【推荐1】When Elinor Lobel was 16, a “smart” insulin (胰岛素) pump was attached to her body. Powered by AI, it tracks her glucose levels and administers the right dose of insulin at the right time to keep her healthy. It is one of the new ways that data and AI can help improve lives.

Books that criticize the dark side of data are plentiful. They generally suggest there is much more to fear than fete in the algorithmic(算法的)age.

But the intellectual tide may be turning. One of the most persuasive supporters of a more balanced view is Elinor Lobel’s mother, Orly, a law professor. In The Equality Machine she acknowledges AI’s capacity to produce harmful results. But she shows how, in the right hands, it can also be used to fight inequality and discrimination.

A principle of privacy rules is “minimization”: collect and keep as little information as possible, especially in areas such as race and gender. Ms Lobel flips the script, showing how in hiring, pay and the legal system, knowing such characteristics leads to fairer outcomes.

Ms Lobel’s call to use more, not less, personal information challenges data-privacy orthodoxy(正统观念). But she insists that “tracking differences is key to detecting unfairness.” She advocates loosening of privacy rules to provide more transparency(透明)over algorithmic decisions.

The problems with algorithmic formulae(公式) are tackled in depth in Escape from Model Land by Erica Thompson of the School of Economics. These statistical models are the backbone of big data and AL. Yet a perfect model will always be beyond reach. “All models are wrong,” runs a wise saying. “Some are useful.”

Ms Thompson focuses on a challenge she calls the Hawkmoth Effect. In the better known Butterfly Effect, a serviceable model, in the prediction of climate change, becomes less reliable over time because of the complexity of what it is simulating(模拟), or because of inaccuracies in the original data. In the Hawkmoth Effect, by contrast, the model itself is flawed; it might fail to take full account of the interplay between humidity, wind and temperature.

The author calls on data geeks to improve their solutions to real-world issues, not merely refine their formulae—in other words, to escape from model land. “We do not need to have the best possible answer,” she writes, “only a reasonable one.”

Both these books exhibit a healthy realism about data, algorithms and their limitations. Both recognize that making progress involves accepting limitations, whether in law or coding. As Ms Lobel puts it: “It’s always better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

STRONGER TOGETHER：HOW WE HAVE

BEEN CHANGED BY THE INTERNET

Much has been written about the wonders of the World Wide Web. There are countless articles telling us how the Internet has made our lives more convenient. We no longer have to wait in line or carry cash around when we go shopping. We can get the most updated information from large databases. We can download software, documents, and images whenever we need them. But the Internet has done much more for people than simply make life more convenient. People’s lives have been changed by online communities and social networks.

Jan Tchamani, an English teacher in Birmingham, UK, suddenly developed a serious illness and had to quit her job. At age 50, she found herself out of work and stuck at home with only her computer to keep her company. After a while, she discovered that surfing the Internet could help her feel less lonely and bored. She could listen to music, watch films, play games, and explore the world. She also joined an online group where she could talk about her problems and get support and advice from others. She realised that one of the greatest benefits of the Internet was its ability to remove the distance that usually exists between people.

She was so inspired by the people she met online that she decided to start an IT club to teach older people how to use computers and the Internet. She and her friends now organise events and collect money to pay for private teachers. Many people have been helped by the club. A 59 ­year­ old man learnt how to apply for work online and found a great job. Now that he works and can take care of himself, his daughter has time to study at university. A 61­ year­ old woman who was living alone has started a small online company together with two friends. She no longer feels lonely, and her company has become quite successful.

Jan has started taking online classes to learn more about how to use the Internet to make society better. She believes that it is highly important to bridge the digital divide and make sure that everyone has access to the Internet and knows how to use new technology. Her next goal is to start a charity website to raise money for children in poor countries.

Jan’s life has been greatly improved by the Internet. “When you go through tough times, you meet others who are facing similar challenges, ” Jan says. “Thinking about other people’s situations inspired me to offer help.”

【推荐3】Feeling a hug from each other via the internet may be a possibility in the near future. A research team led by City University of Hong Kong recently developed a wireless, soft e-skin that can both detect and deliver the sense of touch, and form a touch network allowing one-to-multiuser interaction. It offers great potential for improving the distance touch communication.

While there are numerous devices in the market to simulate (模拟) the sense of touch in the virtual world, they provide only touch sensing or touch response. The uniqueness of the novel e-skin is that it can perform self-sensing and touch reproducing functions on the same interface.

The e-skin is a 7cm×l0cm, 4.2mm-thick device containing 16 flexible actuators (驱动器), a microcontroller unit, a Bluetooth module, and other electronics on a flexible circuit board. The actuator serves as the core part of the e-skin. Once the actuator is pressed and released by a force, a current is produced to provide electrical signals that are turned into digital signals by a converter (转换器) and then sent to another e-skin via Bluetooth. When the signals are received, a current is caused to reproduce the touch response on the receiver’s e-skin through mechanical vibration (振动). The process can be reversed to deliver vibrations from the receiver’s e-skin to the corresponding actuator of the sender’s.

The e-skin can communicate with Bluetooth devices and send data through the internet with smartphones and computers to perform long-distance touch, and to form a touch Internet of Things (IoT) system, where one-to-one and one-to-multiple touch delivery could be realized. Friends and family in different places could use it to “feel” each other. This form of touch overcomes the limitations of space and greatly reduces the sense of distance in human communication.

Next, the research team will focus on practical applications for people with visual disability, who could wear the e-skin to gain remote directional guidance and read Braille messages.

【推荐1】A schoolgirl saved her father’s life by kicking him in the chest after he suffered a serious allergic (过敏的) reaction which stopped his heart.Izzy, nine, restarted father Colm’s heart by stamping (踩) on his chest after he fell down at home and stopped breathing.Izzy’s mother, Debbie, immediately called 999 but Izzy knew doctors would never arrive in time to save her father, so decided to use CPR.However, she quickly discovered her arms weren’t strong enough, so she stamped on her father’s chest instead.Debbie then took over with some more conventional chest compressions (按压) until the ambulance arrived.Izzy, who has been given a bravery award by her school, said, “I just kicked him really hard. My mum taught me CPR but I knew I wasn’t strong enough to use hands. I was quite scared. The doctor said I might as well be a doctor or a nurse. My mum said that Dad was going to hospital with a big footprint on his chest.”“She’s a little star，” said Debbie, “I was really upset but Izzy just took over. I just can’t believe what she did. I really think all children should be taught first aid. Izzy did CPR then the doctor turned up. Colm had to have more treatment on the way to the hospital and we’ve got to see an expert.”Truck driver Colm, 35, suffered a mystery allergic reaction on Saturday and was taken to hospital, but was sent home only for it to happen again the next day. The second attack was so serious that his airway swelled, preventing him from breathing, his blood pressure dropped suddenly, and his heart stopped for a moment.He has now made a full recovery from his suffering.

What’s the right order of the events?

①Izzy kicked Colm.       ②Debbie called 999.③Izzy learned CPR.       ④Colm’s heart stopped.

【推荐2】A rare 765-year-old gold coin found on farm land in Devon in south-west England is expected to sell for up to half a million pounds at auction. It is believed that the coin was made more than 750 years ago, during the rule of the English King Henry III. It is one of only eight known to exist.

Featuring a picture of King Henry III on one side and a cross and roses on the other, the coin is around 2.5 centimetres across. It was made with gold that came from north Africa. It was found in September last year by a detectorist (someone who looks for items buried underground using a metal detector) in Hemyock village. The detectorist had no idea how rare the coin was until he posted a photo of it on social media, where it was spotted by a history expert.

The finder, who doesn’t want to be named, was told to take the coin to the British Museum, where it was confirmed that the coin was very rare. According to the law, the finder is allowed to keep it because it’s a single coin and not part of a bigger haul but he has decided to sell it. He told the BBC, “The coin was found in an unappealing field and could quite easily have never been recovered. Now it is protected for future generations to enjoy.”

The coin is especially valuable because it was one of England’s first gold coins. The country’s coins were made of silver until King Henry III, who ruled from 1216 until his death in 1272, introduced gold ones with his picture on them.

Professor David Carpenter at King’s College London, has traced the coin back to a man called John de Hidon, who was the lord of Hemyock Manor. Carpenter thinks the coin may have fallen out of someone’s pocket—either de Hidon himself or one of his staff.

【推荐3】World War II had started, and British ships were always watching for German submarines called U-boats. The ship Ben Lomond had left Cape Town, South Africa, with a crew of 55, including a young officer named Poon Lim. On November 23, 1942, Ben Lomond was attacked by a U-boat. Within minutes the ship was sinking. Poon Lim grabbed a life jacket and leaped over the side. He swam rapidly away from the ship in case it exploded. Sure enough, it let out a large boom and sank beneath the waves.

Poon Lim struggled in the water for two hours. Then he saw an empty raft (筏), swam to it, and climbed aboard. He found a few cans of crackers, a water jug, some flares, and a flashlight, which could be enough supplies for about a month. Day after day Poon Lim had his few crackers and a couple of sips of water. He searched the horizon for ships. Twice he leaped up to shout and wave when he saw help coming. Once he saw a freight ship. It passed him. At a later time, he saw a United States Navy plane. It flew low over the raft but then disappeared. Still later a U-boat spotted him but for some reason left him alone. Poon Lim knew he needed to stay strong. He couldn’t get much exercise on an eight-foot-square raft, but he could swim circling the raft, a couple of times a day. Soon his food and water ran low. He knew that drinking seawater would make him sick, so he tore off the canvas cover on his life jacket and set it out to catch rainwater. Then he took apart the flashlight and used a wire inside to make a fishhook.

For months Poon Lim drifted, catching fish and sometimes birds. One time he even caught a shark. Finally, after 133 days, he saw a boat. Three sailors in a small sailboat picked him up and took him to Belém, a city on the coast of Brazil. Poon Lim had crossed the Atlantic Ocean. No one ever had survived longer on a raft at sea. Poon Lim received many honors, including Britain’s highest award. A booklet of his survival methods was put into every British life raft. But when Poon was interviewed, he said “I hope no one will ever have to break that record.”