Category: united nations

Google search helps refugees get official answers to their questions

Google is marking World Refugee Day by making it easier for the displaced to get the support they need. It’s working with the UNHCR to show “authoritative” answers in search to questions refugees might have, such as how to qualify for cash assistance… Source

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WHO Africa hosts hackathons, offers seed funds to fight COVID-19

The World Health Organization in Africa is holding virtual hackathons and offering up to $20,000 in seed-funds to finalists with digital solutions to stem COVID-19. The regional office of the UN agency completed its first challenge earlier this month and will host a second, for French speaking Africa, in coming…

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YC startup Felix wants to replace antibiotics with programmable viruses

Right now the world is at war. But this is no ordinary war. It’s a fight with an organism so small we can only detect it through use of a microscope — and if we don’t stop it, it could kill millions of us in the next several decades. No,…

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Elon Musk says all advanced AI development should be regulated, including at Tesla

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is once again sounding a warning note regarding the development of artificial intelligence – the executive and founder tweeted on Monday evening that “all org[anizations] developing advance AI should be regulated, including Tesla.” Musk was responding to a new MIT Technology Review profile of…

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Financing for social impact and climate businesses gets a billion dollar boost with new KKR fund

KKR, the multi-billion dollar, multi-strategy investment firm, has closed on over $1.3 billion for companies focused on social and environmental challenges. KKR Global Impact says its fund will focus on identifying and investing in companies worldwide where preformance and social impact are intrinsically aligned. Specifically, the fund will invest in…

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Blackbox welfare fraud detection system breaches human rights, Dutch court rules

An algorithmic risk scoring system deployed by the Dutch state to try to predict the likelihood that social security claimants will commit benefits or tax fraud breaches human rights law, a court in the Netherlands has ruled. The Dutch government’s System Risk Indication (SyRI) legislation uses a non-disclosed algorithmic risk…

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