Hey Trish, I’m from Asia and love your posts! I was wondering if you can provide a recap of tech stuff outside of the US? Thank you!
Hi there, and welcome back to another week of Ask Trish. I hope you’re all well and enjoying November. To my fellow Americans (and, I’m sure, to many folks outside of the US), I know that the most recent US Presidential Election ate up a lot of our brain space this past week…and I’m sure it’ll continue to be on our minds in the weeks ahead. However you’re feeling, I hope you’re taking time for yourself, and giving yourself the grace and space to think about non-political stuff. Such as…the wonderful question from this week’s question-er!
First, thank you so much for the kind words – I’m so glad to hear that you’re enjoying Ask Trish content. Thank you also for the wonderful question – it’s been a little while since we looked at relevant tech/internet-related news outside of the US, around the world…and a lot has happened. All the more reason for a post offering a brief look at some of the biggest updates. Now, there’s definitely way too much stuff for me to cover in one post, so instead, I’ve picked a handful of countries and written up a succinct overview of a key tech-related update for each – with links to articles where you can learn more. Hopefully, that’ll give you an informative (but not overwhelming) look at #techaroundtheworld in November 2024.
Sound like a plan? Let’s get into it:
Canada: First up, I’m heading north of where I’m currently located…to Canada. A big social media-related headline came out of Canada last week: the country’s government said that it asked TikTok Canada, the domestic subsidiary of the Chinese-owned social media app, to dissolve its business and cease any operations in the country. Canadians will still be able to use TikTok, but there will no longer be any TikTok business presence in the country. Canada’s government cited national security risks, though it didn’t specify which risks. By making this move, Canada is increasingly aligning itself with the US on technology policy, particularly with respect to China. Read more at the article linked above.
Russia: And next up, I’m heading East…or West…to Russia. As this article describes in great detail, in the days leading up to the US Presidential election, Russia dropped any pretense of not interfering in the American election…and launched into what can only be described as full-out information warfare. Mostly, the Russian strategy consisted of creating fabricated videos, most targeting the Democratic ticket, and pushing them on popular social media sites. And it wasn’t just the Russians – as the article describes, other countries, like Iran and Cuba, also attempted to get in on the action. It raises the question: how can the US (and other democracies) better protect our elections in future years? And how can we more generally ensure that misinformation doesn’t undermine our institutions?
China: From Russia, it’s just a short hop over to China. China has plenty of tech-related news brewing…but one particularly interesting headline I saw recently was about how, in spite of US export controls, the country has managed to get its hands on sophisticated AI chips. The last two administrations here in the US have attempted to keep cutting-edge AI chips from the leading Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) away from China – and ensure that the country did not get ahead on AI. Even so, the chips have still found their way there…often routed through other, more secretive companies. TSMC only recently learned that Huawei (one of China’s leading tech companies) had their chips in its products…Politics aside, it’s a fascinating look at what strategies may and may not work to keep certain tech under wraps.
Australia: Next, I’m headed south to lovely, warm Australia. (As it gets colder in the US, I increasingly grow jealous of my Australian friends…) There was huge social media-related news out of Australia just a few days ago: the Australian government will aim to introduce legislation later this year that would ban social media for youth under the age of 16. The regime would be one of the most rigorous/strict regimes in the world…but advocates argue that it will ensure that young users are mature and ready for social media platforms when they get them. Australia’s legislation would still put the onus on platforms to keep youth off – neither parents nor youth will be fined. And there would be some exemptions, for platforms like YouTube Kids. Of course, the legislation has yet to be proposed…so we’re still a ways away from this. But it’s certainly an interesting development!
Nigeria: And finally, we’re ending in wonderful Nigeria! A few months ago, I read this fascinating article about a new Nigeria AI startup, Awarri, which has been behind the country’s first government-backed LLM and Nigeria’s larger AI boom. Indeed, Awarri is doing some pretty amazing work, developing lots of cool AI tools and collaborating with larger technology companies like Google to bring a Nigerian perspective to their AI products. I’m excited to see where Awarri goes next – I hope y’all keep your eyes peeled, too.
I hope you found this post informative – and that you continue to research/look into any headlines that caught your attention. There’s a ton happening out there, and I encourage y’all to learn more. And speaking of attention – while I have yours, I want to take a second to ask y’all to share any of your internet/tech-related concerns and musings with me here. It literally takes 30 seconds – seriously! So please, get submitting! Thank you all a ton in advance for your amazing contributions.
Have a great week,
Trish