Category: Technology

Global Cybercrime Treaty: A delicate balance between security and human rights

Cybercrime is a multi-trillion-dollar business. Drugs and weapons are being bought on the “dark web”, fraudsters are fleecing members of the public in elaborate online scams, and terrorists are grooming supporters and recruiting fighters.  Recognizing the growing dangers of cybercrime, the UN has set about drafting a legally-binding international treaty to counter the threat. Five years later, […]

Zero waste, more hope in South Sudan

Zero energy light bulbs and sturdy bricks for schools and homes. Some innovative communities in South Sudan are reusing waste in new ways as the world rallies to ban plastic pollution by the year’s end, with help from a small team of experts led by climate and environmental scientist Shazneen Cyrus Gazdar at theUN Mission in South […]

New UN policy paper launched to counter and address online hate

Governments and Internet companies are failing to meet challenges of online hate. The UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect launched a new policy paper on Wednesday aimed at countering and addressing hate speech online.  The policy paper, Countering and Addressing Online Hate Speech: A Guide for Policy Makers and Practitioners, was developed […]

Saving the Earth from space

Ahead of International Mother Earth Day, observed on 22 April, NASA’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Katherine Calvin, shared her terrestrial and intergalactic experiences with UN News and how viewing the Earth from outer space has driven generations to advance climate action. Dr. Calvin advises NASA leadership on its science programmes and related strategic planning and investments. Also serving as […]

The digital divide: lessons COVID-19 taught us about the digital exclusion of students from low socio-economic backgrounds

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, educators across the globe have been required to establish learning from home for school students, resulting in the rapid roll out of remote online learning. In light of this phenomenon, this article discusses the impact of remote online learning on Australia’s advancement of UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 […]

Artificial Intelligence raises ethical, policy challenges – UN expert

Digital solutions are transforming lives: Think of robots that help the elderly, a mobile phone app that identifies crop pests, or surgical robots in hospitals. These advances are all due to Artificial Intelligence and an extraordinary new era of machine learning. While these bring tremendous benefits, AI also raises concerns, ranging from security, to human […]