Ben Horton

Este archivo solo abarca los artículos del autor incorporados a este sitio a partir del 1 de diciembre de 2006. Para fechas anteriores realice una búsqueda entrecomillando su nombre.

Security cameras using facial recognition technology are displayed at the 14th China International Exhibition on Public Safety and Security in Beijing. Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images.

MundoAsia,

At what point did China decide that it wanted to invest heavily in AI development, and what has been driving this process within China?

Jinghan Zeng: Since the 1980s the Chinese government has maintained a keen interest in e-government as a way of improving its governance capacity. Since then it has sought to use cutting-edge digital technology to better equip the civil service and has expended a lot of effort to learn from the technological innovations of the West. Over time China has adapted these innovations to its mode of governance, from the development of the ‘Great Firewall’ to incorporating the power of big data into bureaucratic processes.…  Seguir leyendo »

Britain's Houses of Parliament is seen at sunrise in London on 31 December 2020 on the day that the Brexit transition period ends and Britain leaves the EU. Photo by NIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP via Getty Images.

Europa, ,

The EU-UK trade deal which came into force on 1 January 2021 ends the UK’s participation in Erasmus+, the EU’s largest education, training, youth and sports programme. The UK will not be signing up to the programme’s next seven-year cycle, beginning in 2021, meaning that British young people – as well as teachers, university administrators, youth workers and others – have lost the right to apply for funds to study, learn, volunteer and travel in the European Union – and a number of non-EU countries – while European youth are missing out on the same opportunities in the UK. The UK government’s decision itself is not up for discussion in this piece, our concern instead is ensuring the proposed successor to Erasmus+ achieves its full potential.…  Seguir leyendo »

Youth protests at Parliament square against a new exam rating system which has been introduced in British education system - London, England on August 16, 2020. Photo by Dominika Zarzycka/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

ReflexionesPensamiento, Cultura y Ciencia,

According to UN Youth, people aged 15-24 make up one-sixth of the world’s population but, in roughly one-third of countries, the eligibility for parliamentarians begins at 25 years old and only 1.6% of parliamentarians are in their twenties. Young people are largely being excluded and overlooked, both as political candidates and even as participants in political processes, giving them limited political control over their own futures.

If politics continues to be regarded as a space for older, more politically experienced individuals from particular backgrounds, young people will continue to be left systematically marginalized, and overall disengagement with politics within societies will continue to grow.…  Seguir leyendo »

Ministry of Defence, Whitehall on Feb 3, 2016 in London, UK. Photo: Getty Images.

Europa, ,

In the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, the United Kingdom’s intelligence services were in several instances complicit in the use of torture by the CIA and other foreign agencies. Despite a series of inquiries since 2010, and some reforms of the system, questions remain about whether enough has been done to prevent future British involvement in the torture of detainees. Ben Horton speaks to Ruth Blakeley and Sam Raphael from The Rendition Project to find out more about what they describe as a ‘machinery of denial’ at the heart of the British state.  

Could you explain what you mean by complicity in torture? …  Seguir leyendo »