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Governments should use speculative fiction tools to predict the future

Governments should use speculative fiction tools to predict the future

22 February 2023

Law-makers must act like speculative fiction authors and try to foresee how technology will change our world, says writer Ray Nayler


Mandatory Credit: Photo by Xinhua/Shutterstock (12949482j) Anthony Albanese gestures as addressing supporters in Sydney, Australia, May 21, 2022. Anthony Albanese has claimed victory for his Labor Party after incumbent Prime Minister Scott Morrison conceded defeat in Australia's 2022 federal election held on Satuday. Australia Sydney Federal Election - 21 May 2022

Australia votes for stronger climate action in 'greenslide' election

23 May 2022

Voters chose to decisively kick out the pro-coal Coalition government in favour of candidates that support stronger action on climate change


Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison

Australia’s planned anti-trolling law may silence political critics

7 December 2021

A law intended to tackle anonymous trolls on social media is unlikely to stop online bullying, but it could allow Australian government ministers to continue a trend of suing their critics


Starbucks coffee shop

Why has El Salvador officially adopted bitcoin as its currency?

10 September 2021

El Salvador is the first country to adopt the cryptocurrency bitcoin as legal tender, but other nations may follow suit


2020 in review: Calls for universal basic income on the rise

2020 in review: Calls for universal basic income on the rise

16 December 2020

The idea of universal basic income, which would see everyone receive a regular sum of money from the government regardless of status, has become more popular following successful trials and the coronavirus pandemic


sheep farming

Getting Brexit done: Six huge science issues the UK must resolve

29 January 2020

The UK is finally set to leave the European Union, but big questions on science, health and the environment remain


Dominic Cummings

Dominic Cummings wants 'weirdos' to help run the UK. Will it work?

3 January 2020

A senior adviser to the UK's prime minister suggests policy-making can be improved by training AI on government data, but the researchers he cites say they aren't so sure


Australia

Australia's anti-encryption law is hurting press and personal privacy

11 September 2019

Many politicians are calling for anti-encryption laws. Australia has already implemented one, and it is damaging tech firms, user privacy and freedom of speech


EU flags

UK police are using AI to spot spikes in Brexit-related hate crimes

28 August 2019

The UK police are monitoring hundreds of thousands of Twitter posts every day to try to predict spikes in hate crime in the run up to the UK's exit from the European Union


Sudan protests

Countries are turning off the internet to stop violence. Does it work?

31 July 2019

Governments are increasingly shutting down access to the internet in an effort to curb organised violence. But evidence shows it usually makes things worse


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