US tech regulation will develop locally

Subject Tech regulation in the United States. Significance San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors on December 10 amended its ban on facial recognition software to allow for Apple iPhones that use facial identification for unlocking the phone. The move reflects the difficulty cities and states face in regulating artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced technologies that have privacy and security implications: while they are legally permitted to regulate, the efficacy of localities’ reforms runs into challenges in a largely unregulated national scene. Impacts AI in policing will attract attention, since municipalities are the jurisdiction for most US police. AI adoption will accentuate ethical concerns about racial discrimination in policing as reports of bias in algorithms proliferate. AI has a low chance of becoming polarised; the tech sector has Republican and Democratic friends.

Subject Innovation in artificial intelligence-enabled defence systems outside the United States. Significance Besides the United States, China and Russia seek a geostrategic advantage through artificial intelligence(AI)-enabled defence. European governments are also waking up to the potential of such systems, but their efforts are splintered. Impacts The feverish pace of development in China suggests its defence systems may be unreliable or unsafe initially. Western researchers will be more bound by ethical barriers than their Russian and Chinese counterparts. Private sector responses will balance commercial gain and reputational risk.


Subject Prospect for artificial intelligence applications. Significance Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, particularly those using 'deep learning', have in the past five years helped to automate many tasks previously outside the capabilities of computers. There are signs that the feverish pace of progress seen recently is slowing. Impacts Western legislation will make companies responsible for preventing decisions based on biased AI. Advances in 'explainable AI' will be rapid. China will be a major research player in AI technologies, alongside the United States, Japan and Europe.


Significance Its guidance will probably be at odds with the approach adopted by the United States. Impacts European AI firms will criticise a tougher regulatory strategy, fearing restrictions on their innovative potential, as well as from abroad. Larger tech companies will be better able to adapt to AI regulations than their smaller competitors. Public authorities, and law enforcement especially, will push back against facial recognition bans.


Subject Chinese investment in the United States. Significance The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) enacted on August 13 expands the remit of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews incoming foreign investment deals for possible national security implications. China is the implicit target. Since its peak of 46 billion dollars in 2016, Chinese direct investment in the United States has steadily declined, falling to 29 billion dollars in 2017 and dropping another 90% year-on-year in the first half of 2018. Impacts Uncertainty regarding new US regulations will hold some Chinese investors back from entering the market. Chinese businesses will face greater pressure from US policymakers and regulators to clarify their relationship with the Communist Party. Chinese investments in ICT, semiconductors and other advanced technologies will come under sustained scrutiny from US regulators. Chinese greenfield investments might increase as investors seek ways around tariffs and the Trump administration seeks to create jobs.


Significance Even after these challenges have passed, other factors will hinder the industry's recovery. The sector accounts for 3.8% of GDP and employs nearly 1 million people, and its decline would have a major economic impact: any loss of investment or fall in production would harm growth and employment prospects. Impacts The adoption of more advanced technologies, requiring training that many Mexican workers lack, will erode the country’s low-wage advantage. US efforts to combat climate change may cause more clashes with Mexico, on top of those caused by proposed electric vehicle tax credits. New fuel efficiency rules for vehicles sold in the United States from 2023 could pose further challenges for Mexican manufacturers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110183
Author(s):  
Azza Sarfraz ◽  
Zouina Sarfraz ◽  
Alanna Barrios ◽  
Kuchalambal Agadi ◽  
Sindhu Thevuthasan ◽  
...  

Background: Health disparities have become apparent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. When observing racial discrimination in healthcare, self-reported incidences, and perceptions among minority groups in the United States suggest that, the most socioeconomically underrepresented groups will suffer disproportionately in COVID-19 due to synergistic mechanisms. This study reports racially-stratified data regarding the experiences and impacts of different groups availing the healthcare system to identify disparities in outcomes of minority and majority groups in the United States. Methods: Studies were identified utilizing PubMed, Embase, CINAHL Plus, and PsycINFO search engines without date and language restrictions. The following keywords were used: Healthcare, raci*, ethnic*, discriminant, hosti*, harass*, insur*, education, income, psychiat*, COVID-19, incidence, mortality, mechanical ventilation. Statistical analysis was conducted in Review Manager (RevMan V.5.4). Unadjusted Odds Ratios, P-values, and 95% confidence intervals were presented. Results: Discrimination in the United States is evident among racial groups regarding medical care portraying mental risk behaviors as having serious outcomes in the health of minority groups. The perceived health inequity had a low association to the majority group as compared to the minority group (OR = 0.41; 95% CI = 0.22 to 0.78; P = .007), and the association of mental health problems to the Caucasian-American majority group was low (OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.45 to 0.58; P < .001). Conclusion: As the pandemic continues into its next stage, efforts should be taken to address the gaps in clinical training and education, and medical practice to avoid the recurring patterns of racial health disparities that become especially prominent in community health emergencies. A standardized tool to assess racial discrimination and inequity will potentially improve pandemic healthcare delivery.


2020 ◽  
pp. 002087282097061
Author(s):  
Qin Gao ◽  
Xiaofang Liu

Racial discrimination against people of Chinese and other Asian ethnicities has risen sharply in number and severity globally amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This rise has been especially rapid and severe in the United States, fueled by xenophobic political rhetoric and racist language on social media. It has endangered the lives of many Asian Americans and is likely to have long-term negative impacts on the economic, social, physical, and psychological well-being of Asian Americans. This essay reviews the prevalence and consequences of anti-Asian racial discrimination during COVID-19 and calls for actions in practice, policy, and research to stand against it.


2020 ◽  
pp. 073346482097760
Author(s):  
Manka Nkimbeng ◽  
Yvonne Commodore-Mensah ◽  
Jacqueline L. Angel ◽  
Karen Bandeen-Roche ◽  
Roland J. Thorpe ◽  
...  

Acculturation and racial discrimination have been independently associated with physical function limitations in immigrant and United States (U.S.)-born populations. This study examined the relationships among acculturation, racial discrimination, and physical function limitations in N = 165 African immigrant older adults using multiple linear regression. The mean age was 62 years ( SD = 8 years), and 61% were female. Older adults who resided in the United States for 10 years or more had more physical function limitations compared with those who resided here for less than 10 years ( b = −2.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [–5.01, –0.23]). Compared to lower discrimination, those with high discrimination had more physical function limitations ( b = −2.51, 95% CI = [–4.91, –0.17]), but this was no longer significant after controlling for length of residence and acculturation strategy. Residing in the United States for more than 10 years is associated with poorer physical function. Longitudinal studies with large, diverse samples of African immigrants are needed to confirm these associations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-126
Author(s):  
Takisha Durm

PurposeThe Girl Who Buried Her Dreams in a Can, written by Dr Tererai, profiles a cultural, yet global experience of the power of believing in one's dream. Through this study of the similarities and differences of how children in the United States and abroad live and dream of a better life, this lesson seeks to enhance students' understandings of the power and authority they possess to effect change not only within their own lives but also in the lives of countless others in world. After reading the text, students will work to create vision boards illustrating their plans to effect change within their homes, schools, communities, states or countries. They will present their plans to their peers. To culminate the lesson, the students will bury their dreams in can and collectively decide on a future date to revisit the can to determine how far they have progressed in accomplishing their goals.Design/methodology/approachThis is an elementary grades 3–6 lesson plan. There was no research design/methodology/approach included.FindingsAs this is a lesson plan and no actual research was represented, there are no findings.Originality/valueThis is an original lesson plan completed by the first author Takisha Durm.


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