The recent approval of a bill by the US House of Representatives to force TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance has raised concerns over Beijing’s influence on the popular social media app. Critics, including US and other Western officials, have voiced alarm over TikTok’s popularity among young people, alleging that it allows
Technology
The recent decision by Volkswagen workers in Tennessee to become a union shop has marked a monumental victory for organized labor, especially at a foreign-owned auto plant in the American South. With an overwhelming 73% of employees at the Chattanooga plant supporting the United Auto Workers (UAW) representation, it signifies a significant breakthrough in a
Climate change is a topic that is continuously shaping the future of renewable energy sources such as solar power. According to a recent study led by the University of Michigan, the value of residential rooftop solar panels in the United States is expected to increase by up to 19% by the end of the century.
Scientists at the University of Bristol have recently developed a groundbreaking robotic suction cup that revolutionizes the way in which robotic devices interact with rough, curved, and heavy surfaces. Inspired by the adaptive suction abilities of octopus biological suckers, the team at Bristol Robotics Laboratory embarked on a mission to create a device capable of
Off-road environment recognition technologies are essential for detecting and removing extraneous substances such as dust, mud, snow, or rain during off-road autonomous driving. These technologies have the potential to revolutionize various industries, including construction, agriculture, and military, by ensuring safe working environments for operators and improving overall efficiency. A research team in Korea, led by
Bipolar membranes are a key component in various energy technologies, such as electrolyzers and hydrogen fuel cells. These membranes consist of two oppositely charged layers, the cation-exchange and anion-exchange layer, which are essential for their function. Despite the usage of bipolar membranes in energy applications, there is still much to be understood about their working
Manufacturing nations in the Global North have been found to be stockpiling energy and emission problems by outsourcing energy-intensive industrial processes to countries in the Global South. This phenomenon, termed ‘false decoupling,’ involves Global North countries leveraging their capital and technology advantages to extract a significant amount of energy through outsourcing. However, the outdated production
The US House of Representatives recently voted to reauthorize a controversial electronic surveillance program focused on foreigners under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The program, known as Section 702, allows US intelligence agencies to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance on individuals outside the United States. While the intent is to monitor foreign citizens, concerns have
Google recently announced that it is conducting a trial that involves removing links to California news sites for certain users in the state. This move comes as California legislators consider passing the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA), which would essentially create a “link tax” for connecting users in the state to news articles. Jaffer Zaidi,
In a world where data is becoming increasingly valuable, the generation and processing of synthetic data are gaining prominence. A recent study emphasizes the need for clear guidelines to ensure transparency, accountability, and fairness in the use of synthetic data. Synthetic data, which is created through machine learning algorithms from original real-world data, offers privacy-preserving