Alliance

While the $900 billion stimulus bill that just passed earmarked $10 billion for childcare funding, advocates say that’s just a fraction of what the industry needs to survive this period, which is believed to be in the range of $50 billion. Biden’s plan calls for increasing pay and benefits for existing childcare workers and creating 1.5 million new jobs in the industry—good jobs that would secure affordable healthcare and paid family leave for a workforce that has historically been underpaid. Another proposal is to build more childcare centers and encourage businesses to invest in on-site childcare through a construction tax credit. … [Read more...] about We’re in the midst of a caregiving crisis. Here’s how Biden may address it

I’m happy to report my mother continues to persevere, but her resilience hasn’t been the only silver lining to this ordeal. Years spent in the company of nurses and doctors—unfailingly committed, but perpetually overworked and often sleep deprived—convinced me that the power of AI could radically elevate the way care is delivered. Intelligent sensors could keep tireless watch over patients, automate time-consuming tasks like charting and transcription, and identify lapses in safety protocols as they happen. After all, if AI can safely guide cars along freeways at 70 miles per hour, I wondered, why can’t it help caregivers keep up with the chaos of the healthcare environment? … [Read more...] about An artificial intelligence scholar urges technologists to embrace humility

The 2020 election In the weeks before the November 3 election, the big social media sites took steps to mitigate election-related extremism and disinformation. Twitter rolled out labels for all mail-in ballot misinformation and put a prompt on tweeted articles to encourage people to read them before retweeting. Facebook blocked QAnon groups and, later, restricted QAnon-adjacent accounts pushing “SaveTheChildren” conspiracy theories. Facebook also began prohibiting Holocaust denial posts. YouTube labeled and blocked advertising for election-related fake information, though it left in place many videos promoting conspiracy theories. … [Read more...] about The rise, fall, and future of Parler, the right-wing site that Amazon shut down