The Korea Herald

[J. Bradford DeLong] Artificial intelligence and artificial problems

Apr 6, 2017

Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers recently took exception to current US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s views on “artificial intelligence” (AI) and related topics. The difference between the two seems to be, more than anything else, a matter of priorities and emphasis.　Mnuchin takes a narrow approach. He thinks that the problem of particular technologies called “artificial intelligence taking over American jobs” lies “far in the future.” And he seems to question the high stock-market
[Chicago Tribune] Russians who dare to challenge Putin

Apr 6, 2017

The other day a man fell out of a fourth-floor Moscow apartment and suffered serious head injuries. The real surprise is not that Nikolai Gorokhov had an accident but that he survived. People who dare to challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin often don’t. Gorokhov’s fall came just a day before he was to appear in court on behalf of the family of Sergei Magnitsky -- who died in a Russian prison cell where he languished after, yes, daring to challenge Putin.Two days after Gorokhov’s hard landi
[Tyler Cowen] China’s success explains authoritarianism’s allure　

Apr 6, 2017

Silicon Valley entrepreneur Peter Thiel is famous for asking interviewees to describe a view they hold that other smart people they know do not agree with. A variant is to ask which views one might earnestly believe in spite of not having much hard evidence for them. And there I have a nomination: I believe that much of Western politics is becoming more authoritarian and less liberal because of the greater presence of autocracies on the world stage, most of all because of the success of China.　I
[Michael Schuman] Trump and Xi could break the system

Apr 6, 2017

The world’s two most powerful leaders appear to come from different planets. Real estate billionaire Donald Trump craves media attention, loves golf and governs through Twitter. Communist Party boss Xi Jinping evades the public, shutters golf courses and bans Twitter. Sure, when they meet for their first summit at Trump’s Florida club Thursday, the two men may discover some mutual interests -- say, a shared contempt for the New York Times. But they seem unlikely to hit it off.Trump and Xi do hav
[Other view] Trump just gave your internet privacy away

Apr 6, 2017

If we’ve learned anything from reports of Russians hacking political campaigns and Silicon Valley corporations, it’s that online privacy can’t be taken for granted. But President Donald Trump apparently wants to strip Americans of our last shred of secrecy.　Trump signed legislation Monday that would make it easier for internet service providers to sell unwitting customers’ personal data to the highest bidder. Just about anything typed into a web browser will be fair game, from your financial inf
[Michael Mandelbaum] Will nuclear history repeat itself in Koea?

Apr 5, 2017

As Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first summit with US President Donald Trump takes place at Trump’s luxurious Florida estate Mar-a-Lago, at least part of the discussion will invariably focus on one of the world’s most impoverished places: North Korea. Despite more than two decades of on-again, off-again negotiations, North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is pushing the world toward a strategic watershed much like the one that the West faced 60 years ago, when the United States and the Soviet Un
[Adam Minter] How China can become a true climate leader

Apr 5, 2017

One of the world’s largest reserves of low-grade, dirty coal is located roughly 400 kilometers west of Karachi, Pakistan in the Thar Desert. Discovered in the 1990s, it remained largely untapped until last year, when Chinese financing underwrote a $3.5 billion project to exploit it. The investment is part of a larger Chinese energy plan for Pakistan that includes seven new coal plants. By 2020, if everything goes as planned, Pakistan will derive 24 percent of its power from coal, up from 0.1 per
[Mark Davis] Ban on texting while driving not the solution

Apr 5, 2017

Those of us who have long argued against specific bans on texting while driving have hinged our logic on various concepts, mostly the nightmare of enforcement.　Can an officer tell if someone is texting or just glancing at GPS or even checking the time? Should a ban extend to those behaviors as well? And these questions arise before anyone makes a point about the state seeking to micromanage additional layers of driver behavior.　These are all worthy parts of the conversation, but they are now pla
[Bloomberg] Trump needs plan to deal with China

Apr 5, 2017

On the eve of their first-ever meeting this week, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has one great advantage over US President Donald Trump: He knows what he wants. By contrast, US policy toward China looks confused and contradictory. Until and unless this changes, not much progress will be made on critical issues in the most important bilateral relationship in the world.China’s president craves stability as he manages a slowing economy and oversees a major leadership transition this fall. China needs th
[Other view] Nuclear power is worth saving

Apr 5, 2017

Last week’s bankruptcy of Westinghouse Electric Co. is yet more evidence, if anyone needed any, that the economics of nuclear power are not good. Like coal, nuclear energy can’t compete against cheap natural gas and ever-cheaper renewables.Unlike coal, however, nuclear energy is a crucial tool in the fight against climate change. So the public subsidies that benefit the nuclear industry in the US are justified, whereas efforts to prop up the coal industry are not.And states are offering or propo
[Kim Ji-hyun] Once the dust settles

Apr 5, 2017

One of the most difficult things about working in Japan is the loneliness. Despite the many press conferences, the articles that need to be dealt with, and the ecstasy felt from discovering new Japanese words, I felt a sense of loneliness and detachment that was not altogether enjoyable.It may be because I am a sentimental woman, but there was the sadness of being away from my colleagues, the uneasiness from being away from my former job, the fear of losing contact with my personal connections -
[Dick Meyer] The Russia affair: To commission or not?

Apr 4, 2017

To commission or not to commission? That is the question facing Congress and the White House regarding how best to investigate Russia’s meddling in the 2016 elections.Actually, let me rephrase that: That is the question that should be facing Congress and the White House.There is no indication, however, that the independent commission question is receiving any serious attention on either end of Pennsylvania Avenue since Republicans control both ends of that famed thoroughfare, although “control”
[Lee Jae-min] Tricky path ahead: Triangular talks

Apr 4, 2017

As the United Kingdom officially notified the European Union on March 29 of its intention to leave the common market, South Korea is quick in preparing to start negotiations with the UK to conclude a bilateral FTA. The UK also chimed in by underscoring the importance of a bilateral FTA to sustain and expand bilateral trade. Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty will validate the UK departure as of March 29, 2019 when two-year negotiations between the UK and the EU end.Surely, given the magnitude of th
[Nicolas Loris] Rolling back climate regulations with questionable benefits will boost US economy

Apr 4, 2017

President Donald Trump’s executive order to undo several Obama era global-warming regulations has some critics steaming.　Andrew Steer, president and CEO of the World Resources Institute, accused Trump of “taking a sledgehammer to US climate action.” Sen. Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts, called it “a declaration of war on American leadership on climate change and our clean energy future.”　In actuality, the order will benefit all Americans who want affordable and dependable energy and will help ene
[Kim Seong-kon] Beware of those who advocate the greater good

Apr 4, 2017

In the 1980s, when anti-military dictatorship demonstrations were prevalent in Korean society, I frequently heard slogans like “For the greater good!” or “For the grand cause!” As long as it was for the grand cause, the sacrifice of human lives was nothing but collateral damage, and individual sacrifice was insignificant and inevitable for the greater good. As a result, in order to fight the dictatorial regime and bring about democracy, anything was justified, even the killing of innocent bystan