Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 167 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • Algorithmic Redlining Is Real. Why Not Algorithmic Greenlining?

    March 31, 2021 |

    Governing |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

    Urban planning algorithms have contributed to the racial wealth gap by prioritizing funding for communities that don’t need extra funding, but which would create a higher return on investment. The algorithm bias negatively impacts neighborhoods that are typically Black and poor. Detroit’s water and sewage utilities were disconnected as a result of an algorithm, highlighting the “fundamental pitfall of algorithms, as well as the risks that they can be misused or produce unintended consequences.”

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Schools Look To Algorithms To Flag Students Who May Harm Themselves

    March 03, 2021 |

    NPR |

    Radio |

    3-5 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Mason City, Iowa

    Companies like Gaggle are typically used by school districts to track student online behavior, but now they are tracking something else—self-harm. Machine learning flags words that might indicate a student is thinking of hurting themselves. “It gives us insight into what the student's thinking.” Gaggle identified 64,000 student references to suicide and self-harm. The company claims to have saved 927 student lives. In Mason City, districts receive alerts when a student’s search is flagged. “Nicole Pfirman says there have been a few times where she believes an alert saved a kid's life.”

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • An AI is training counselors to deal with teens in crisis

    February 26, 2021 |

    MIT Technology Review |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Crisis hotlines and chat services are turning to technologies such as AI tools to help assist an oft-overburdened system. At The Trevor Project, AI is used as both a risk assessment tool and as a role-play simulator to train volunteer counselors to correspond with callers. Users of these tools stress that they are not a replacement for counselors, but rather a tool to help the humans in these roles.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • How some frustrated COVID-19 vaccine hunters are trying to fix a broken system

    February 17, 2021 |

    The Seattle Times |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Washington

    Retired software engineers in Washington have joined together and created a website that aggregates all available COVID vaccine appointments by using "screen scrapers." Although the site doesn't allow the visitor to book an appointment, it has routinely averaged "10,000 visits a day from anxious shot hunters."

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Treetop sensors help Indonesia eavesdrop on forests to cut logging

    February 11, 2021 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Indonesia, Solok, West Sumatra

    In Indonesia, there are 27 “Guardian” sensors eavesdropping on forests as a way to monitor them for cases of illegal logging. The organization Rainforest Connection uses artificial intelligence to analyze the audio from these sensors and if the system picks up the sound of a chainsaw, it sends a mobile alert to community patrols in the area. This technology can be scaled for other parts of the world and habitats. “We're basically building a nervous system for the natural world," says Topher White, founder of the nonprofit.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • How a Young Activist Is Helping Pope Francis Battle Climate Change

    February 08, 2021 |

    The New Yorker |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: Holy See (Vatican City State), Rome

    Molly Burhans, a young cartographer and environmentalist, is using GIS technology to map out the Catholic Church’s global property holdings to encourage them to improve the environmental impact on the lands they own. Burhans’ organization called GoodLands has been working with various parishes and dioceses to help Church leaders — including Pope Francis — understand their vast landholdings. While finances and COVID-19 have impacted her progress, Burhans’ maps have been used for other purposes like mapping Catholic radio stations in Africa and tracking the whereabouts of priests accused of sexual abuse.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • 'Changing the game': Black in Technology works to support Black students in computer science

    February 02, 2021 |

    The Daily Tar Heel |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United Arab Emirates, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

    Black in Technology was created to support Black students in STEM at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The organization has planned numerous events for its members related to mentorship, recruitment, and community building on campus in the STEM and technology industry, and successfully helped them receive internships and job opportunities, while raising the visibility of Black and Latinx students in technology fields.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • These Doctors Are Using AI to Screen for Breast Cancer

    January 27, 2021 |

    Wired |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

    With many women skipping routine mammograms due to COVID-19 restrictions, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital are using an artificial intelligence algorithm to identify those at risk for developing breast cancer. The approach has proved successful in multiple instances, with those flagged by the algorithm three times as likely to develop cancer. “What the AI tools are doing is they're extracting information that my eye and my brain can't,” a doctor using the tool explained.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • An Algorithm Is Helping a Community Detect Lead Pipes

    January 14, 2021 |

    Wired |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Flint, Michigan

    BlueConduit, an analytics startup, applies statistical models to identify neighborhoods and households that might have lead pipes. The models include dozens of factors, such as the age of the home and proximity of other homes where lead has been found, to help predict likely locations of lead pipes and create a ranking by likelihood that cities can use to prioritize which pipes to examine. In Flint, MI, about 70% of the homes identified using the models had lead pipes, compared to about 15% of homes where excavations did not use the model. The company is working with organizations in dozens of other cities.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Hack Your Future, Belgium's coding school for refugees

    December 24, 2020 |

    The Local |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Belgium

    Hack your Future Belgium offers free IT training to migrants to help fill the country’s worker shortage in that sector and help newcomers gain skills and find work. Most participants are asylum seekers or refugees and all of the teachers are volunteers. Classes for the eight-month program are in English and held on weekends to be inclusive of those with other obligations. No previous IT knowledge or personal equipment is required, but selection is based on motivation and language skills. Students receive substantial coaching and support and about 85% have found an internship, job, or went back to school.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

Go to All Solutions in Focus