Joseph Dana, Syndication Bureau

The writer is the former senior editor of Exponential View, a weekly newsletter about technology and its impact on society. He was also the editor-in-chief of emerge85, a lab exploring change in emerging markets and its global impact. Syndication Bureau.

Israel could make or break America’s trade plans to rival China

In the summer of 2011, I was aboard a ship bound from Athens for the Gaza Strip. I was covering the second Gaza flotilla for The Nation. A year before, Palestinian solidarity activists sent several aid ships to Gaza to highlight Israel’s maritime blockade of the Palestinian territory. The Israeli navy intercepted the ships, commandos boarded the vessels, and several activists were killed by soldiers. Given the international outcry, activists arranged another flotilla in 2011, but the boats never left port.

Can AI save the smart city dream?

After the 2008 financial crisis, a new approach to urbanism and service delivery began to take root worldwide. With advancements in technology, city planners devised new ways to monitor the needs of urban residents and use technology to deliver services. By deploying the Internet of Things across myriad tasks of urban management, the “smart city” was born.

The future of AI warfare is taking place in Israel without oversight

While the global debate around using artificial intelligence in warfare heats up, Israel has brazenly deployed AI systems against the Palestinians. Bloomberg reported last month that the Israeli army deployed an advanced AI model called Fire Factory designed to select targets for air strikes and handle other military logistics. This wasn’t the first time Israel had used AI in combat operations.

Chipping away at US dollar dominance

There is undeniable excitement about challenges to the American dollar’s position as the global reserve currency.

Israel’s spectacular immigration own goal

Every year, the Israeli government proudly publishes the number of new immigrants. Under Israel’s law of return, anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent is entitled to automatic Israeli citizenship.

South Africa’s power crisis is a warning for the world

South Africa has struggled to keep the lights on for more than a decade. The country’s aging coal power plants have fallen into disrepair.

Curbing the mental health crisis, one breath at a time

We can’t afford to ignore the global mental health crisis much longer. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions worldwide suffer from dangerous levels of depression and anxiety.

China’s mediation will not solve Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Chinese diplomats have been busy this year. The country just announced its desire to serve as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians on the back of a stunningly productive effort to restore ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

AI grows more powerful while we become more predictable

With any groundbreaking new technology, the pace of adoption climbs quickly. Over the past two decades, new platforms and tools, from the iPhone to TikTok, have seen progressively faster adoption rates. The adoption rate of ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence (AI) large language model owned by OpenAI, is unlike anything we have ever seen. Within five days of release, the platform had a million unique users.

Israel’s thin democratic veneer begins to slip

Cracks are starting to appear in Israel’s robust public relations strategy. It has taken decades for the Israeli government to convince supportive governments in the West, most notably the US, that the country was a full-fledged democracy. The apparent hurdle has been the unavoidable reality of Israel’s control of millions of Palestinians. In the face of this glaring inequality, the country has managed to market itself as the Middle East’s only democracy. This core talking point for Israel’s supporters worldwide is now at risk.