mamluk - The Chronikler

Taxing questions about democracy in the Middle East

In the Middle East, there appears to be a link between autocracy and low taxes. Would higher taxation lead to greater representation or repression?

Circassian beauties and the ugly face of race

The curious cases of Rachel Dolezal and the Circassian ladies show just how meaningless race is, while Dylann Roof underlines the dangers of racism.

Enslaved by history

Failing to acknowledge the legacy of slavery on all our modern societies makes the present an unnecessary slave to history.

Egypt’s centuries-old leadership vacuum

Decades of authoritarianism and centuries of non-indigenous rule have led to a shortage of effective native leaders in Egypt, derailing the revolution.

Khaled Diab

@DiabolicalIdea

The problem is that so long as AI is largely in the hands of tech tycoons and large corporations, the fruits will not go to your average human. They are far more likely to be rewarded with redundancy, heightened job insecurity and ever more pressure to be "productive".

12:16 · April 1, 2023

Khaled Diab

@DiabolicalIdea

It's interesting that Bill Gates has penned a piece on how AI can make us more productive, free us from mediocre tasks and narrow inequalities when he was one of the primary forces behind the widening inequalities caused by the previous information revolution. twitter.com/BillGates/stat…

08:22 · April 1, 2023

Khaled Diab

@DiabolicalIdea

Only in Belgium. Not only does the country brew hundreds of varieties of beer, a Belgian firm is developing a device that allows you to "print" your own customised beer at home, including blonde, IPA and bitter. Wonder if it tastes any good. nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf2023033…

20:05 · March 31, 2023

Khaled Diab

@DiabolicalIdea

If you think you're too small to make a difference, think of Vanuatu. The Pacific nation of some 300,000 inhabitants spearheaded a historic UN resolution to determine what international law says about countries' obligations to tackle the climate crisis. theguardian.com/environment/2…

12:51 · March 31, 2023

Khaled Diab

@DiabolicalIdea

Tragically, AI has claimed a life in Belgium. A young man who was suffering depression and eco-anxiety discovered a chatbot called ChaiGPT (or Eliza) which helped him along the downward spiral to suicide by amplifying his negative thoughts, his wife says. nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf2023032…

07:34 · March 31, 2023

Khaled Diab

@DiabolicalIdea

"Such decisions must not be delegated to unelected tech leaders." Finally, something on which I agree with Elon Musk. Artificial Intelligence affects all of humanity, so everyone should have a say in the future development of AI. futureoflife.org/open-letter/…

15:44 · March 30, 2023

Khaled Diab

@DiabolicalIdea

The artifacts of our dirty past can store the energy that will help power our clean future. There is a certain poetry to this resourceful idea of transforming abandoned mines into gravity batteries for renewable energy. euronews.com/green/2023/03/…

07:47 · March 30, 2023

Khaled Diab

@DiabolicalIdea

We "legacy verified" users will reportedly lose our blue Twitter tick on 1 April. Still, I refuse to pay. I believe verification should be earned and that the paid-for system undermines the original purpose of verification and will make it worthless. Very unwise from Elon Musk

16:04 · March 29, 2023

Khaled Diab

@DiabolicalIdea

@hossambahgat Sadly, this is not new. The Israeli right has been pushing conspiracy theories about the left and about peace activists for years. An example of this was the 2016 NGO law which targeted progressive organisations receiving foreign funding. chronikler.com/middle-east/is…

16:54 · March 28, 2023