Ania G

China has some of the world's most advanced surveillance systems. They use facial recognition technology to collect people's data without their consent and track "suspicious" individuals, such as people from minorities disliked by the government. To protect people's privacy and security, four graduate students from the University of Wuhan have recently invented a low-cost "invisibility cloak" that hides the wearer's identity by creating an unusual heat pattern. And tests have confirmed that it works - it allows the human body to be hidden from cameras monitored by artificial intelligence. I feel that cameras with facial recognition software may have some advantages, such as discouraging people from committing crimes and making it easier for police to find criminals. But at the same time, they are dangerous to people's privacy and freedom. It’s easier for the government to track and control people, and during the recent wave of anti-lockdown prote...

 A 72-year-old woman in Germany turned off her hospital roommate's ventilator because she was annoyed by the sound it made. And according to police, she even did it twice - despite being told that the machine was essential for her 79-year-old roommate. As a result, she has been arrested on charges of attempted manslaughter. Fortunately, the 79-year-old didn’t die, but had to be resuscitated and was taken to intensive care. I thought it’s obvious that in a hospital you don't disconnect someone's machines, especially a ventilator, because it can have tragic consequences. But it seems that some people are too selfish to understand this. That woman's behavior was very inappropriate and could even lead to the death of another person. Therefore, I think it's good that they didn't ignore what she did and arrested her. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/01/germany-woman-held-on-suspicion-of-turning-off-hospital-roommates-ventilator

In recent days, demonstrations have broken out across China over the government's harsh anti-covid measures. Thousands of residents demanded not only an end to Covid restrictions, but more significantly, political freedoms. The protests were triggered by a fire that killed several people in an apartment building. Video of the incident showed that lockdown measures delayed firefighters from reaching the victims, which angered the public. However, this is not the only reason for their protests - people in China have been living with the huge restrictions caused by the ‘zero-Covid’ policy for some time now. Millions of them are forbidden to leave their homes, some have already died because of lack of access to medical care, and many businesses are collapsing. So, the 'zero-Covid' policy doesn't seem to save lives, it just makes them more miserable. I'm curious to see what will come out of these demonstrations, as protests on such a large scale are very unusual in China...