As Large Language Models (LLMs) increasingly mediate global information access for millions of users worldwide, their alignment and biases have the potential to shape public understanding and trust in fundamental democratic institutions, such as press freedom. In this study, we uncover three systematic distortions in the way six popular LLMs evaluate press freedom in 180 countries compared to expert assessments of the World Press Freedom Index (WPFI). The six LLMs exhibit a negative misalignment, consistently underestimating press freedom, with individual models rating between 71% to 93% of countries as less free. We also identify a paradoxical pattern we term differential misalignment: LLMs disproportionately underestimate press freedom in countries where it is strongest. Additionally, five of the six LLMs exhibit positive home bias, rating their home countries' press freedoms more favorably than would be expected given their negative misalignment with the human benchmark. In some cases, LLMs rate their home countries between 7% to 260% more positively than expected. If LLMs are set to become the next search engines and some of the most important cultural tools of our time, they must ensure accurate representations of the state of our human and civic rights globally.

Over the past years, Russian search and tech giant Yandex made an effort not to fall behind its Western counterparts and had developed its own smart devices, self-driving cars, as well as its own food delivery and ride-sharing services, among other products. According to The New York Times, though, the West's sanctions against its home country after the invasion of Ukraine has made it impossible to continue developing and improving its projects. That's why Yandex's parent firm, which is registered in Amsterdam, is reportedly looking to sell and sever ties with Russia. Apparently, Yandex is planning to sell the emerging technologies it's working on to markets outside the country, since they require Western technologies and experts to reach their full potential. It's also looking to sell its established businesses, such as its internet browser, its food delivery and its ride-hailing apps.

In March, as her friends and neighbors were scrambling to pack up and leave campus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Geeticka Chauhan found her world upended in yet another way. Just weeks earlier, she had been elected council president of MIT's largest graduate residence, Sidney-Pacific. Suddenly the fourth-year PhD student was plunged into rounds of emergency meetings with MIT administrators. From her apartment in Sidney-Pacific, where she has stayed put due to travel restrictions in her home country of India, Chauhan is still learning the ropes of her new position. With others, she has been busy preparing to meet the future challenge of safely redensifying the living space of more than 1,000 people: how to regulate high-density common areas, handle noise complaints as people spend more time in their rooms, and care for the mental and physical well-being of a community that can only congregate virtually.

London (CNN Business)Some of the leading artificial intelligence experts from Africa and South America have been denied visas to attend a major industry conference in Canada, dealing a setback to efforts to prevent bias from taking root in the new technology. Conference organizers say Canadian immigration authorities have denied visas to two dozen academics from countries such as Nigeria and Brazil, preventing them from attending the event next month in Vancouver. Katherine Heller, a professor who serves as co-chair of diversity and inclusion at the Neural Information Processing Systems conference, said organizers "are trying extremely hard" to have the visa denials overturned. "It is very significant for the field of AI that all voices be heard," she said. The problem of algorithmic bias in data science has become more pronounced, and there's mounting evidence that AI-powered algorithms display bias against women and some racial groups.

For the second year in a row, Canada has refused visas to dozens of researchers - most of them from Africa - who were hoping to attend an artificial intelligence (AI) conference in Vancouver. The hassles have caused at least one other AI conference to choose a different country for their next event. The Neural Information Processing Systems conference (NeurIPS), which brings together thousands of experts and researchers from all over the world, will be held in Vancouver next month. Last week, NeurIPS began hearing that several attendees had had their visas denied. It was the second year in a row the conference has had visa troubles.

For the second year in a row, Canada has refused visas to dozens of researchers - most of them from Africa - who were hoping to attend an artificial intelligence (AI) conference in Vancouver. The hassles have caused at least one other AI conference to choose a different country for their next event. The Neural Information Processing Systems conference (NeurIPS), which brings together thousands of experts and researchers from all over the world, will be held in Vancouver next month. Last week, NeurIPS began hearing that several attendees had had their visas denied. It was the second year in a row the conference has had visa troubles.

Note from the CPD Blog Manager: A previous version of this piece was originally published by the Elcano Royal Institute. Riding the waves of growing interest about artificial intelligence (AI) in international relations (IR) and security studies, the debate about the role of AI in diplomacy is also gaining momentum, although academic discussions are progressing rather slowly, without a clear analytical focus. The key question on the mind of policymakers at the moment is whether AI would be able to deliver on its promises instead of entering another season of skepticism and stagnation. If AI would be able to demonstrate value in a consistent manner by providing reliable assistance in areas of diplomatic interest such as in consular services, crisis management, public diplomacy and international negotiations, as suggested above, then the future of AI in diplomacy should look bright. If, on the other hand, the ratio between costs and contributions of AI applications to diplomatic work would stay high, then the appetite for AI integration would likely decline.

Ecosia, a German startup with an internet search engine, today, has brought in enough revenues to enable it to plant 50 million trees. This equates to the removal of 2.5 million tonnes of Co2 from the atmosphere, according to the company. Ecosia has used the profits from advertisements on its search engine to plant trees in Kenya, Brazil, Indonesia, Spain, Tanzania, Madagascar, Colombia, Peru, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Morocco, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana and Nicaragua. Ecosia has partnered with Bing, Microsoft's search engine, to get results for users, but receives a majority portion of any revenues. After covering its internal costs, everything left goes towards planting trees; Ecosia is a non-profit organization.

They say that a society thrives only when older generations plant the seeds of trees whose shade they may never enjoy. Through university partnerships and outreach, 4,725 students from 108 nations had completed the program as of year-end 2018. In this post, I talk about why we run the Seeds for the Future program. The current acute shortage of tech talent, especially data scientists and AI experts, is exacerbated by the barriers that prevent many women from fully contributing to the global economy. Together, they are dual bottlenecks hindering ICT development.

While Samsung and Apple are busy preparing their Amazon Echo rivals, LG has launched a new Bluetooth speaker that banks on levitating technology to capture the attention of consumers. The LG PJ9 is a portable speaker that utilizes magnetic technology to keep it floating in the air for hours, and it is now available in the electronics company's home country. On Tuesday, LG officially launched the PJ9 Bluetooth speaker in South Korea, just two months after the product made its debut in the U.K. back in August. The company proudly shared that what makes its speaker noteworthy is the 360 degrees audio it provides thanks to its unique design and floating technology. LG says the PJ9 is capable of delivering good sound quality because the speaker itself is floating above the Woofer Station, as per Korea Herald. LG's Bluetooth speaker has two components: an egg-shaped speaker and a large docking base, which works as a subwoofer and charger.