Parallel Barking

Presidents of Harvard, Penn and MIT were questioned about rising antisemitism on college campuses at a House committee hearing on Tuesday, December 5th. The biggest backlash stems from the question that asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate the university code of conduct. At Tuesday's hearing Harvard president Claudine Gay said it depended on the context, adding that when “speech crosses into conduct, that violates our policies.” (AP)

In attempts to destabilize the West, Russia and its allies have been using migrants as pawns. After Russia invaded Ukraine and Finland joined NATO, it is clear that this "hybrid [type] warfare" combined with disinformation is becoming the norm.

Try typing both "photorealistic image of man" and "photorealistic image of woman" into Bing AI and you'll get the image of a man right away -- for woman, not so much. Instead, you'll get an error message saying that the content you requested is inappropriate/explicit.

The problem with selling fake photos is that people may not know they are fake. Blatant deception seems to be the name of the game and if money is involved, then it's open season.

Hacktivists are hitting dozens of government websites and media outlets amid the war in Israel and Gaza, disrupting and overloading targeted systems. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, prominent hacktivist groups like "Anonymous Sudan" and "Killnet" that back Russian interests have emerged; they have also found their way into the current Israel-Gaza conflict.

A Danish artist was given a load of money to recreate his artwork for an exhibit on labor relations at the Kunsten Museum in Aalborg. The earlier pieces featured bank notes pasted to canvases in the amount of the average annual wage in Denmark. This time artst Jens Haaning submitted two white canvases, minus bank notes, and titled them "Work it Out." The court is now telling the artist he has to pay the money back. What do you think?

On July 26th, Niger's president Mohammed Bazoum was ousted by his own presidential guards. The official stated reasoning was worsening security due to continued violent attacks from jihadist groups in the region. Now a majority of the Sahel is under military control. What is really going on?

It has been a few days since both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King extended their deadline until October of this year. Although the FTC had voiced their intent to file an appeal with the 9th circuit court, things seem to be cooling down relatively speaking. The last hold-out on the global stage is the UK's Competition and Market Authority.

Allies have stated that Ukraine can join NATO when Ukraine has met specific "conditions." After voicing concerns over the vague lack of timeframe and vague conditions, Zelensky left the NATO summit in Vilnius feeling it a relative success.

This story, more than anything, is about perceived privilege and what it can do to one's critical thinking skills. A man who wanted a pristine view of the NYC skyline decided that the possible fines incurred by illegally trespassing and cutting down neighbors' trees would be less than (in money and effort) going through the appropriate channels. The $32k he thought he would have to pay instead ballooned into about $2 million. Listen in to hear why.

If you've been following the alternative-meat news lately, then you won't be too surprised to hear that a new alternative has been recently developed for market consumption: cell-cultivated or lab-grown chicken. Would you eat it?

The submersible, also named the Titan, owned by tourist/deep-see exploration comapny OceanGate Expeditions, had a total 96 hour oxygen supply when it set off on its voyage on 6 a.m. Sunday, June 18th, with 5 tourists who paid a "mission support fee" of $250,000 each. About an hour and 45 minutes after the vessel sumberged, contact was lost in a remote area in the North Atlantic. Now large rescue units from around the world are mobilizing to search for the lost vessel.

Elon Musk's company, Neuralink, recently surpassed a huge hurdle by being approved by the FDA for human trials. Besides being able to make those previously unable to walk, Musk's long-term goal for the company is to be a bridge between AI and the human mind in an attempt to mitigate threats that the technology presents. There are other BCI tech companies that have been around much longer than Neuralink, but the emergence of Musk's company and newer startups like Precision have raised questions and interest to say the least.

There's been an increase in the number of anti-discrimination bills being released throughout the United States and one thing that is common among all of them is that they are very specific about the types of discrimination that should not be permitted and in what arenas. This, of course, begs the question of what types of discrimination are allowed and where? It seems these types of laws may open the door for various discriminatory actions that were not captured in the original legislation. Are there acceptable types of discrimination?

So, we have an art exhibit in France where you must strip down naked to enter, followed by a drink and chat. The aim of the macLYON exhibit is to challenge the notion from Rene Descartes that "I think, therefore I am," but instead we are above our bodies. Next, we have a German landlord who deigned to bathe in the nude in the public courtyard of his building. The Frankfurt residential building included an office floor. The company withheld rent when they objected to the naked sunbather. Why is there so much controversy over being...naked???!

An Alaska legislator has used the Microsoft Bing AI co-pilot to write a bill to legalize gambling on ferries. After waiting months for the state Legislature's lawyers to draft the bill, Representative Jesse Sumner (R – Wasilla) turned to AI for assistance. So, who really writes the laws? Where do laws come from? With the continued use of AI, how will power dynamics change?

It seems like everyone has something to say about how others should conduct themselves. This is most visible recently in states' desire to shape traditional gender roles, values, beliefs, through legislation. We see it in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United States: laws dictating dress code, curfew, prohibition from activities and areas, and medical procedures. The last bastions of traditional norms refuse to go down without a fight.

After a 5-hour hearing with its CEO, Shou Zi Chew, regarding national security concerns, the US House of Representatives is moving forward with legislation to ban the social media app TikTok. Soon after the hearing, some of the US's more than 150million users took to the app to make fun of more memorable points in the hearing, candidly exposing lawmakers' lack of understanding of modern tech.

In an interview with podcast "The Art of Being Well" the 50-year-old Oscar Winner discussed using the "very helpful" therapy. In a semi continuation of our previous episode, we explore the impetus behind the creation and use of alternative therapies.

A popular drug originally meant for something else but now being used for a potential fountain of youth? Listen in to hear more about it. And you can't forget about Ozempic.

The city of Rotterdam provides welfare benefits for their residents every year, usually to about 30,000 individuals and families. Between 2017 and 2021, the city used a machine learning algorithm to generate a risk-based score for all residents to judge the probability of committing fraud. The problem? The factors used to judge are not predictors of fraud but of the very need for welfare assistance. But why did they do it that way?

Literary censorship is nothing new but it is certainly getting new press attention as news hit that the Roald Dahl Store Company agreed to change the author's stories to comply with modern sensitivity standards. Famous works like 'Matilda' and 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' have been changed to remove potentially offensive language like 'fat'. But why are these books being changed in the first place? What was the catalyst for these updates?

With the increased use of AI throughout society, AI singularity--or the concept of an event where artificial intelligence evolves to a point where it is either self-aware or can improve beyond human comprehension/capabilities--has become a hot topic of discussion. Until recently, however, we haven't really been able to accurately estimate the point in time when we will cross that "event horizon." Translated, a Rome-based translation company, developed a metric--Time to Edit (TTE)--to calculate the time it takes for professional human editors to fix AI-generated translations compared to human ones (estimated at 7 years). Also, there are death-bots.

According to the United Nations World Migration Report, the number of international migrants was estimated to be around 281 million globally in 2020. COVID-19 has drastically altered the migration and mobility of people around the world in the past two years -- including impacting information diaspora/disinformation on migration. Climate change and major displacement events have also affected migration in the past two years: foremost have been the displacements of millions of people due to conflict (such as within and from the Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan), or severe economic and political instability (such as that faced by millions of Venezuelans and Afghans).

South Africa has been mired in economic and social problems stemming from years of corruption. Making it worse is the energy crisis that began in earnest in 2007, once "loadshedding" became part of the institutional lexicon. Loadshedding is a term used to describe scheduled blackouts across the country that occur in different stages, sometimes lasting up to 12 hours a day, for both businesses and private residences. Stage 5, for example, is blackouts for businesses and residences for up to 8 hours a day. Stage 8 has been suggested as national shutdown. How did this happen? How is this impacting South Africans? Listen in to find out.

Welcome to Season 4 of Parallel Barking!! Thanks for sticking with us. An intelligence assessment by Ukranian experts found that an Iranian-made attack drone had parts made by at least a dozen US companies (and other Western nations' companies). The technology ranges from smaller semiconductors, GPS modules to larger engines. The options for combating this issue are quite limited, but it's still a problem, and sanctions can only go so far. How far does responsibility go for transnational companies? Let's discuss.

Ah, language, ever evolving, it always manages to spark debate. This time the tea is all about how we interpret the words 'man' and 'woman'. This is the last episode of season 3 -- thanks everyone for a great year and we'll see you in 2023!

Usually, we think of spring as the season of 'love', but it seems governmental entities have a different idea. Recently the U.S., Indonesia and Singapore all passed new laws protecting or criminalizing people's most intimate activities. Each country handles it differently, sometimes radically.

The creation of a 'loss and damage' fund was negotiated at the UN COP27 Summit in Egypt at the end of November. The nations who'll benefit from the funds are largely from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. These countries are projected to be worst-affected by rising sea levels and other weather extremes stemming from emissions created by wealthier countries. But what does compensation really mean and how does it work? Does it make sense?

Co-hosts Larry and Arianna discuss the most recent updates on the protests in Iran, the World Cup and how it all connects together.

China's top legislative body has updated its gender laws to introduce a new list of moral standards for women. On Sunday, the National People's Congress passed an amendment to the decades-old Women's Rights and Interests Protection Act to ensure women uphold “family values.” The opening chapter, which summarizes the principles of the revised legislation, notes: “Women should respect and obey national laws, respect social morals, professional ethics and family values.” The updated law comes as the country faces lower birthrates and decreasing marriage figures, putting more pressure on women to adopt traditional housekeeping roles.

Your hosts Arianna and Larry look at the results of the race and give the low-down. What's up next for US domestic and foreign affairs? For now, it's still up in the air.

US mid-term elections are done as of 11/8/2022. One of the most important aspects of the apex performance of liberal democracy is the election. It serves as a periodic affirmation of the continued legitimacy of the state apparatus into which representatives are elected. It follows that the preservation of the system must at its core be focused on legitimacy.

Itaewon has become a popular location to celebrate Halloween since early 2000, so much so that tourists come from all over the world to join in the festivities. This year was no exception because it was the first year after the pandemic, with all restrictions lifted. No one was thinking that this year would have led to such misfortune.

In occupied Kherson, Yuri Kerpatenko — who was the chief conductor of the Kherson Philharmonic, refused to perform in the celebration of what was being termed the "improvement of peaceful life.” He was then shot in his Kherson home by Russian soldiers. The discovery of his murder was on October 14th, 2022.

On 10/5/2022, OPEC and non-OPEC producers decided to cut oil production to shore up prices. The price of oil is now $80 a barrel from more than $120 in early June amid growing fears about the prospect of a global economic recession.

Protests ignited by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the country's morality police. Security forces are using deadly force to suppress protestors and the situation is bleak--shots continually firing between security forces and protestors, children dying in their parents' arms, drivers with vicious bullet wounds all over their bodies, fires and explosions. If protestors go to the hospital for their wounds, they risk arrest by plain-clothed police officers. The fight has morphed from equitable treatment to freedom in Iran. "...We are protesting for freedom in Iran. For the prisoners and the condemned, for the people of Iran calling for the regime to go. Everyone wants this regime to go (CNN)."

The pipelines at this point have leaked a record-breaking amount of methane. Leaks were reported as early as Monday, September 26. While international experts attempt to determine the cause of the leak, debates about the cause swirl around the political world. The pipeline itself is responsible for supplying a large amount of energy to Europe.

It appears Putin is changing strategies in his war efforts. After confirming Thursday that it will annex about 15% of Ukraine, Russia had an official ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday September 30, to incorporate the regions into "the motherland." At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rallies for international support and speeds his application to NATO. Will those regions in Ukraine really be annexed? Who will prevail? Listen in to find out....our opinion...

As an homage to summer, we give you this story about France using satellite images to find and tax un-registered swimming pools. Thanks to good 'ol machine learning, aerial photos provided by the French Geological and Forestry Service can be used to uncover homeowners' un-declared pools. What will follow? Who knows, but we're gonna talk about it!

Winnie the Pooh from 100-Acre Wood is getting a horror adaptation with Blood and Honey. The rights to the character, originally created by A.A. Milne, have been owned by Walt Disney since 1966. But in January 2022, the beloved children's book character became public domain and so work began on the horror film. This brings to mind debates on ownership, expectations after creation of a piece of art or literature etc. and what its future should look like.

In the midst of the ACLU asking a Montana judge to strike down anti-trans birth certificate rule, which at first required a person to undergo sex-change surgery before being allowed to change their birth certificate, Montana passes a bill that makes it impossible to change your birth certificate regardless. This leads to questions about the use of birth certificates, their functions in everyday life and the implications of such mandates. Also, what does the rest of the world think?

This has happened in the past -- an age-old story of technology infiltrating an industry traditionally honed through human physical skill, and the artisans that have spent years painstakingly practicing their craft fearing the end of their reign. It happened when Photography and digital photography made their debut, both being criticized as being too technical and void of emotion to be considered a fine art-form. Now, we have tools that produce AI-Generated art pieces and are creating the same sort of uproar and controversy. What are your thoughts on this new art form and its future in the creative community?

Darya Dugina, daughter of ultranationalist Russian idealogue and commentator Aleksandr Dugin, was killed in a Moscow car bomb last week. Russia has sought to pin the blame on Ukraine; however, the lines of guilt are not clear. Others, like author Anders Aslund, say that it is likely that Putin was behind Darya's killing--"why would Ukraine waste resources on such a target."

After the AI bot GPT-3 successfully writes a scientific paper about itself, the scientist behind the whole thing wonders if she opened a Pandora's box. The answer -- of course! And that's what's so awesome about it! Let's chat.

This discussion is about privacy and what large corporations are doing with our data. Facebook's cooperation in the case raises concerns about surveillance and obligation. Listen-in to see where you land in the debate.

Since April, Abbott has already dispatched more than 6,500 migrants to Washington D.C. and vows to make NYC's Port Authority Terminal a drop-off location for his ongoing busing strategy. This is a protest, and the Governor has stated as much, saying “Because of President Biden's continued refusal to acknowledge the crisis caused by his open border policies, the State of Texas has had to take unprecedented action to keep our communities safe.”

Larry and Arianna talk about Elon Musk and the pending deal with Twitter, along with some of his other escapades.

A couple tried to buy some condoms at a Walgreens but was told by the cashier that he would not complete the transaction. Walgreens refused to pursue disciplinary action because the employee did not transgress any rules. Arianna and Larry discuss the situation.

Brandy Bottone, 32, said her unborn baby should count as a second passenger in her vehicle after she received a ticket, citing Texas' penal code in the wake of Roe v. Wade's being overturned.

Arianna and Larry talk about three very different but dramatic events that happened in relatively close succession.