Month: March 2023

It’s been another month of impressive and unsettling AI breakthroughs. And, along with excitement, these breakthroughs have also sparked concerns about the risks AI could pose to society.

Take OpenAI’s release of GPT-4, the latest iteration of its ChatGPT chatbot. According to the company, it can pass academic tests (including several AP course exams) and even do your taxes. But NPR’s Geoff Brumfiel test drove the software, and found that it also sometimes fabricated inaccurate information.

Wednesday more than a thousand tech leaders and researchers – among them, Elon Musk – signed an open letter calling for a six month pause in the development of the most powerful AI systems. NPR’s Adrian Florido spoke with one signatory, Peter Stone, a computer science professor at the University of Texas.

NPR’s Shannon Bond has more reporting on AI and disinformation.

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Some officials in Democratic-led jurisdictions around the country are pushing to use involuntary commitment as a tool to tackle a surge in homelessness. We hear what officials in New York City, California and Portland, Oregon are proposing – and some of the pushback they are getting.

Ailsa Chang speaks with April Dembosky with KQED in San Francisco and Amelia Templeton with Oregon Public Broadcasting about how the conversation about involuntary commitment is playing out in California and Oregon.

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The United Nations says time is running out to avoid the worst effects of climate change. At the same time, countries like Bangladesh have no choice but to adapt to an already changing climate.

Bangladesh is prone to flooding from rising sea levels and melting glaciers. And it is in the path of some of the world’s most powerful cyclones.

NPR’s Lauren Frayer reports from northern Bangladesh on how the country is becoming a hot spot for climate solutions.

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A task force set up by the California state legislature is studying how the legacy of slavery has harmed the state’s Black residents. This summer it will submit recommendations for how the state legislature should compensate African-Americans for that harm.

The task force has to answer thorny questions like who should qualify for reparations, how to measure the suffering that Black people have endured and how to attach a dollar figure to that suffering.

The chair of the task force, Kamilah Moore, says she hopes the panel’s work will make a real difference in the lives of millions of Black Californians and serve as a model for a national program.

NPR’s Jennifer Ludden reports on one big obstacle to a federal reparations package: public opinion is firmly against it. That’s especially true among white Americans.

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Donald Trump was the first president in American history to be impeached twice. Now, he may be the first modern president, current or former – to be charged with criminal conduct.

The New York investigation into hush money paid to adult entertainment actor Stormy Daniels is just one of several criminal probes currently faced by Donald Trump, And it’s the one that is closest to issuing charges.

Amid all the legal drama Trump has announced his third bid for the White House. A pending indictment would usually be a golden opportunity for Trump’s Republican challengers – some who have declared – like Nikki Haley – and those who are expected to jump in the race – like Mike Pence and Ron DeSantis.

But for the field of Republican presidential candidates, taking Trump down while not alienating his base is risky business.

Host Scott Detrow talks to NPR congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell. He also talks to Jeff Sharlet, a professor of English at Dartmouth college and the author of the new book “Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War.”

On March 24, 2018, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Washington, D.C. to demand an end to gun violence. That was also the start of the March For Our Lives movement, which continues to call on young people to make their voices heard through the ballot box.

Survivors of a mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida organized that first march. One of them was David Hogg. NPR’s Adrian Florido speaks with Hogg about the triumphs and frustrations of the past five years and the movement’s hopes for the future.

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PIMCO founder and legendary investor Bill Gross was known as the “Bond King.” People all over the finance world listened to his market calls. He helped change a sleepy bond market into the highly competitive and profitable world we know today. His story is also the story of how American financial markets work, how people game them, and what happens when they implode.

NPR’s Mary Childs wrote about Gross in her book, The Bond King: How One Man Made A Market, Built An Empire And Lost It All. She reported an episode about Gross for NPR’s Planet Money.

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School districts across the country are struggling to fill vacancies among their teaching staff. In addition to stepping up their recruitment efforts, some districts are looking to turn more of their existing staff into teachers.

NPR’s Cory Turner reports on the Mississippi Teacher Residency program, and on the impact it is having in the state’s capital, Jackson.

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The Cherokee Nation has been hit hard by opioid addiction and fentanyl-related overdose deaths. But the tribe has a plan to heal.

Like many communities around the country, the Cherokee Nation received settlement money from big drug companies and pharmacy chains accused of fueling the opioid crisis. The tribe is investing that $100 million in programs to support treatment, harm reduction and a fight against stigma.

Tribal leaders say the funds will save lives and save families.

NPR’s addiction correspondent Brian Mann traveled to Oklahoma to see how the Cherokee Nation is fighting the opioid crisis.

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On March 20, 2003, the United States launched its invasion of Iraq. We recall how the war started, and the trauma it left behind.

NPR’s Eric Westervelt was embedded with the U.S. Army’s Third Infantry Division as it pushed north from Kuwait. He describes what he saw in the first days of the war.

We also hear reporting from NPR’s Ruth Sherlock, who spoke to young Iraqis who grew up in the years since the invasion and are still trying to realize a better future for their country.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

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