Stuff YOU Should Know
Hungarian Hard Line
The United States isn’t the only country that’s divided right now over the controversial issue of immigration. Hungary has taken the debate a step further, by passing a law making it illegal even to help undocumented immigrants.
Like Donald Trump, Prime Minister Viktor Orban believes that immigrants are a threat to his country’s well-being, despite the fact that the number of Syrian and Afghan refugees passing through Hungary on their way to Germany has dwindled since the 2015 European refugee crisis. This has put him at odds with other European leaders, who have accepted thousands of refugees. The new legislation, passed by Hungary’s Parliament on (ironically) World Refugee Day, makes it so that if you give an undocumented immigrant money, or even assist them by providing them with information about Hungary’s asylum process, you could face up to a year in jail.
In addition, the government has amended their constitution to make it illegal for “foreign populations” to settle in Hungary. And, in another parallel with Trump, Prime Minister Orban has also built a fence along Hungary’s southern border.
Hungary’s new laws have been condemned by the United Nations, Amnesty International, and other global human rights groups. The legislation package must be signed by President Janos Ader before it can take effect.
What Would You Do? Imagine that you are Hungarian President Janos Ader. Would you sign off on the country’s new anti-immigration legislation? Why or why not?
Sleep, Koko
Have you ever heard of Koko the gorilla? She first became famous in the 1970s because of her ability to communicate with humans. Koko forever changed the way we view animals’ emotional depth and intelligence. Sadly, she passed away on June 19 in California, at the age of 46.
View of a female Gorilla with her sleeping baby. Credit: Eric Gevaert/iStockphoto/Getty Images
In 1971, infant Koko, a western lowland gorilla, was chosen to work with scientists on a language research project. She began communicating with humans via American Sign Language (ASL), and took her own photograph in a mirror for the cover of National Geographic magazine in 1978. Later, Koko became an international celebrity for her loving relationship with her kitten, whom she named All Ball. Koko doted on her kitten like it was her own child. When All Ball was hit by a car and died, Koko pretended for ten minutes that she didn’t hear her handlers telling her about the death. Then she signed, “Sleep, cat,” and repeatedly, “Sad.” Koko also stunned researchers when she learned to play the recorder. By the time of her death, Koko could use more than 1,000 signs and understood more than 2,000 words of spoken English.
So far, over 35,000 people have reacted to The Gorilla Foundation’s announcement of Koko’s death on Facebook, with more than 5,000 people leaving messages of condolence. Western lowland gorillas generally live between thirty to forty years, though those cared for by humans can live longer. The species is considered to be critically endangered.
Dig Deeper Watch this video of Koko and All Ball. Why do you think people across the world have reacted so strongly to Koko’s death?
War, Peace, and Tariffs
Earlier this month, btw took a look at Donald Trump’s new tariffs on goods from China, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union, and how these changes could impact American workers. Since then, Trump has threatened to place tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.
So what impact will this latest development have on American consumers? It’s tough to say for sure. Important to remember is that, at this point, the tariffs have only been threatened, not actually enacted. Most likely, if the tariffs happen, the prices of many everyday products will rise. And already, the stock market has fallen by about 600 points since Trump announced the possible new tariffs. The Trump administration, however, believes that raising tariffs on foreign products will encourage people to buy American-made goods, which will help boost American jobs.
The Trump administration has indicated that their ultimate goal isn’t to cut trade with China altogether, but rather to put the pressure on so that China will be willing to sit down with the United States to bargain for trade agreements which will be more fair and balanced for both countries. Ultimately, they say, this will lead to freer trade. Other economists, however, see these latest threats as moving the United States and China one step closer to an all-out trade war. This scenario seems likely since Trump himself has said that if China responds to his latest tariff threat by raising tariffs on American imports, then he will respond by placing tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
What Do You Think?: Organize your thoughts about tariffs by dividing a piece of paper in half and labeling one side “pro tariff” and the other side “anti tariff”. See how many reasons you can list in each category. Based on your lists, are you in favor of Trump’s tariff policy, or against it?
Project Debater
Scientists have created computers that can beat people at chess, call a restaurant to make a reservation, and even win at trivia games. But now, IBM has taken artificial intelligence (AI) to the next level: by creating a computer that can argue.
Last week, a computer debated a human in front of a live audience. This was a big step in the world of AI, because, unlike games such as trivia or chess, there are no set rules and no numerical scores. The computer, called “Project Debater,” has been under construction for sixteen years. It went through a formal debating process twice, against two trained debaters.
So, who won? It’s tough to say. Before each debate, the audience (mostly made up of journalists) was polled to find out their opinion about a topic. After the debate, they were polled again to see if their minds had been changed. In general, it was pretty much a draw between the computer and the humans: in the first debate, the human swayed two people, and in the second, the computer swayed nine. Still, the debate showed that machines can now create fluent sentences. Moreover, they can participate in what the company refers to as “computational argumentation”–in other words, knowing a subject, presenting a position, and defending it against the opposition. And that’s pretty amazing.