THINGS OF NOTE
WTO Warns Mass Hunger in Developing Countries
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has cut its goods trade growth forecast for 2022 by about a third to 3 per cent, warning that the decline in commodity exports caused by the Ukraine war could cause mass hunger in developing countries.
Source:
Andy Bounds and Valentina Romei. "WT) warns of mass hunger as it slashes trade growth forecast," Financial Times, 13 April 2022,4.
Freedom House Report - Authoritarianism Continues to Rise
Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. In its February 2022 report, entitled Freedom in the World - 2022: The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule, found "authoritarian regimes have become more effective at co-opting or circumventing the norms and institutions meant to support basic liberties, and at providing aid to others who wish to do the same." Additionally, a total of 60 countries suffered declines over the past year, while only 25 improved. As of today, some 38 percent of the global population live in Not Free countries, the highest proportion
since 1997. Only about 20 percent now live in Free countries." The report provides recommendations as to how to combat such trends.
Source:
Sarah Repucci and Amy Slipowitz (et. al). Freedom in the World - 2022: The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule (Washington, D.C.: Freedom House, 2022. Retrieved from: https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/FIW_2022_PDF_Booklet_Digital_Final_Web.pdf
Artificial Intelligence may be "Slightly Conscious"
MIT researcher Tamay Besiroglu joined OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever in warning that some machine learning AI may have achieved a limited form of sentience.
Source:
Cuthbertson, Anthony. "Artificial intelligence may already be ‘slightly conscious’, AI scientists warnSentient machines are ‘one of the most important questions for the long-term future’, researchers say," Independent, 18 February 2022.. Retrieved from: https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/artificial-intelligence-conciousness-ai-deepmind-b2017393.html
Pollution kills millions, Accounting for one in six deaths worldwide
Pollution was responsible for nine million deaths worldwide in 2019, according to the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health.More more than 90% of pollution-related deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries, and most countries have done little to deal with the "enormous" public health problem, it warned.
Source:
https://news.sky.com/story/pollution-still-killing-millions-and-accounts-for-one-in-six-deaths-worldwide-study-finds-12615232