Gastonia, NC Flag, yes. Verdict, no. And the rule I was about to demand was issued eleven days ago as federal policy, which nobody in this Forum seems to have noticed. On the third of April the Office of Management and Budget put out new guidance governing how agencies use artificial intelligence. It replaces the … Continue reading Can artificial intelligence usefully flag fraud and duplicate payments inside government, or will agencies use “the model said so” to dodge the human accountability they already fail to provide?
Business
Is local journalism going to survive this year, and does it matter if it doesn’t?
Las Vegas, Nevada Correspondent — This town has a specific and instructive version of the problem. Our daily paper was bought a few years ago through a holding company that initially wouldn't say who owned it. The newsroom found out who its own owner was by reporting the story, which is either the best or … Continue reading Is local journalism going to survive this year, and does it matter if it doesn’t?
Is local journalism going to survive this year, and does it matter if it doesn’t?
Gastonia, NC Correspondent — This is my trade, so I'll take some length and then be quiet on it for a while. The short answer is that a great deal of it isn't surviving, and that the pandemic finished something that was already most of the way finished. The chain that owned a large share … Continue reading Is local journalism going to survive this year, and does it matter if it doesn’t?
Has the year changed what Americans count as essential work, and will the change survive the recovery?
Gastonia, NC Correspondent — I've held about six of the jobs on the essential list, which gives me an unusual vantage on the word. I've been a chef, a dispatcher, a farm worker, and a few other things before I ended up editing copy. Every one of those was essential this year. The job I … Continue reading Has the year changed what Americans count as essential work, and will the change survive the recovery?
Has the year changed what Americans count as essential work, and will the change survive the recovery?
Cheyenne, Wyoming Correspondent — The word arrived in March and meant one thing: you don't get to stay home. It came with no wage, no benefit, and no protection. It was a permission slip pointed the wrong direction. I keep books for a freight and energy firm and our drivers never stopped. Nobody sent them … Continue reading Has the year changed what Americans count as essential work, and will the change survive the recovery?
With signs of a global economic slowdown, trade tensions, and Federal Reserve rate cuts, how resilient is the U.S. and world economy heading into 2020?
Orange County, California Correspondent The stock market set a record this week, the unemployment rate is at a fifty-year low, and the Federal Reserve has just cut interest rates three times in four months, and I want to begin by pointing out that those three facts do not belong in the same sentence. A central … Continue reading With signs of a global economic slowdown, trade tensions, and Federal Reserve rate cuts, how resilient is the U.S. and world economy heading into 2020?
How has the college admissions scandal involving wealthy parents and coaches affected public trust in elite universities and the broader debate over merit and privilege?
Prescott Valley, Arizona Correspondent I spent two decades in public schools writing letters of recommendation for students whose parents could not afford a test-prep course, let alone a bribe, and I want to say at the outset that nothing in the indictments unsealed in March surprised a single teacher I know. The surprise, the thing … Continue reading How has the college admissions scandal involving wealthy parents and coaches affected public trust in elite universities and the broader debate over merit and privilege?
How has the #MeToo movement evolved in 2018 beyond high-profile cases, and what lasting institutional changes, if any, has it produced in workplaces and public life?
Long Island, New York Correspondent I have worked in and around the law for thirty years, in a district attorney's office, a school district, and a practice that handles the letters people write when they discover the rules apply to them, and I want to answer this question by pointing to the one change this … Continue reading How has the #MeToo movement evolved in 2018 beyond high-profile cases, and what lasting institutional changes, if any, has it produced in workplaces and public life?
Considering the growing power and influence of technology companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon, are we at risk of becoming a Big Brother society where our every move is observed, and every detail of our private lives is accessible to those who wish to manipulate or exploit us in some way?
Gastonia, NC Correspondent-I don’t think we’re at risk of becoming a Big Brother society, I think we’re already there. Big Data has infiltrated every part of our lives, and the ability of hackers to take over smart devices in our homes, listen in our baby monitors and even turn on the cameras in our computers … Continue reading Considering the growing power and influence of technology companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon, are we at risk of becoming a Big Brother society where our every move is observed, and every detail of our private lives is accessible to those who wish to manipulate or exploit us in some way?
How can we solve the growing labor shortages and get foreign workers into US jobs where they are needed?
Gastonia, NC Correspondent-There are tens of thousands of businesses across the U.S. hanging out help wanted signs for technical and professional jobs that are going unfilled. We simply don’t have the talent base in our native workforce to fill them all, and it will be decades before we’ve got enough workers trained to meet the … Continue reading How can we solve the growing labor shortages and get foreign workers into US jobs where they are needed?
