Rejecting incendiary material a must to avert far-right terror

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Incendiary and hateful speech on the Internet appears to have fed the youth's misplaced sense of identity, led to his antipathy towards Islam and contributed to his swift radicalisation.

"It was primarily his online exposure to the extremist materials - specifically, Brenton Tarrant's live-streamed video of the Christchurch attack and Tarrant's manifesto, as well as the ISIS propaganda videos - that contributed to his self-radicalisation."

For qns on media violence...

Judges hear appeal on dismissal of cases against Section 377A

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They contended that Section 377A, which was enacted in 1938, should be struck down as it violates Article 12 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law. They argued that the law criminalises only sex acts between gay men, but not acts between lesbians or heterosexuals.

Qn: ‘We should always ensure equal rights for every individual.’ How realistic is this position?

Pro-Trump online groups facilitated storming of US Capitol

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Note how the govt itself can be guilty of the misuse of info.....and how the media/internet companies have power to ban users (including the govt/President) from their online platforms.

the issue goes beyond social media to the entire industry of fake news, said researchers, who also blamed politicians for adding fuel to the fire by directly spreading disinformation.

It is far more than just a social media problem. It is a problem with our actual elected officials being direct disseminators of disinformation. And our traditional news outlets - our cable outlets, Fox News for example, amplifying blatant disinformation."

Twitter and Facebook have been the President's megaphone throughout his term, but both companies have said he will not be able to use their platforms if he continues to break the rules.

Jan 6 was a day that drove the devastating, real-world effects of disinformation home.

"People were evacuated, held hostage, and experienced violence over disinformation and misinformation

Qn: ‘Only the government can tackle the misuse of information.’ Discuss.  

Law will allay public concerns on data use, say observers

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a potential good rebuttal here:

OV: govt misuse TraceTogether data for crime, when it is supposed to be intended for contact tracing of Covid-19 only

SV: the use of legislation helps to rein in the abuse

Potential counter-rebuttal: The govt can change the law any time it wants and get it passed, esp if it has the majority in parliament.

data collected by the contact tracing system to combat Covid-19 can be used by the police under the Criminal Procedure Code.

the law would be amended to limit the use of TraceTogether data in criminal investigations to seven types of serious offences such as murder, kidnapping and serious sexual crimes.

worried there is still not enough assurance that the law will not be amended in the future to expand the use of the data.

Qn: ‘Only the government can tackle the misuse of information.’ Discuss.  

Corporations have duties beyond profit

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Covax, a consortium of 190 governments formed to help ensure Covid-19 vaccines are distributed fairly around the world.

no one should make a profit from our research during the pandemic, and the vaccine should be made available free to low- and middle-income countries after that."

the world's largest corporations are not rule-takers but rule-makers. They play games whose rules they have a big role in creating, via politics

companies would not promote junk science on climate and the environment; it is one in which companies would not kill hundreds of thousands of people, by promoting addiction to opiates...

Singapore's small size means there are times it has to play by others' rules. But size is not destiny

Qns:

1. To what extent is human life in general about the survival of the fittest? (Cam. 2020)

2. 'Profit-making cannot be the sole concern of businesses today.' Do you agree? (NYJC Prelim 2011)

Covid-19 has deepened divides

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Controversy over AI chatbot in South Korea raises questions about ethics, data collection

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If scientist's aim is to develop a product that can be used in society, he needs to ensure it does not breach the moral guidelines of society lest it faces a ban or boycott. 

Luda joins a list of chatbots that have talked their way into trouble, such as Microsoft's Tay, which regurgitated users' racist and sexist comments, and Japan's Rinna, which claimed she loves Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

Qns: 

1. To what extent is artificial intelligence replacing the role of humans? (Cam. 2019)

2. Examine the view that the scientist is concerned only with knowledge, not morality. (Cam. 2020)

Recommended by TikTok told to block users of unverified age after girl's death in Italy

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Her parents said she had been participating in a so-called blackout challenge on TikTok, putting a belt around her neck and holding her breath while recording herself on her phone.

Google threatens to disable search engine as Aussie row deepens

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Covid-19 fight shows global collaboration is crucial: DPM

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The fight against Covid-19 shows international collaboration is crucial if the world wants to continue making scientific breakthroughs

[China] sharing the virus genome with the global community had allowed various diagnostic test kits to be developed quickly, and collective efforts have led to the creation of safe and effective vaccines in record time.

For qns on competition vs cooperation

Qns: 

1) To what extent is human life in general about the survival of the fittest? (Cam. 2020)

2) Examine the view that the scientist is concerned only with knowledge, not morality. (Cam. 2020)

Utmost restraint in use of TraceTogether data, say ministers

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This had sparked criticism, with some pointing to remarks made in June by Dr Balakrishnan, who oversees the Smart Nation drive, that TraceTogether data would be used "purely for contact tracing, period". "Frankly, I had not thought of the CPC, when I spoke earlier," he admitted yesterday.

But TraceTogether data is not exempt from the provisions under Section 20 of the CPC, said Dr Balakrishnan, noting that it would not be reasonable to say that certain classes of data should be "out of reach of the police", especially if they could potentially give leads on, say, terrorism activities and save lives. He disclosed that TraceTogether data had been used in a murder case.

Dr Balakrishnan also said that when the pandemic is over, the TraceTogether programme would be stood down, and much of the data would be deleted. He said the Ministry of Health may retain epidemiological data, but that it should be stripped of identifying details.

Qns:

1. To what extent has technology had an impact on both privacy and security in your country? (Cam. 2009)

2. How far should a state have a right to monitor the actions of people within its borders? (Cam. 2007)

Hard to act against smoking near windows, says minister

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Note the interesting comparison with being naked in own house, which is considered a crime in Singapore.

"Being naked in your own home doesn't kill your neighbour but second-hand smoke could."

Given the current technology, it would be challenging to track down the smoker or obtain evidence of an act of smoking being committed without rather intrusive methods, Ms Fu said, adding that this would affect even the privacy of innocent neighbours.

Qn: How far should a state have a right to monitor the actions of people within its borders? (Cam. 2007)