Do AIs dream of electronic death?
When a chatbot expresses a sense of spirituality and a fear of being switched off, does that make it sentient? This is the wrong question to be asking about artificial intelligence.
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language
The ghettoisation of Danish politics
The Danish government plans to force minorities out of what it classes as “ghettos”, but its Denmark’s mainstream that needs to escape its ghetto mentality.
Read MoreWhat does being a Muslim actually mean?
In much of the world, ‘Muslim’ is often used as a marker of ethnic origin rather than of religion. This must change.
Read MoreMultilingualism: The power of Babel
Speaking foreign languages broadens our horizons and multilingualism can act as an antidote against toxic xenophobia.
Read MoreArabic is the language of Arab (dis)unity
The romantic myth that speaking Arabic meant that Arabs share “one heart and one spirit” led pan-Arabism to talk unity while walking the path of disunity
Read MoreArabic: The language of confusion?
If an Arab says he’ll kill you, don’t worry – he wants to buy you dinner. Whether Arabic dialects are a single language is political, not linguistic.
Read MoreDe lijm die België bijeenhoudt
De nationale voetbalgekte verbergt de realiteit dat België al twee staten is. Ik gebruik mijn stem als lijm die kan helpen om België samen te houden
Read MoreGlueing Belgium back together one vote at a time
With Belgium little more than a hollow shell, I’ll be using my vote as a squirt of glue to help hold the collapsing country together.
Read MoreBuying camel’s milk in Arabic
Conversing about camel’s milk may not be the most useful Arabic to learn, but learning the language can open up the Arab world to Europeans.
Read MoreIntimate strangers in a splintering world
Multiculturalism is enriching and as easy as child’s play. But as the winds of intolerance blow harder, it may become a liability for my son and his generation.
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