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This AI startup is tackling the coronavirus disinformation deluge

Sirin Kale

August 14, 2020 |

Wired |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Logically is a fact-checking app that combines AI technology and human research to assess and label the truthfulness of news articles. The app has about 20,000 users after a soft launch in the UK, with a full launch planned for late 2020. The AI technology, a feature that makes the app unique, tries to match news claims to other sources and then human researchers take over to make a final judgment. The app has been busy fact-checking the extensive Covid-19 related misinformation. Some aspects, like technology glitches and slow fact-checking responses from researchers, still need to be worked out.

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A taste of honey: how bees mend fences between farmers and elephants

Anne Pinto-Rodrigues

August 12, 2020 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Uttara Kannada, Karnataka

As the habitats of wild elephants shrink, conservationists in India are developing safer ways to reduce the number of conflicts between humans and the animal. The Wildlife Research and Conservation Society uses chili smoke and beehive fences as natural ways to divert elephants away from farmers’ crops. Since they started, there have been no casualties related to human-elephant conflict. The nonprofit Wildlife SOS uses radio collars to track the herd’s movement and alerts local villagers via WhatsApp of any potential conflicts. However, the success of some methods vary depending on the time of year.

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How Mexico City's poorest neighbourhood is battling climate change

Laura Puttkamer

August 03, 2020 |

Inkline |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Mexico City

The people in a neighborhood in Mexico City are coming up with innovative solutions to handle climate-related disasters like flood. They use an early warning system that uses a radio signal and WhatsApp to warn residents of environmental dangers. However, the app does not always work. And a mobile classroom offers simulations about how government decisions are made when deciding danger levels of disasters. While thousands of residents had been trained, the classroom is usually only in the neighborhood for a day. Yet, these solutions based on education and communication could be applied to other communities.

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How Europe's Greenest Capital Is Saving City Trees

Edward Belleville

August 03, 2020 |

Next City |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany, Berlin

Cities around the world are using apps and interactive platforms to encourage resident volunteers to care for their urban forests. For example, in Berlin, Gieß den Kiez (Water the Neighborhood) is an app that allows users to watch their local trees and water them in times of need. When the app launched, there were 1,000 unique users and over 7,000 individual tree waterings in the first six weeks. However, the cost of planting and maintaining trees can be expensive and where the trees are located in cities and who benefits from them is not always equitable.

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How to save a life: Easing grief from inside COVID ICUs

Joan van Dyk

August 03, 2020 |

Bhekisisa |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: South Africa, Cape Town

To combat the grief, trauma, and frustration caused by COVID-19 hospitalizations where families are cut off from loved ones and from most information about their care and condition, the staff at Vincent Pallotti Hospital created a new way of capturing doctors' updates on patients that improved the flow of information. Instead of recording their observations and treatments on paper charts, doctors enter the information on an online system. Volunteer counselors with access to that information then update families daily, relieving some stress and bringing solace to families and patients alike.

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Building Trees in the Metaverse Might Actually Save the Forest

Teresa Carey

August 02, 2020 |

Freethink |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Southern Pines, North Carolina

By building scientifically accurate virtual tress, NatureXR is providing an opportunity for scientists, policymakers, and other stakeholders to use virtual reality to understand ecosystems and model conservation impacts. Creating an authentic 3D-version of a tree can be challenging, but by developing a “procedural” tree, the software can generate a forest of trees that are unique, accurate, and realistic. VR nature can also make the environment accessible for people who might not be able to experience it due to disabilities, distance, or even fear.

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Through PIF^2's social impact mobile game platform, users are playing it forward for charity

William Bleier

July 27, 2020 |

Generocity |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

The startup PIF^2 is a “social impact mobile game platform” that partners with charities to raise money through ad revenue and in-game purchases. It hosts “game-a-thons” that target a younger demographic who can generate money for a charity by downloading and playing a game. The “game-a-thons” usually last about a week, after which charities receive a check from PIF^2 for up to 50% of the revenue that was generated. The game apps are currently created by independent developers, but the startup hopes to create its own games so that it can donate even more of the revenue proceeds to charity.

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This is what one of the world's largest experiments in basic income looks like

Márvio dos Anjos Meaghan Tobin

July 23, 2020 |

Rest of World |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Brazil, Marica

Mumbuca is a digital currency used in Maricà’s basic income program. Residents, with few eligibility requirements, can qualify for a monthly stipend to purchase goods and services using a smart phone or a card. The currency runs on the digital platform E-dinheiro and can only be spent in the city limits. Individuals cannot swap Mumbucas for national currency, but businesses can after a 48-hour waiting period and a 1% fee. Local currencies, which are popular in Brazil, help residents increase personal savings and, with increased stipends during the Covid-19 pandemic, allowed informal workers to stay home.

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The young people fighting the worst smog in Europe

Jessica Bateman

July 01, 2020 |

BBC |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: North Macedonia, Skopje

To measure the level of air quality in Skopje – one of the most polluted cities in Europe – an engineering student developed an app that alerts residents of the pollution levels. The app has raised the awareness of the severity of the city's pollution problem and has helped to kickstart initiatives aimed to address it.

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How Facebook is using AI to boost blood donation

Faustine Ngila

June 25, 2020 |

Nation Africa |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Kenya

A partnership between Facebook and the Ministry of Health in Kenya has helped connect blood banks with blood donors. The process uses artificial intelligence and geo-location data to notify Facebook users who have signed up as blood donors when blood banks in their area are in need of donations.

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