TECHNOLOGY
AI needs the equivalent of Asimov's 3 rules of robotics. Here's why
As self-learning systems grow more complex, even their creators can't fully grasp why the platforms are behaving as they do. This is what people like Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak are worried about.
WORLD
How do you solve a problem like Donald Trump?
The Stormy Daniels case can provide salacious fodder to the masses, but if Donald Trump is found not guilty here, it could greatly boost his and his fans’ claims that he is being hounded for political vendetta.
POLITICS
Which new, hallowed sector has Bengal corruption clawed?
Much of the credit for exposing this corruption of the Mamata Banerjee-led government goes to Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a Calcutta High Court judge who pursued the matter with zeal and courage.
WORLD
Russia-Ukraine War: 20 years since the Iraq War, the steady crisis of civilisation
Rebuilding Ukraine could cost more than $1 trillion, an epic human tragedy. The world has likely forgotten that other catastrophe which began on March 19, exactly two decades ago.
WORLD
Russia Ukraine Conflict: Who bombed the Nord Stream gas pipelines last September and why?
Washington alleged that the bombings were the work of Moscow. Moscow pointed its finger at Britain and the United States. Germany, Denmark and Sweden set up a joint investigation, but refused to allow Russia to participate. Some sections say pro-Ukranian groups did it.
INDIA
There's a problem brewing in Punjab
Arvind Kejriwal needs to take some decisive action in Punjab. And the Union government must get involved right now.
TRENDS
Rewriting Roald Dahl's books for 'sensitivity' is the latest woke atrocity
The changes in Roald Dahl's books relate to weight, mental health, gender and race.
WORLD
Is George Soros making the biggest short-selling bid of his life on India?
The rupee is not fully convertible, so an attack on it may not yield the sort of spectacular profits that George Soros made in 1998, short-selling the Thai baht and the Malaysian ringgit. But he may be eyeing the stock market.
INDIA
Why is everyone in Kolkata so happy?
Festivals extend for days here, and no one seems to mind waiting an hour for a routine bank enquiry. Nor does anyone fear loss of limb while walking on the road. The underdog seems to rule here, and the crowds are ever ready to mete out justice.
WORLD
How Pervez Musharraf squandered the chance to curb terrorism at home after 9/11
Then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had an unusually tough and dangerous job in the years after 9/11. Yet for years, he managed to run with the hares and hunt with the hounds.
WORLD
Israel and China influence the West in many ways. India can develop these muscles too
Somalia-born US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was ousted from the US Foreign Affairs Committee following a vote on February 2. She has been one of the most strident anti-India voices in the US Congress.
WORLD
Who's dismayed at New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern's resignation?
Jacinda Ardern had an easier Covid challenge than nearly all her counterparts across the world. Yet she messed it all up.
TRENDS
Golden Globes 2023: What's so funny in 'The Banshees of Inisherin'?
Of his four films, Martin McDonagh's 'The Banshees of Inisherin', Golden Globe Best Picture (Musical/ Comedy) winner, is the least humorous. Did the flummoxed film journalists who nominated it choose the easiest option?
CRICKET
Indian cricket team selection: The issue with using a yo-yo fitness test cut-off
Physical endurance, while important, does not a great cricketer make. Suryakumar Yadav is no Hercules, and you would be hard-pressed to recall a time when Sri Lankan great Arjuna Ranatunga sprinted for a run.
HEALTH-AND-FITNESS
Don't worry, get a Covid vaccine booster shot
According to health ministry officials, the virus usually hits India about 30-35 days after it appears in East Asia. So the countdown has started. BF.7 could appear at our doorsteps in January.
TRENDS
Book review | 'Kishore Kumar: The Ultimate Biography' is an in-depth account of the life and work of a true genius
This biography of Kishore Kumar is many things in one: It is a work of exhaustive scholarship, a dizzying mass of trivia, and of course, a labour of love.
TRENDS
Harry & Meghan Netflix show review: A carefully choreographed pity party that rings hollow
The show is a rehearsed image-building exercise—this is how Harry and Meghan want the world to see them, as victims who are working together to rebuild their lives.
TRENDS
Hunter Biden updates: How Elon Musk's Twitter takeover started a war of ideas
Elon Musk has, through independent journalist Matt Taibbi, released internal documents that seem to show that Twitter, after being requested by Joe Biden’s campaign managers, broke its own norms to scrub out all references to Hunter Biden’s shenanigans that could have implicated his father.
INDIA
EC selection, judicial overreach and the problem with 'We are not saying so but it looks like that'
The Supreme Court talked about Chief Election Commissioners having had shorter tenures since 1996. The fact is India has had 25 CJIs and 15 CECs in the 26 years since 1996.
TRENDS
Where's the 'People's Princess' Diana in 'The Crown' Season 5 and 'Spencer'?
These portrayals of Princess Diana do immense injustice to her. Of course, she had a difficult relationship with her husband and his family, but she also had the courage to step out of it.
TRENDS
Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong on the mad Indian holiday
From helplines that don't work to cryptic messages from the airline and refunds that need following up - there's much that can go wrong on the incredible Indian holiday.
INDIA
Delhi Air Pollution: AAP built a vote bank in Punjab, and is now hostage to it
Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is in power in both Delhi, where the victims are struggling, and Punjab, where the culprits thrive.
WORLD
Rishi Sunak's elevation to UK PM is important. But not for the reasons most Indians in India are celebrating it
This is exactly what we saw when Kamala Harris became the vice-president of the US.
WORLD
Partygate, Ready4Rishi, Liz Truss vs lettuce, and UK's cost of living crisis: How England got here
Liz Truss had the shortest tenure ever for a British PM, sparking memes and jokes on social media.
