The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Military Defence and Security

The twenty-first century is now being shaped by a multipolar system characterized by techno-nationalism and a post-Bretton Woods order. In the face of a rapidly evolving digital era, international cooperation will be critical to ensuring peace and security. Information sharing, expert conferences and multilateral dialogue can help the world's nation-states and their militaries develop a better understanding of one another's capabilities and intentions. As a global middle power, Canada could be a major partner in driving this effort. This paper explores the development of military-specific capabilities in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Building on Canadian defence policy, the paper outlines the military applications of AI and the resources needed to manage next-generation military operations, including multilateral engagement and technology governance

The Dynamics of Mass Media Resistance toward Google

The dominance of digital advertising by Google had an impact on decreasing mass media revenue. Meanwhile, Google was a search engine company on the internet that mostly relies on news content. During this decade, the mass media in America, The European Union, and Australia had demanded Google to pay for their content. The local authorities intend to create a balanced bargaining position among them. However, Google continued to refuse to pay on the grounds that it has brought heavy traffic to news publisher websites. In 2020, Google was finally willing to pay for news content by launching a News Showcase. This partnership was claimed to be profitable for publishers and readers. However, it had also been criticized because Google remained in charge of determining the terms and conditions. It also undermined The Copyright Act of European Union amendments designed to create fair negotiations between the mass media and Google

News, Networks and Users in the Hybrid Media system: 2nd Seminar Report

86 p.During the last few months, the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated issues have monopolized the debate on the media and social networks. Thus, the news actors in the hybrid media system have incorporated the fight against the infodemic and disinformation as another priority in a society that has demanded constant and reliable information in multiple formats and media. But in this environment in which borders are increasingly blurred, the need for citizens to receive up-to-date and truthful information on issues of high social impact is superimposed on the dynamics of social media, which can contribute to feeding back discourses that promote polarization. The information saturation typical of an information ecosystem in which information actors and sources multiply has, therefore, as a paradoxical reverse, the increased risk of misinformation. In this context, this report includes the main contributions made by the researchers of the project News, networks and users in the Hybrid Media System (RTI2018-095775-B-C41/42/44) in the 2nd Newsnet Seminar, which was held in Bilbao on November 16, 2021.News, networks and users in the Hybrid Media System (Newsnet) is a research project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (RTI2018-095775-B-C41/42/44

Our Future on Earth

This report provides a snapshot of our world at the start of 2020, helping to make sense of the state of this unique biophysical human ecosystem we inhabit as a planetary changing species. It combines up-to-date research with the latest world events, including physical and social science perspectives to explore where we are now, where we hope to go, and how we might get there. It also includes a novel survey of scientists to rank their top concerns for global systemic risks in the coming years. Humans are now the main driver behind planetary change, and human systems must be targeted if we are to do something about it. That means addressing societal systems including populism, finance, and information transmission, alongside the practices and technologies that emit greenhouse gases, from fossil-fuel burning to food production. This is a particularly exciting time to look at these issues: the past year has been one of extraordinary social awakening to the hazards of environmental change, and of demands for action towards a sustainable future. As 2019 unfolded, people began talking of “climate breakdown” and demanding their governments and institutions declare a “climate emergency” (Oxford Dictionaries chose “climate emergency” as its 2019 word of the year)

Social media literacy for empowering children with new literacy skills for reading, writing and interacting in the networked digital setting: An Action Research Study of teenage students in Mumbai

This action research study examines the impact of social media literacy education, using a critical social media literacy paradigm, for the children in Indian contexts and reflects how it fits into the wider perspective of media literacy. Through implementing a participatory social media literacy workshop in two high schools in Mumbai—32 participants in School A, and 29 participants in School B—the study inquires how the participants respond to the key concepts of social media literacy. To explore the impact of the workshop, the thesis analyses a diverse collection of data sets— material created by participants during the workshop activities comprising of memes, videos and charts; semi-structured interview responses of 9 participants each from both schools; pre and post-workshop survey data; feedback form responses; and the researcher’s fieldwork notes. A reflexive thematic analysis of fieldwork data gives insights in the area of improvements which the participants make in developing social media capabilities and practices when they participate in social media literacy programmes. The findings show evidence that participatory social media literacy workshops enhance participants’ critical analysis, informed participation, resilience, creative self-expression, and citizenship. The study proposes a critical social media literacy conceptual framework both for implementing social media education in schools and also for conducting further social media literacy research in schools in India. The framework has seven inter-related elements that the thesis diagrammatically presents as social media circuit—platform use, information access, platform knowledge, visibility management, information management, creative self-expression, and participation and citizenship. In this framework, the traditional concepts of media literacy—representation, language, audience, and production—have been adapted and integrated into the contemporary networked digital setting. While children, born in the digital age, easily develop the skills for platform use and information access, their development of other areas of the social media circuit need some form of learning, support, and mentoring