Citizens need clear, accessible information to make informed decisions, but today’s digital landscape can be overwhelming. This column tests whether an AI chatbot can ease election information overload for 1,500 Californian voters. The chatbot reduces the voters’ perception of the effort needed to get more information, increases voter engagement, and improves the accuracy of their […]
The World Bank has long recognized the critical importance of agricultural extension services – ranging from training and data to technology transfer – which make up the second-largest share of its agriculture portfolio. Yet farmers have often been slow to adopt the very methods and tools these services are designed to deliver—limiting their own productivity and […]
Studies of the impact of robots on labour markets often conceptualise jobs as bundles of distinct tasks. In such frameworks, technologies substitute or complement workers. But this view may overestimate the potential adverse effects of automation, particularly in developing countries. This column distinguishes between technical feasibility and economic viability of adopting industrial robots and artificial […]
Depending on how it is measured, China’s economy is now the world’s largest or second largest. It is also the world’s second-most intertwined in terms of trade relationships, after the European Union, and is a major investor and lender in the emerging world. Understanding where China is heading is important for the whole world. This […]
The world has experienced a digital revolution that has affected countless aspects of our lives, posing both potential benefits and risks to our wellbeing. This column examines the impact of high-speed internet in Uruguay on young people’s socioemotional wellbeing. Young people report increased worry but reduced loneliness as access to high-speed internet grows. Dissatisfaction with […]
The European Union is nearly on track to reach its main climate target for this decade, with countries’ existing CO2-cutting plans set to bring the bloc within one percentage point of the goal, the European Commission said on Wednesday. The EU is on course to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by 54% by 2030, […]
Critical technologies including artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum computing are attracting attention because of their indispensable nature and their role in national security strategies. We compare China, the United States and the European Union in these technologies and their subfields. We use large language models (LLMs) to identify which patents in these technologies can be […]
