ERITREAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR POLICY AND STRATEGY (ERIPS) – Page 6 – Building Institutions And Frameworks For Socio-Economic And Political Change In Eritrea

Timnit Gebru’s Exit From Google Exposes a Crisis in AI

EriAdmin December 31, 2020January 11, 2021SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM)

This year has held many things, among them bold claims of artificial intelligence breakthroughs. Industry commentators speculated that the language-generation model GPT-3 may have achieved “artificial general intelligence,” while others lauded Alphabet subsidiary DeepMind’s protein-folding algorithm—Alphafold—and its capacity to “transform biology.” While the basis of such claims is thinner than the effusive headlines, this hasn’t done much to dampen enthusiasm across the industry, whose profits and prestige are dependent on AI’s proliferation. It was against this backdrop that Google fired Timnit … Continue reading “Timnit Gebru’s Exit From Google Exposes a Crisis in AI”

Eritrea Humanitarian Emergency

EriAdmin December 30, 2020February 13, 2021EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE

Eritrea faces difficult climatic conditions and struggles with the impact of recurrent droughts. The country is also affected by flooding during the rainy season as well as other natural hazards such as desert locust infestation. As around 80% of Eritreans are dependent on subsistence agriculture for their livelihoods, these hazards have significantly increased vulnerabilities of most of the population. Food insecurity as well as lack of access to safe water, sanitation and health services present major concerns. UNFPA is working … Continue reading “Eritrea Humanitarian Emergency”

CPJ joins letter calling on UN Human Rights Council to maintain pressure on Eritrea

EriAdmin December 30, 2020January 1, 2021MEDIA, ADVOCACY & AWARENESS

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 23 other free speech and human rights organizations in a letter sent yesterday urging the United Nations Human Rights Council to extend the mandate of the special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea. The letter notes that the human rights situation in Eritrea continues to be dire, and encourages the Human Rights Council to renew the special rapporteur’s mandate at its next session, to be held in June. Eritrea has at least 16 journalists behind bars, … Continue reading “CPJ joins letter calling on UN Human Rights Council to maintain pressure on Eritrea”

Eritrean government defends seizure of Catholic clinics

EriAdmin December 25, 2020January 1, 2021LAW, PUBLIC SAFETY & SECURITY

The Eritrean government in Asmara has defended the recent nationalisation of Catholic health facilities in the country by saying the law provides for the “separation of powers” and therefore forbids religious institutions from conducting developmental activities of their choice and at will. Apart from defending the nationalisation, the Information Ministry in Asmara has also sharply criticised Daniela Kravetz who is the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea. The UN independent rights expert, last … Continue reading “Eritrean government defends seizure of Catholic clinics”

ERIPS Press Release: An Urgent Appeal Regarding a Looming war in Ethiopia and Eritrea

EriAdmin December 20, 2020January 3, 2021PRESS RELEASES

Date: November 6, 2020 An Urgent Appeal Regarding a Looming war in Ethiopia and Eritrea As active member of Eritrean diaspora communities, scholars and professionals who are very familiar with the countries of Horn of Africa and members of the Eritrean Research Institute for Policy and Strategy (ERIPS), we are writing this urgent appeal to bring to your attention the looming war inside Ethiopia and involving the Eritrean regime. Some reports are indicating that the war has already started in … Continue reading “ERIPS Press Release: An Urgent Appeal Regarding a Looming war in Ethiopia and Eritrea”