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Avi Asher-Schapiro
For Avi Asher-Schapiro's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Jobseekers attend a Business and IT Career Fair at Cape Fear Community College in Castle Hayne, North Carolina, on Sept. 20.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 19, 2023
Biased bots? U.S. lawmakers take on 'Wild West' of AI recruitment
Around 85% of large U.S. employers now use some form of automated tool or AI to screen or rank candidates for hire, according to recent surveys.
A woman walks past a market in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon. Lebanon is one of nine Arab nations using an algorithm-powered poverty assessment formula funded by the World Bank that ranks welfare applicants according to dozens of different data points.
WORLD / Society
Oct 5, 2023
In Middle East, poor excluded from welfare by 'faulty' algorithms
Around the world, 40 countries use an algorithm-powered poverty assessment formula funded by the World Bank to rank welfare applicants.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 25, 2023
Tech claiming to protect U.S. schools from mass shootings prompts growing unease
School administrators are increasingly targeted with sales pitches for everything from drones to AI-powered surveillance cameras and weapons detectors.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 5, 2023
Are AI chatbots in courts putting justice at risk?
Supporters saying the tech say it can streamline court processes while critics warn it runs the risk bias and injustice.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 17, 2023
Deported: The Iraq War veterans denied the right to live in the U.S.
Advocates and former military personnel argue that the U.S. government continues to fail many foreign-born post-9/11 veterans 20 years since the start of the Iraq War.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 17, 2023
Why does the U.S. still retain the biometrics of millions of Iraqis?
Biometrics of nearly 3 million Iraqis are being stored in a database in West Virginia — where they are still held 20 years after the Iraq War started.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2022
Low-carbon bitcoin? Crypto miners' green power talk angers people in Texas
Crypto miners have flocked to Texas, attracted by a supportive regulatory environment and relatively cheap power.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
May 6, 2022
U.S. abortion war spotlights women's risk from online tracking
Experts have warned that data on app use and internet searches is being collected by third parties all the time.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 27, 2022
U.S. firefighters on climate front lines sound alarm over staffing
Federal firefighters have been swapping stories via private chats and social media of undermanned stations, crumbling buildings and poorly maintained equipment.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 26, 2022
Energy-hungry bitcoin moves into sights of U.S. environmental movement
Major environmental groups are belatedly mounting a national pressure campaign criticizing its use of fossil fuels as the country tries to slash emissions to meet climate change goals.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Mar 7, 2022
Sentenced for a selfie: Middle East police target LGBTQ phones
Around the world, marginalized communities are worried the internet is no longer a safe space for them as surveillance grows and hate speech goes unchecked.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 16, 2021
'Scary and chilling': AI surveillance takes U.S. prisons by storm
Law enforcement officials say the technology is crucial in keeping prisons and jails safe, but critics say such systems trample on privacy rights.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jun 7, 2021
AI is taking over job hiring, but racism concerns persist
The risk of discrimination is a central issue for lawmakers around the world as they weigh how to regulate the use of AI technology, particularly in the labor market.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 1, 2021
Out of my mind: Advances in brain tech spur calls for 'neuro rights'
Scientists and lawmakers are working to rein in the potential abuses of neuroscience by companies from tech giants to wearable startups.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 31, 2021
China using surveillance firms to help write ethnicity-tracking specs
Concern over racial detection in facial recognition systems is growing globally.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 18, 2021
Half London boroughs using Chinese surveillance tech linked to Uyghur abuses
At least half of London's boroughs have bought and deployed China-made surveillance systems linked to the abuse of Uyghurs, according to data exclusively given to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, raising alarm among privacy advocates and lawmakers.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 28, 2021
China's growing use of emotion recognition tech raises rights concerns
Technology that measures emotions based on biometric indicators such as facial movements, tone of voice or body movements is increasingly being marketed in China, researchers say, despite concerns about its accuracy and wider human rights implications.

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