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1. The beginning of 2024 saw the 27 EU member states unanimously approve the new AI Act. The document confirms the political agreement reached in December 2023 as a development of the text drafted in 2021. The website Artificialintelligenceact.com has been created to disseminate the contents of the AI Act. It includes a detailed summary, crafted from a selection of important sections, to answer questions from a diverse audience, together with links to the original document. Additionally, the AI Act Explorer is available as a navigation tool to further explore the contents of the Act or search for specific sections. It will continue to be updated with newer versions of the text (Official Records on the IPSAPortal).
2. The most recent Freedom in the World Report, provided by Freedom House and released in February 2024, found that global freedom declined for the 18th consecutive year in 2023: "The breadth and depth of the deterioration was extensive—political rights and civil liberties declined in 52 countries and improved in only 21." The key findings are reported in detail with data and may be summarized in a few statements: 1. Widespread problems with elections, including violence and manipulation, led to a deterioration in rights and freedoms. 2. Armed conflicts and threats of authoritarian aggression made the world less safe and less democratic. 3. The denial of political rights and civil liberties in disputed territories affected freedom in associated countries, including in some democracies. 4. Pluralism is under attack but remains a source of strength for all societies (Thematic Networks on the IPSAPortal).
3. One of the terrains on which the U.S. presidential race will be played out is that of international conflicts, starting with, and especially, the war between Israel and Hamas. Pew Research Center surveys help track how American public opinion articulates and shifts over time, highlighting how both the Jewish (How U.S. Jews are experiencing the Israel-Hamas war) and Muslim (How U.S. Muslims are experiencing the Israel-Hamas War) communities are experiencing an increase in discrimination and negative feelings toward them. Among the rest of the population (Younger Americans stand out in their views of the Israel-Hamas War), views of the Israel-Hamas War differ widely based on age, with younger Americans more likely to sympathize with the Palestinian people than with the Israeli people and more likely to find Hamas' reasons for fighting Israel valid than vice versa, and few younger Americans holding the view that President Joe Biden is striking the right balance in the Israel-Hamas war (Research Institutes on the IPSAPortal).
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