[Mohammad Hosseini, Kristi Holmes] Beware inherent biases and inequities in AI tools

A year ago, OpenAI released ChatGPT -- a free generative artificial intelligence chatbot that creates text in response to user prompts. With its launch, millions of people started using ChatGPT for tasks such as writing school essays, drafting emails and personal greetings, and retrieving information. Increasingly, more people and public offices are using ChatGPT to improve productivity and efficiency, conducting sophisticated tasks instantaneously that are typically beyond human abilities. Pub

ViewpointsDec. 12, 2023

[Lisa Jarvis] Hard part of sickle cell breakthrough

The approval of Casgevy, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Crispr Therapeutics Inc.’s gene therapy for sickle cell disease, is a transformative moment in medicine. Not only is it the first Crispr-based drug to reach the market -- it’s a potentially life-altering advance for a patient population that has been for too long ignored and underserved by the medical establishment. Lyfgenia, a second gene therapy from Bluebird Bio that uses different technology, was also given the Food and Dru

ViewpointsDec. 11, 2023

British Embassy, BASS celebrates 'Mince Pie Morning'

The British Embassy and the British Association of Seoul (BASS) celebrated the annual Mince Pie Morning at the residence of British Ambassador Colin Crooks in Seoul on Thursday. The event featured traditional English mince pies — a sweet pastry filled with a delectable mixture of fruit, spices, and suet — marking the spirit of the holiday season in English-speaking traditions. “BASS is an important part of the vibrant expat community here in Seoul. It was, as always, a pleasure

Foreign AffairsDec. 8, 2023

[Mark Hannah] Foreign policy to sway 2024 campaign

Conventional wisdom suggests Americans know little about foreign policy and care about it even less. Opinion polls regularly show that international issues take a back seat to topics more prosaic (economics, education) or provocative (culture wars, gun control). Next year’s presidential election, however, might be a bit different. Continued international crises could focus attention on the benefits and burdens of American global leadership, and our polarized politics may turn on battles an

ViewpointsDec. 8, 2023

[Doyle McManus] Is Biden in trouble with Democrats over Gaza?

When Israel pounded Gaza with airstrikes after Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attack, it opened a dramatic divide among Democrats over a war that has claimed thousands of civilian lives. Progressive activists staged protests across the country, demanded an immediate cease-fire and accused President Joe Biden of complicity in genocide. A handful of Democrats in Congress joined the call for a cease-fire, but stopped short of blaming Biden for Israel's actions. At the height of the offensive, befor

ViewpointsDec. 7, 2023

[Martin Schram] Covering Kissinger’s century

President Richard Nixon was work-vacationing in his Western White House estate at San Clemente, California, and not far away, the White House press corps was about to be briefed by the world’s most famous anonymous authority on all foreign policies. Which is to say, another ritual Vietnam War policy/press corps kabuki was about to start. It began the usual way, with Nixon press secretary Ronald Ziegler saying national security adviser Henry Kissinger was about to explain a significant new

ViewpointsDec. 7, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] ‘We know who you are. We are everywhere’

It would be miserable to live in an Orwellian dystopian society that puts you under constant surveillance, closely monitoring your conversations, your whereabouts and your everyday life. Using omnipresent surveillance cameras, AI operated facial recognition deviced, or your smartphone, your government agencies can now trace your movements, hear your conversations, and read your text messages or emails. In the 2008 Hollywood film “Eagle Eye,” a TV announcer says, “Cellphone us

ViewpointsDec. 6, 2023

[Antara Haldar] The twilight zone of economics

Ten years ago, Eugene Fama and Robert J. Shiller were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics (together with Lars Peter Hansen) “for their empirical analysis of asset prices.” Fama and Shiller, however, hold diametrically opposing views on asset-price movements, from what drives the decisions of economic actors to whether markets are inherently efficient. Fifteen years after the global economic crisis, it is a disagreement worth revisiting. Fama is a member of the Chicago School of econ

ViewpointsDec. 6, 2023

Justice and finance at the climate summit

By Jeffrey D. Sachs As governments gather in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for this year’s climate conference in early December, two things are painfully clear. First, we are already in a climate emergency. Second, the richer countries, and especially the US, continue to turn their back on the poorer countries. This year’s debate will therefore focus on climate justice and financing: how to share the costs of the climate disasters and the urgently needed transformation of the wor

ViewpointsDec. 5, 2023

[Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson] OpenAI's drama marks scary era in tech

Sam Altman’s dismissal and rapid reinstatement as CEO of OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, confirms that the future of AI is firmly in the hands of people focused on speed and profits, at the expense of all else. This elite will now impose their vision for technology on the rest of humanity. Most of us will not enjoy the consequences. The founders of OpenAI claimed to be creating a philanthropic organization that would benefit all of humanity or at least protect it from potential harm. OpenA

ViewpointsDec. 4, 2023

[Robert J. Fouser] Korean learning boom at US universities

The Modern Language Association recently released its survey of second language enrollment at US universities as of the fall 2021 semester. Founded in 1883, the MLA is the most prominent organization of college and university second language educators in the county. The survey has been conducted every three or four years since 1958 and offers a window into the state of second language education in the US. The most notable change in the latest survey is the rise of Korean. For the first time ever

ViewpointsDec. 1, 2023

[Wang Son-taek] Why do we need the trilateral summit?

The Korea-China-Japan foreign ministers' meeting was recently held in Busan, with considerable expectations at home and abroad. At the first meeting in four years, the ministers reaffirmed trilateral cooperation and held in-depth discussions on cooperation measures. It is a welcome diplomatic achievement that the three major countries in Northeast Asia met and discussed peace and prosperity amid anxiety over the wars in Europe and the Middle East. However, it is also necessary to point out

ViewpointsNov. 30, 2023