-generation devices ability to see the 5G antennae that may soon sprout.

The 5G era will feature wireless communication not only between people but also between devices connected to the Internet of Things. The increased demand for larger downloads by cell customers and lag-free network response by gamers has spurred the wireless industry to pursue speedier, more effective communication. Not only could our current devices and services work more effectively, but we could realize new ones: Autonomous vehicles will depend on such quick network response to function.

We will be able to do new things if our machines can exchange and process information quickly and effectively, said Nada Golmie, head of NISTs Wireless Networks Division in the Communications Technology Laboratory. But you need a good communication infrastructure. The idea is to connect, process data in one place and do things with it elsewhere.

Millimeter waves, which are new turf for the wireless industry, could be part of the solution. Their wave crests are just a few millimeters apart a very short distance compared with radio waves that can be several meters long. And their frequencies are very high, somewhere between 30 and 300 gigahertz, or billion wave crests per second. Compared with conventional radio transmissions, which are in the kilohertz (for AM) and megahertz (for FM) ranges, new 5G signals will be very high frequency indeed something like a bird tweeting at the upper range of human hearing compared with radios deep, low bass.

It is millimeter waves high frequency that makes them both tantalizing as data carriers and also hard to harness. On the one hand, more wave crests per second means the waves can carry more information, and our data-hungry era craves that capability to provide those faster downloads and network responses. On the other, high-frequency waves have trouble traveling through obstructions. Anyone who has passed near a house or car whose occupants are playing loud dance music knows that the throbbing bass frequencies are most of what reaches the outdoors, not the treble of a lilting soprano.

For 5G networks, the obstructing wall can be no more than an oak leaf. For that reason, NIST scientists embarked on a somewhat unusual task in September 2019: They set up measurement equipment near trees and shrubs of different sizes around the agencys Gaithersburg, Maryland, campus. The study continued for months, in part because they needed seasonal perspective.

The tree study is one of the few out there that looks at the same trees effect on a particular signal frequency through different seasons, Golmie said. We couldnt only do the survey in the winter, because things would have changed by summer. It turns out that even the shape of leaves affects whether a signal will reflect or get through.

The team worked with the wireless community to develop the mobile equipment that was needed to take the measurements. The researchers focused it on single trees and aimed millimeter-wave signals at them from a range of angles and positions, to simulate waves coming from different directions. They measured the loss, or attenuation, in decibels. (Each 10 dB of loss is a reduction by a power of 10; a 30 dB attenuation would mean the signal is reduced by a factor of 1,000.)

The tree study is one of the few out there that looks at the same trees effect on a particular signal frequency through different seasons. Even the shape of leaves affects whether a signal will reflect or get through. Nada Golmie, NIST researcher

For one type of leafy tree, the European nettle, the average attenuation in summer was 27.1 dB, but it relaxed to 22.2 dB in winter when the tree was bare. Evergreens blocked more of the signal. Their average attenuation was 35.3 dB, a number that did not change with the season.

(As a measure of comparison, the team also looked at different types of building materials. Wooden doors, plasterboard walls and interior glass showed losses of up to 40.5 dB, 31.6 dB and 18.1 dB, respectively, while exterior building materials exhibited even larger losses, up to 66.5 dB.)

While NISTs contributions to 5G network development effort could end up as ubiquitous as trees themselves, for most of us they will be considerably less visible. The measurements the team made are intended mainly for companies that create models of how different objects affect millimeter waves. Part of the effort was a collaboration with Ansys Inc. The company used the measurement data NIST shared with it to tune the tree simulation models, which cell companies use to plan out their networks of antennas in detail.

Most models dont include measurement-based information about trees, said NISTs David Lai, one of the scientists who conducted the study. They might simply say that for a given tree-like shape, we should expect a certain amount of signal loss. We want to improve their models by providing accurate measurement-based propagation data.

NISTs collaboration with Ansys contributed to guidance issued by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the organization that creates guidelines for telecom standards. The results now appear as a new section on trees in ITUs Recommendation ITU-R P.833-10. This publication serves as a reference for signal propagation models, which others will develop.

Our goal is to get these measurements in front of the entire wireless community, Golmie said. We hope this effort will help the entire marketplace.

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