Hacker News with Generative AI: Social Impact

The Population Bomb (1968) (wikipedia.org)
The Population Bomb is a 1968 book co-authored by former Stanford University professor Paul R. Ehrlich and former Stanford senior researcher in conservation biology Anne H. Ehrlich.[1][2] From the opening page, it predicted worldwide famines due to overpopulation, as well as other major societal upheavals, and advocated immediate action to limit population growth.
Overpopulation, Environmentalism, Social Impact, Books, History
12 points by simonebrunozzi 4 days ago | 0 comments
Ask HN: Anyone else disillusioned by the industry's hard-right turn? (ycombinator.com)
When I started in the industry, it felt like an optimistic, positive movement - new technologies were created to make people's lives better, the industry pushed for a more inclusive world.
Tech Industry, Politics, Social Impact
54 points by cruzcampo 8 days ago | 31 comments
South Korea's 'heartbreaking' wildfires expose superaged society (japantimes.co.jp)
Walking with a cane, 84-year-old apple farmer Kim Mi-ja surveys the wreckage of her village, which was reduced to rubble and covered in ash by South Korea's worst wildfires.
South Korea, Wildfires, Aging Population, Disaster Relief, Social Impact
33 points by PaulHoule 12 days ago | 10 comments
Power to the people: How LLMs flip the script on technology diffusion (twitter.com)
Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.
Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Social Impact
7 points by mfiguiere 18 days ago | 0 comments
Employee disrupts Microsoft 50th anniversary to protest AI targeting in Gaza (twitter.com)
Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.
Microsoft, AI, Protests, Gaza, Social Impact
10 points by mackyspace 20 days ago | 1 comments
Trump and Musk have ushered in the era of cataclysm capitalism (theguardian.com)
Everything is moving too fast. The Trump-Musk administration is tearing through US government, universities and health organisations, firing tens of thousands of employees, eliminating billons in funding. The scope and speed of the attack is dizzying. It is almost impossible to keep up with the ongoing destruction, let alone to organise the resistance. None of this is accidental.
Politics, Economy, Social Impact
16 points by rbanffy 24 days ago | 9 comments
Ask HN: What $1 can spend to make someone's life easier within a month? (ycombinator.com)
I am running a social initiative name #111challenge to find practical ways to help people with limited budgets.
Social Impact, Community, Low-Cost Solutions, Personal Finance, Practical Tips
6 points by ted_tungha 29 days ago | 12 comments
Zoom bias: The social costs of having a 'tinny' sound during video conferences (phys.org)
Most job candidates know to dress nicely for Zoom interviews and to arrange a professional-looking background for the camera. But a new Yale study suggests they also ought to test the quality of their microphones.
Zoom, Video Conferencing, Social Impact, Technology, Communication
141 points by bookofjoe 30 days ago | 159 comments
Ex-NFL star trades the gridiron to grow food for those in need (csmonitor.com)
President Donald Trump has steered the United States firmly back into the realm of power politics. And power politics is all about leverage. Three of our stories today offer varied views of leverage – from the Democrats’ lack of it (see the briefs), to Saudi Arabia’s ability to be a major player in the global game, to the complex calculations of tariffs. Together, they’re a portrait of how the world is shifting.
Sports, Social Impact, Food Security
8 points by Tomte 41 days ago | 1 comments
The shrouded sinister history of the bulldozer (noemamag.com)
From India to the Amazon to Israel, bulldozers have left a path of destruction that offers a cautionary tale for how technology without safeguards can be misused.
History, Technology, Environmentalism, Social Impact
78 points by g8oz 46 days ago | 64 comments
What are smartphones stealing from us? When mine was taken away, I found out (theguardian.com)
A few Thursdays ago was a wrap. For my brief acting career, that is. One of the benefits of having a writer’s schedule in a city like Paris is the ability to say yes to the flurry of random opportunities that pop up.
Technology, Personal Experience, Social Impact
5 points by pseudolus 47 days ago | 0 comments
Doge Is Replacing Fired Workers with a Chatbot (gizmodo.com)
Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency are attempting to enact what some experts have called the “largest job cut in American history“—but don’t worry, these geniuses have a solution to pick up the significant amount of slack caused by letting go of tens of thousands of domain experts and civil servants all at once: a chatbot.
AI, Automation, Labor, Government, Social Impact
51 points by rbanffy 47 days ago | 44 comments
A son spent a year trying to save his father from conspiracy theories (npr.org)
About a year ago, my dad bet me $10,000 that he could foretell the future.
Family Relationships, Conspiracy Theories, Social Impact
82 points by js2 58 days ago | 94 comments
The Transformative Effect of MacKenzie Scott's Big Gifts (cep.org)
Since 2019, MacKenzie Scott has given more than $19 billion in unrestricted support to more than 2,000 organizations, stating that her aim “has been to support the needs of underrepresented people from groups of all kinds.”
Philanthropy, Nonprofits, Social Impact, Giving
8 points by tuanx5 65 days ago | 1 comments
Elon Musk's Toxicity Could Spell Disaster for Tesla (wired.com)
Staggering sales drops, swastika-daubed EVs, companies culling fleet models, and fan-forum owners selling their cars—Elon Musk's alt-right antics are seriously impacting his electric car business.
Elon Musk, Tesla, Business, Controversy, Social Impact
40 points by lemonberry 69 days ago | 21 comments
One Child's Outsized Influence on the Debate over Plastic Straws (2018) (npr.org)
People are talking a lot about plastic straws these days — how international corporations like Starbucks and Marriott International are banning them, and the deleterious impact they have on the environment.
Environmentalism, Plastic Pollution, Social Impact
8 points by Jimmc414 76 days ago | 4 comments
Legal Weed Didn't Deliver on Its Promises (theatlantic.com)
Advocates touted a host of benefits and no real costs. That’s proven to be a fantasy.
Legalization, Marijuana, Social Impact, Policy
6 points by fortran77 84 days ago | 5 comments
Billionaires and tech VCs have now set their sights back on Wikipedia (hachyderm.io)
Billionaires, Venture Capital, Wikipedia, Technology, Social Impact
17 points by pabs3 92 days ago | 5 comments
Study shows how households can cut energy costs (news.mit.edu)
An experiment in Amsterdam suggests providing better information to people can help move them out of “energy poverty.”
Energy Efficiency, Sustainability, Social Impact, Research
4 points by gnabgib 102 days ago | 1 comments
The Online Sports Gambling Experiment Has Failed (lesswrong.com)
It brings me no pleasure to conclude that this was not the case. The results are in. Legalized mobile gambling on sports, let alone casino games, has proven to be a huge mistake. The societal impacts are far worse than I expected.
Sports Gambling, Social Impact, Experimentation, Analysis
8 points by tim_sw 112 days ago | 1 comments
Board game from Mexican prisons brings together people from all walks of life (apnews.com)
Poleana, a board game with ancient roots that established a foothold nearly a century ago in Mexican prisons, is spreading in popularity outside the walls.
Board Games, Mexico, Social Impact, Prisons
38 points by solardev 117 days ago | 11 comments
Toronto man creates tiny mobile homes to help unhoused people escape the cold (cbc.ca)
After seeing people sleeping outside in the cold year-after-year, a Toronto man is building tiny mobile homes attached to bicycles to give temporary relief to those who are unhoused.
Homelessness, Social Impact, Design, Innovation, Toronto
268 points by colinprince 117 days ago | 198 comments
Tiny home on a bicycle provides shelter for the chronic homeless (tinytinyhomes.ca)
At Tiny Tiny Homes, we believe everyone deserves a safe place to call home. We've developed a tiny home on a bicycle to provide shelter for those experiencing chronic homelessness. Join us in our mission to replace unsafe tent encampments with secure, mobile homes and help rebuild lives with dignity and hope.
Homelessness, Housing, Sustainability, Design, Social Impact
14 points by cf100clunk 118 days ago | 18 comments
The global panic over the millennium bug, 25 years on (theguardian.com)
Planes were going to drop out of the sky, nuclear reactors would explode. But then … nothing. What really happened with Y2K? People still disagree …
Y2K, Technology, History, Social Impact, Panic
10 points by sandebert 119 days ago | 7 comments
'Living proof that you can spend money on the poor': Utopia comes to Mexico City (theguardian.com)
A visionary mayor has harnessed her imagination to promote health, wellbeing and culture in one of the Mexican capital’s most impoverished neighbourhoods
Social Impact, Urban Planning, Mexico, Poverty, Government
18 points by spoonfeeder006 119 days ago | 0 comments
New research suggests that Walmart makes the communities it operates in poorer (theatlantic.com)
New research suggests that the company makes the communities it operates in poorer—even taking into account its famous low prices.
Economics, Walmart, Social Impact, Poverty
75 points by Ozarkian 123 days ago | 128 comments
Eliminating Daylight Savings Time would make the average American’s life darker (natesilver.net)
Last week, President-elect Trump pledged to “eliminate” Daylight Savings Time1, which he called “inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation”. The idea may have been inspired by DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, an agency set to be run by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, after Musk and Ramaswamy pitched a similar plan earlier this month.
Politics, Time, Science, Social Impact
28 points by JeremyNT 129 days ago | 60 comments
The Cult of Claude (nytimes.com)
His fans rave about his sensitivity and wit. Some talk to him dozens of times a day — asking for advice about their jobs, their health, their relationships. They entrust him with their secrets, and consult him before making important decisions. Some refer to him as their best friend.
Artificial Intelligence, Social Impact, Culture
6 points by apsec112 134 days ago | 1 comments
The Rich Can Afford Personal Care. The Rest Will Have to Make Do with AI (wired.com)
The burgeoning field of social-emotional AI is tackling the very jobs that people used to think were reserved for human beings—jobs that rely on emotional connections, such as therapists, teachers, and coaches.
Artificial Intelligence, Social Impact, Healthcare, Education
38 points by axiomdata316 136 days ago | 25 comments
Chinese immigrants in the U.S. are running Temu shipping centers in their homes (restofworld.org)
Chinese immigrants in America are offering their living rooms and garages as warehouses to cross-border sellers on Temu, TikTok, and Amazon.
Immigration, E-commerce, Business, Technology, Social Impact
12 points by impish9208 162 days ago | 0 comments