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
-
Subject
-
Section
-
Type
-
Topics
-
Author
-
Issue
-
Premium
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
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
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
Firms and governments use the internet to spy on us. Should we care?
11 December 2019
Our increased reliance on the internet and smart tech means we are watched more than ever before. Is that something to fight – or is our concept of privacy just outdated?
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
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
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
UK civil servants use Slack to chat about games, drinking and romance
25 September 2018
A freedom of information request has revealed how UK civil servants use Slack, a popular chat service, to talk about everything from Pokémon Go to polyamory
Books chart social media’s fall from global village to villain
29 May 2018
Does society need saving from Facebook? Five thinkers imagine how social media can be reformed – and at what price
