Day: December 23, 2024

Bias is in the eye of the beholder, yet it’s increasingly being evaluated by AI. Latimer AI, a startup that’s building AI tools on a repository of Black datasets, plans to launch a bias detection tool as a Chrome browser extension in January.
The company anticipates the product could be used by people who run official social media accounts, or anyone who wants to be mindful of their tone online, Latimer CEO John Pasmore told Business Insider.
“When we test Latimer against other applications, we take a query and score the response. So we’ll score our response, we’ll score ChatGPT or Claude’s response, against the same query and see who scores better from a bias perspective,” Pasmore said. “It’s using our internal algorithm to not just score text, but then correct it.”
The tool assigns a score from one through 10 to text, with 10 being extremely biased.
Patterns of where bias is found online, are already emerging from beta testing of the product.
For instance, text from an April post by Elon Musk, in which he apologized for calling Dustin Moskowitz a derogatory name, was compared to an August post from Bluesky CEO Jay Graber.
Musks’ post scored 6.8 out of 10, or “High Bias,” while Graber’s scored 3.6 out of 10, or “Low Bias”.
Latimer’s technology proposed a “fix” to the text in Musk’s post by changing it to the following: “I apologize to Dustin Moskowitz for my previous inappropriate comment. It was wrong. What I intended to express is that I find his attitude to be overly self-important. I hope we can move past this and potentially become friends in the future.”
While what is deemed biased is subjective, Latimer isn’t alone in trying to tackle this challenge through technology. The LA Times plans to display a “bias meter” in 2025, for instance.
Latimer hopes its bias tool will draw in more users.
“This will help us identify a different set of users who might not use a large language model, but might use a browser extension,” Pasmore said.
The bias detector will launch at $1 a month, and a pro version will let users access multiple bias detection algorithms.
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Frederick Hess

This week, we’ll be lighting the menorah a couple feet from the Christmas tree. Only in America.
Contemplating such moments always leaves me amazed by such blessings and how they have come by a combination of luck and hard-earned wisdom. In this instance, it brought to mind a slender book I had a chance to read earlier this fall.
Author Jeff Nelligan penned Four Lessons from My Three Sons to share his experiences trying to teach his kids “the basic universal virtues—civility, confidence, resilience and ambition.” You can’t get any more old school than that. It’s a book about parenting, but pretty much the whole of it applies equally to teaching and mentoring.
This is simple, sensible stuff. It feels to me like we don’t spend enough time nowadays on the simple, sensible stuff. We should spend more. Readers won’t find much that’s surprising, but they’ll find good sense, encouragement, and some useful nuggets.

Nelligan starts with a simple but oft-confounding question: “How do you get a kid to pay attention?” Schools pay experts and professional trainers a lot of money for answers to that question. But I suspect Nelligan’s pithy advice may frequently prove more useful.
Recognizing that kids are going to roll their eyes at parental lectures, Nelligan suggests pointing out specific examples of good and bad behavior as we see them unfold in real time. He tells of one such experience while leaving a football field with his boys. They watched one of the players walk off, with his dad carrying his equipment bag and his mom carrying his helmet, while the boy walked “ten feet ahead . . . texting furiously on a cell phone.” Nelligan’s advice to his kids? “Don’t ever be like that jackass.”
In an era when sensitivity to feelings may leave some parents hesitant to be this blunt, Nelligan reminds us that life requires us to constantly make judgments, big and small. He urges parents (and teachers) to accept that and then be present, principled, and clear in those judgments. Indeed, he argues that the basics of good conduct are simple. As he puts it, “There’s no intellect necessary in looking into someone’s eyes when you speak with them. There’s no expertise needed in shaking hands with an adult and saying Mr., Mrs., or Ms. . . . These are the easiest, simplest tasks there are.”
When encouraging his kids to be aware of the world around them, Nelligan drills them with questions. I’ve been known to do something similar, and I quite liked his suggestions: “How many people in this grocery store do you see wearing college sweatshirts? How many people are working as waiters in this restaurant? How many out-of-state license plates do you see in this parking lot?”
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Nelligan describes seizing opportunities to reinforce fundamental principles. Like me, he’s a big believer in timeliness—and that anything other than a respect for punctuality suggests to others that your time is more valuable than theirs. (My kids have heard me give this little homily many times. Maybe that’s why Nelligan’s take on this gave me a chuckle.) He tells of a time a family showed up disruptively late to a school event. Afterward, the family meandered over to him, with the father explaining, “We were late getting here because we’re always so damn busy.” Nelligan’s response, in front of his sons? “Yeah, I hear you. Good thing the Nelligans are never busy.”
There are sensible tips to building a kid’s self-assurance and sense of competence. When his boys were little, Nelligan would tell them: “You guys are small so if you get lost somewhere in a bunch of people, look for that guy with a stripe running down their pants. That’s a policeman or a solider and they’ll help you out.” When his five-year-old got lost at a mall, he stared at legs until he found a mall security officer.
The volume is hit-or-miss. Some anecdotes fall flat. But it’s an engaging, provocative contribution. As Nelligan puts it, he wrote this book “with an edge because after 20 years in Parent World, I know that parenting in this increasingly erratic and questionable culture demands hard and direct truths, not soft-pedalled equivocation.”
That’s a pretty fair summation of both the book and the need for an old-school approach to education.
Wishing all of you a merry Christmas, a happy Chanukah, and a terrific 2025.
Frederick Hess is an executive editor of Education Next and the author of the blog “Old School with Rick Hess.”
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Vol. 24, No. 4
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Toronto [Canada], December 2 (ANI): A new study by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the Institut Curie demonstrates how stem cells sense and adapt to their surroundings, with implications for inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer.
Stem cells constantly adapt to their environment to maintain organ and tissue health, informed by chemical signals and physical forces. When they do not function as intended, stem cells can result in a number of health conditions including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal (bowel) cancer, where they continue to divide until a tumour forms.
Until now, how stem cells sense the physical forces around them has remained unclear, but novel findings in Science led by Dr. Meryem Baghdadi, a former SickKids postdoctoral researcher, Dr Tae-Hee Kim at SickKids and Dr. Danijela Vignjevic at Institut Curie, has revealed that stem cells depend on two ion channels, called PIEZO1 and PIEZO2, for their survival.

“The physical properties of the environment around stem cells are crucial to our health,” explains Kim, Senior Scientist in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology program. “With this knowledge, we can explore ways to promote gastrointestinal regeneration to not only prevent, but repair damaged stem cells.”
In 2018, Dr Xi Huang, Senior Scientist in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology program at SickKids, found that PIEZO ion channels influence tumour stiffening in brain cancer. Inspired by this research, Kim’s research team set out to explore how stem cells in the intestines use PIEZO channels to stay healthy and function properly.

In a preclinical model, the study team knocked out (turned off) PIEZO1 and PIEZO2 in the intestines. The results were dramatic: in the absence of both PIEZO channels, the stem cells couldn’t maintain their necessary functions, leading to severe illness and rapid death. Although these PIEZO channels were previously known to have distinct functions, this study has revealed their unexpected redundancy in stem cell maintenance.
The Kim and Vignjevic labs identified that PIEZO ion channels were helping stem cells feel physical changes in their surroundings, like how stiff or stretchy the environment is. Without these channels, there was an imbalance in two critical signalling pathways, causing the stem cells to miss important changes in their environment and improperly differentiate.
“When PIEZO channels are missing, stem cells can’t stay stem cells. Instead, they turn into other cell types too quickly, leading to serious health problems,” says Baghdadi.
The discovery has significant implications for human health, particularly for conditions with abnormal stem cell activity such as IBD, one of the fastest-growing conditions in Canada, and bowel cancer, the third most common cancer in the country.
“More and more we are finding that our cells are more than just biology, there are chemical and mechanical signals which are driving cell activity,” says Kim. “How and why our body responds to these signals will open up new doors of research not just for gut health, but for every aspect of human health.” (ANI)
(Except for the Headline and Byline, nothing from the story has been edited by the Tribune Staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising five eminent persons as trustees.

The Tribune, the largest selling English daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the newspaper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.

The Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).
Remembering Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia

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By Suzanne Monyak
Immigration and Social Security judges are among those who would gain greater protections under draft legislation circulating on Capitol Hill amid efforts to safeguard those left out of judicial security legislation enacted in 2022.
It’s been two years since President Joe Biden signed legislation to limit public disclosure and sale of personally identifying information about federal judges and their family members. The bill, known as the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act, was passed in the wake of the murder of a New Jersey federal judge’s 20-year-old son by an attorney who posed as a delivery man.
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The key global development moments Devex is watching in 2025  Devex
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Writer by choice, CryptoCurrency Writer, and Researcher by chance. Currently, focusing on financial news and analysis, as well as cryptocurrency news and data. One may not call me a crypto “Enthusiast” but trust me I’m getting there.
MicroStrategy founder and Bitcoin advocate has proposed a digital asset policy that could strengthen the US dollar, reduce national debt, and position the U.S. as a leader in the global digital economy—boosting businesses, fueling growth, and generating trillions in value.
Saylor advocates for a clear framework to regulate digital assets in the U.S. He proposes classifying them into categories like digital commodities (e.g., Bitcoin), digital securities (e.g., stocks), digital currencies (e.g., stablecoins), digital tokens (e.g., utility tokens), NFTs (e.g., unique digital assets), and digital ABTs (backed by physical assets). Additionally, he calls for a system that establishes clear rights and responsibilities for issuers, exchanges, and owners to ensure confidence and legitimacy in the market.
He explained the opportunity for the U.S. to lead in the digital economy by implementing a strategic digital asset policy. This could strengthen the U.S. dollar, help manage national debt, and position the country as the global leader in digital assets. 
A strategic digital asset policy can strengthen the US dollar, neutralize the national debt, and position America as the global leader in the 21st-century digital economy—empowering millions of businesses, driving growth, and creating trillions in value. https://t.co/7n7jQqPkf1
Taking to his X handle, Saylor wrote, “A strategic digital asset policy can strengthen the US dollar, neutralize the national debt, and position America as the global leader in the 21st-century digital economy—empowering millions of businesses, driving growth, and creating trillions in value.”
The Bitcoin bull suggests growing the digital currency market from $25 billion to $10 trillion, expanding global digital capital markets from $2 trillion to $280 trillion, and increasing digital asset value from $1 trillion to $590 trillion, with the U.S. dominating these sectors. Additionally, he proposes creating a Bitcoin reserve to generate $16–81 trillion in wealth, supporting the U.S. Treasury and reducing the national debt.
By establishing a clear taxonomy, a legitimate rights-based framework, and practical compliance obligations, the United States can lead the global digital economy. A capital markets renaissance fueled by digital assets will unlock trillions in wealth, empower millions of businesses, and solidify the US dollar as the foundation of the 21st-century digital financial system,” the blueprint concluded.

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SINGAPORE – Stocks of an ayurvedic supplement have been seized by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) after a woman consuming it was hospitalised for lead poisoning.
HSA has also directed an e-commerce platform to take down listings of a fake probiotic product when a family of three fell ill after consuming the capsules, it said in a statement on Dec 23.
The ayurvedic supplement, known as ayukalp Mahayograj Guggulu, caused the woman in her 30s to experience fatigue, shortness of breath during physical activity and chest discomfort.
She was later diagnosed with anaemia due to lead poisoning and was hospitalised.
According to HSA, the woman got the supplement from Union Yoga Ayurveda after a consultation and took it for about 1½ months for back pain.
HSA’s tests found the product to contain lead, with a level exceeding 6,000 times the acceptable limit for traditional medicines.
According to the authority, acute exposure to high levels of lead, a toxic heavy metal, may result in abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, anaemia, hepatitis and brain injury.
Long-term exposure to very high levels of lead may affect one’s kidneys, digestive and nervous systems.
HSA said it has seized the supply of the supplement from all three local branches of Union Yoga Ayurveda, which is assisting with investigations.
In the other incident, a man and his wife suffered from abdominal discomfort, vomiting and diarrhoea while their two-year-old child developed high fever and had abnormal-coloured faeces after taking fake LactoGG capsules sold on Shopee.
His other children also complained that the capsules tasted different from what they were used to.
The man, who is in his 40s, later suspected the product he bought was fake after discovering irregularities in the printing on the product packaging and discolouration of the contents in the capsules.
HSA’s analysis revealed the product did not contain the probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, as stated on its packaging.
The authority has ordered Shopee to remove the affected listings and will take action against the offenders.
All sellers and suppliers must stop selling both products immediately, HSA said, while consumers should stop taking them.
Those who suspect their LactoGG capsules are fake can contact ProbioCare at info@lactogg.com or 6255-5592 between Monday and Friday from 9am to 5pm.
To report those who sell and supply illegal products, contact HSA’s enforcement branch on 6866-3485.
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Once seen as a speculative asset, Bitcoin finally has its seat at the table as governments and institutions make their move from skepticism to outright adoption.
The world’s first decentralized digital currency, which reached an all-time high this month by breaking the $100,000 barrier to a record $107,000, shows Bitcoin’s movement from a niche financial asset to a mainstream investment now attracting the interest of governments, financial institutions, and investors worldwide.
Boaz Sobrado, a financial technology analyst based in London, brought attention to the shift: “Bitcoin has moved from being a tool for dissidents and illicit transactions to an asset central banks must consider seriously.”
Several governments have also started stockpiling Bitcoin, either through strategic reserves or through seizures of the asset. All told, the United States alone has seized more than 215,000 Bitcoins, currently valued at close to $21 billion, from criminal probes since 2020, according to crypto analytics firm 21.co. El Salvador, which became the first nation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, has built up $600 million in reserves.

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The approach of El Salvador has inspired other nations, though not without challenges. As part of a $1.4 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the nation recently agreed to privatize its national cryptocurrency wallet, Chivo, and make the adoption of Bitcoin by businesses voluntary.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved Bitcoin ETFs, which give investors indirect exposure via traditional stock exchanges. In its October report, the U.S. Department of the Treasury referred to Bitcoin as “digital gold” due to its utility as a store of value.
Even Wall Street has warmed up. Larry Fink, of BlackRock, once labeled Bitcoin an “index of money laundering” but likens the cryptocurrency to gold. “Bitcoin is an asset class that protects you,” he said earlier this year.
The recent rally in this cryptocurrency has been inspired by the election of President-elect Donald Trump, who had promised to turn the U.S. into a “crypto capital.” Trump’s presidency boasts a number of influential crypto proponents, including crypto czar David Sacks and Paul Atkins as chair of the SEC. Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, has even presented the Bitcoin Act of 2024, which aims to add Bitcoin to national reserves along with gold and oil.
“If we allocated just five percent of all Bitcoin, we could cut our national debt in half within two decades,” Lummis said in an interview with Fox Business.
Bitcoin’s capped supply of 21 million coins remains one of its most compelling features. Unlike fiat currencies, which central banks can print at will, Bitcoin’s finite supply ensures scarcity. “Every four years, Bitcoin’s supply is halved, driving up demand and value,” explained Armando Pantoja, a futurist and tech investor.
Max Keiser, senior Bitcoin adviser to El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, emphasized the revolutionary aspect: “Bitcoin separates money from the state. This is the first time in history that money exists without central authority control.” Keiser predicts Bitcoin’s price could hit $1 million within the next few years, achieving a market cap comparable to gold’s $20 trillion valuation.

Bitcoin (BTC) price chart. Source: Bitcoin Liquid Index (BLX) via Brave New Coin
Despite its meteoric rise, Bitcoin’s volatility remains a concern. After hitting $107,000 earlier this week, the price fell to $97,000 by Friday. Critics, including Euro Pacific Capital’s Peter Schiff, warn that Bitcoin could exacerbate economic instability. “Bitcoin misallocates resources, leading to trade deficits and a weaker dollar,” Schiff argued on social media.
Amid Bitcoin’s surge, some governments are increasingly pondering central bank digital currencies as a controlled alternative. Gerald Celente, the founder of the Trends Research Institute, said the US might use such CBDCs to pay off their 36 trillion dollars in national debt. “Central banks are moving to digitized currencies in order to regain control of monetary systems,” Celente said.
As Bitcoin continues to gain further legitimacy, it automatically claims a greater place within the global financial ecosystem. Whether as a revolutionary technology or a speculative asset, Bitcoin’s journey from obscurity to mainstream prominence is one of the pivotal chapters in financial history.
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Why Are Christmas Movies So Horny This Year?  Glamour
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How do you spend your time online? Many of our online platforms are designed to encourage scrolling, and to benefit advertisers and algorithms. Platforms built to connect us have left us more disconnected than ever.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Technologists say that a better internet is possible. Today, we talk about the changing architecture of the internet to serve the public interest.
Later, we take a look at one of the largest libraries of online culture: The Internet Archive. It came under attack this month. We learn how this resource is being preserved for future generations.
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