Diario geostrategico, 25/26 novembre 2021
Buona lettura !
The Science of Where Magazine’s interviews:
– Towards sustainable AI. The Science of Where Magazine meets Abhishek Gupta, Founder and Principal Researcher, Montreal AI Ethics Institute
– The road to the “new normal” and the role of the G20. The Science of Where meets Priyadarshi Dash. Associate Professor at Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi, he has 14 years of experience in policy research on trade, investment, infrastructure and fintech issues in the context of G20, IORA, BIMSTEC and Indo-Pacific
– Governo dei dati tra geopolitica e tutela del cittadino. The Science of Where Magazine incontra Ivana Bartoletti, Global Chief Privacy Officer a WIPRO Technologies e Visiting Policy Fellow presso l’ Università di Oxford
– Tecnologia e responsabilità: uno snodo decisivo. The Science of Where Magazine incontra Federico Cabitza, Università di Milano-Bicocca
– Inside the ethics of artificial intelligence: for a decentralized approach. The Science of Where Magazine meets James Brusseau, Philosopher, Pace University
– L’intelligenza artificiale contro le discriminazioni sul lavoro. The Science of Where Magazine incontra Keith Sonderling, Commissioner del U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
– Per Italia e Germania, il futuro è nelle nuove tecnologie. Intervista esclusiva con l’Ambasciatore d’Italia a Berlino, Armando Varricchio
– Gathering strenght, gathering storms. Visions on artificial intelligence. The Science of Where Magazine meets Michael Littman and Peter Stone
Today’s Choice
– UN News: All the nations members of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted on Thursday a historical text that defines the common values and principles needed to ensure the healthy development of AI. – 193 countries adopt the first global agreement on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
Afghanistan
– Farah Najjar, Al Jazeera: Afghan journalists and activists have expressed concern over a new “religious guideline” issued by Taliban rulers, saying the move is yet another form of control over women. The Taliban, which took over Afghanistan roughly 100 days ago, on Sunday urged female journalists to follow a dress code and called on TV stations to stop showing soap operas featuring women, sparking fears over women’s rights and media freedom. – Afghan women speak up against new Taliban media guidelines
Arctic-Polar Silk Road-USA-China
– Jeremy Greenwood, Brookings: The United States is an Arctic nation. With that status it enjoys unique access to the resources of this rich region — its abundant fisheries, critical minerals, energy resources, and future shipping routes. Most importantly, it has a primary say in the governance of the Arctic. Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Karl Schultz is among those who commonly say that “presence equals influence in the Arctic.” Yet, the United States has only one heavy icebreaker: the incredibly aging
Coast Guard Cutter (CGC) Polar Star, and the medium icebreaker, CGC Healy, used primarily for marine science research. Neither is in a position to be utilized for year-round Arctic icebreaking operations. The Polar Star is consumed by the annual icebreaking mission to Antarctica for which there is no other government vessel capable, and the Healy, as a medium icebreaker, is not well suited for winter Arctic operations. – The Polar Silk Road will be cleared with Chinese icebreakers
Capitalism
– Yaroslav Lissovolik, Valdai Discussion Club: There may have been doubts in the efficiency of the current market system after the 2008 global financial crisis. The scale of excessive debt on the corporate and sovereign balance-sheets in the developed world, the lack of transparency at the micro-level of companies and the macro-level of countries’ fiscal policies called into question the virtues of the market system. And then came the pandemic and took the scale of doubts to a whole new level. – Wither Capitalism?
Central Asia-China-Russia
– Jon Yuan Jiang, East Asia Forum: Since 2019, more than 40 protests were held against ‘Chinese expansion’ in Central Asia. Yet Central Asian elites have hardly had a bad word to say. On the contrary, they suppressed these protests, denied that China’s goal was expansion and even requested their publics be grateful to China. No wonder some Russian commentators are worried about Russia’s waning influence. – Central Asian elites choose China over Russia (eastasiaforum.org)
China
– Shan Jie, Global Times: China will enhance the reduction of methane emission through targeted actions including undertaking studies on methane control, setting related standards, and encouraging pilot projects, as a key work in the implementation of the latest China-US joint declaration on confronting climate change. – China specifies plans to reduce methane emission
China-Chile
– Yin Yeping, Global Times: While the pandemic continues to disrupt supply chains creating unprecedented challenges for international trade, economic cooperation between China and Chile, two countries that are geographically far apart, is expected to hit a record high by surpassing a $55 billion threshold, according to a recent forecast by the Chilean Ambassador in Beijing, Luis Schmidt. – China-Chile trade to reach record high in 2021 despite global headwinds: envoy
China-Russia
– Global Times: Chinese and Russian officials are holding back-to-back talks on Wednesday and Thursday to further boost bilateral cooperation in various areas, including trade between Northeast China and the Russian Far East region, with businesses and industry insiders expecting increasing agricultural and energy trade amid close bilateral ties. – China, Russia to further boost trade with more agriculture, energy deals expected
China-Singapore
– Global Times: The interconnection between China and members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is expanding from an original focus on infrastructure and logistics flow to financial cooperation, marking a step further in strengthening connectively despite headwinds created by the pandemic. – Singapore-Chongqing connectivity strengthens, facilitating trade
China-USA
– Xie Jun, Qi Xijia, Global Times: Chinese officials and analysts on Thursday excoriated the US government’s latest crackdown on a dozen Chinese high-tech companies, saying the US has become hysterical and reckless in putting not just Chinese companies’ interests at risk but also endangering the global industrial supply chain. – China calls US ‘hysterical’ after new tech ban on Chinese firms
– Cong Ge, Global Times: “It’s the economy, stupid.”. This phrase comes to mind, as we watched US President Joe Biden this week sought to handle mounting economic headwinds and, more importantly, salvage his rapidly falling approval ratings. The phrase was coined by the veteran US political consultant James Carville to describe one of the three main massages of Bill Clinton’s successful presidential campaign in 1992. It has become a popular phrase used by US pundits to talk about the key themes of US politics. – China, US display differences in tackling economic risks
Ethiopia
– Ahmed Soliman, Al Jazeera: Ethiopia’s devastating civil war recently entered into its second year. The conflict between the federal government and the Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) has metastasised beyond Tigray, intensified old animosities between Tigray and Amhara, and drawn in armed groups from Oromia, Benishangul and Afar, deepening identity-based contestations across Ethiopia. – Can Ethiopia avert deepening turmoil and prioritise peace?
Europe-Balkans
– Dario Velo, Valdai Discussion Club: The debate on the enlargement of the European Union to include the Balkan countries has begun. Some European leaders have taken a firm stance in favour of this enlargement. A glance at a map of Europe is enough to allow one to grasp how two enclaves, a cluster of Balkan countries and Switzerland, stand out within European Union’s borders. Behind these anomalies are two different stories. – The Enlargement of the European Union to the Balkan Countrie: An Opportunity for a Great Plan Between Russia and Europe
Germany-NATO
– Sebastian Sprenger, Defense News: Germany’s incoming government has affirmed its commitment to NATO’s nuclear deterrent, including the role accorded to Berlin in the strategy, according to a coalition agreement unveiled Nov. 24 by Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP). The much-anticipated pact offers a flavor of what the new government, to be led by the SPD’s Olaf Scholz, finance minister in the outgoing government, aims to do in the fields of defense and foreign policy. European Union and NATO watchers will find themselves reassured, as the document hits all the right notes on fostering cooperation through those channels while preparing for a “systemic contest” with authoritarian states. – Incoming German government commits to NATO nuclear deterrent
Israel-Morocco
– Agnes Helou, Defense News: The Moroccan military has purchased the Israeli counter-drone system Skylock Dome, according to a Nov. 21 post on the armed forces’ official Facebook page. “Some systems were delivered already, but there is no information about the value of the deal or the number of systems that have been acquired,” Moroccan military expert Abdel Hamid Harfi told Defense News. “The contract does not include technology transfer for local manufacturing in Morocco.” – Morocco buys Israeli counter-drone system Skylock Dome
Japan
– Richard Katz, East Asia Forum: In running for the presidency of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Fumio Kishida declared that there can be ‘no growth without redistribution’ and ‘no redistribution without growth’. But no sooner was he selected president of the LDP and sworn in as prime minister than he backpedalled on prior promises of economic reform, even withdrawing a proposal to ensure that multimillionaires paid a tax rate as high as those on lower incomes. – Fixing inequality can boost Japanese growth
Mozambique
– Christopher Vandome, Alex Vines OBE, Chatham House: In recent years, Mozambique has become the focus of increasing international investment in the exploration and exploitation of its abundant mineral resources, but ongoing instability creates challenges for the security of operating companies and their workers. – Mozambique and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights
Nigeria
– Jonathan Lain, Tara Vishwanath, Brookings: The labor market is the main vehicle through which the proceeds of growth are shared among households and individuals. Therefore, understanding the labor market is essential for poverty reduction. This topic is crucial in Nigeria, where the government aspires to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2030—an ambitious objective since, even before the pandemic, around 4 in 10 Nigerians lived below the national poverty line. – The COVID-19 crisis isn’t over for workers in Nigeria
– Kasirim Nwuke, Brookings: Earlier this year Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, bringing to a close a 20-year effort to reform Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, with the aim of creating an environment more conducive for growth of the sector and addressing legitimate grievances of communities most impacted by extractive industries. – Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act: Addressing old problems, creating new ones
Russia
– Andrei Kolesnikov, Denis Volkov, Carnegie Moscow Center: With all the problems facing the Russian economy, many are wondering how the government will respond. As Moscow finally wakes up to the reality of climate change, the prevailing attitude among members of the ruling class appears to be that there is enough oil and gas to keep the state coffers full, buy voters’ loyalty, and control civil society and the media for as long as the country’s current leaders are in power (until 2036, when President Vladimir Putin may at last have to step down). What comes after that does not concern them: “After us, the deluge.” – The Coming Deluge: Russia’s Looming Lost Decade of Unpaid Bills and Economic Stagnation
Russia-Ukraine
– Ivan Timofeev, Valdai Discussion: Concern is growing in the Western media over Russian military activity in the southwestern theatre. There are opinions that Russia is preparing a military campaign against Ukraine. The supposed goal is to break the deadlock of the Minsk Agreements, to impose further coexistence conditions on Kiev and its Western partners, to prevent the US and NATO from “developing” the territory of Ukraine for military purposes, and also to reformat the country’s political system and its state structure. Such rumours are spreading quickly, causing alarm among the political leaders of foreign countries as well as latent, albeit tangible fears in the business community. However, it is still premature to consider such a development as a baseline scenario. – War Between Russia and Ukraine: A Basic Scenario?
Syria
– Abdulkarim Ekzayez, Chatham House: Despite the existence of international conventions and laws governing the use of force in war, attacks against healthcare workers and facilities remain a feature of contemporary armed conflict. Analysis by WHO indicates that the number of attacks on healthcare worldwide in 2020 was higher than that in each of the previous two years. – Attacks on healthcare in the Syrian conflict
Taiwan Strait
– Steven M. Goldstein, Brookings: In December 2003 during his meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the White House, then U.S. President George Bush
said that the United States opposed “any unilateral decision by either China or Taiwan to change the status quo.” Nearly two decades later, that message hasn’t changed. At the end of last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is reported to have made it “crystal clear” in his talks with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi that the United States opposes any unilateral change to the status quo. – The status quo in the Taiwan Strait is edging toward conflict. Here’s how to stop it
USA
– Leslie Vinjamuri, Chatham House: As Joe Biden approaches the end of his first year in office, his policy record is impressive on paper and in line with his campaign promises. History may one day define him as a leader who transformed Americans’ expectations of government, created structures for reducing persistent, high levels of inequality, and redefined the US role in the world. – A polarized America still showing little sign of unity
– Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, Brookings: The Biden administration’s effort to staff the federal government is proceeding at a snail’s pace compared to previous administrations. Such a leadership vacuum inhibits the administration’s ability to implement their agenda, and while the Senate plays a key role in the process and pace, it is the president who suffers most from this incredibly slow pace. – Biden’s confirmations progress at the 300-day mark
– Alexandra Kelley, Nextgov: Government agencies should consider implementing fresh education programs to help reskill an existing workforce on more advanced technologies as part of the longstanding federal push to modernize government operations. Researchers at the IBM Center for The Business of Government released a report Monday documenting the proposed structure and benefits federal agencies and organizations could adopt to help acquaint civil servants with new technologies. – Report Highlights 3 Ways to Successfully Reskill Employees
– Gregory Porombescu, Nextgov: The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, 2021, differs from past infrastructure investments not only in its size but also its emphasis on addressing long-standing and persistent racial injustice. This major investment comes at a time when smart-city initiatives, which aim to use technology to make cities more responsive to their residents’ needs, are growing more common around the world. – Infrastructure Law’s Digital Equity Goals Are Key to Smart Cities that Work for Everyone
– Brandi Vincent, Nextgov: Looking to push the development of future-facing technologies and fulfill a congressional mandate, the National Institute of Standards and Technology asked interested individuals to weigh in on current trends and impending demands associated with eight of the buzziest emerging technology areas. – NIST Asks for Input on Emerging Tech Trends and Risks for Congressional Study
– Frank Konkel, Nextgov: The Housing and Urban Development Department can improve its ability to estimate nationwide homeless by better engaging and coordinating with communities over how best to use and collect data, according to the Government Accountability Office. HUD relies on local bodies that coordinate homelessness services—called “continuums of care,” or CoCs—to provide a “point-in-time count” of homelessness totals across the nation. – GAO: Better Data Collection Can Improve Homelessness Estimates
– Mariam Baksh, Nextgov: Entities experiencing any suspicious cyber activity should report incidents to either the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or the FBI, CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a White House press release highlighting a joint advisory from the agencies in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday break. – White House Holiday Warning Identifies Options for Reporting Ransomware
– Nathan Strout, Defense News: The U.S. Army will work with radar satellite imagery provider ICEYE to understand how that technology can be integrated into current and future Army missions and technologies. Based in Finland, ICEYE operates the world’s largest fleet of commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. Unlike the traditional electro-optical sensors military and intelligence agencies use to scan the Earth from space, SAR uses radar to create high-resolution imagery of the Earth’s surface. Because SAR isn’t dependent on visibility, it can be used to produce imagery any time of day or night. It also has the distinct advantage of being able to “see” through cloud cover, something that hinders electro-optical imagery collection. – Army to work with satellite radar imagery provider ICEYE
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