Is mask-shaming effective?

To empathize or scream, that is the question.

Photo by David McNew/Getty Images
  • NYU associate professor Jennifer Jacquet writes that effective shaming can be a powerful tool for social change.
  • Tess Wilkinson-Ryan, law and psychology professor at the University of Penn, believes shame is useless in the case of the pandemic.
  • The politicization of the coronavirus takes our attention away from the failure of the administration.
Keep reading Show less
public health psychology Social distancing social change politics coronavirus

How to get better at empathy despite practicing social distancing

Isolation and empathy are by no means mutually exclusive.

Photo by Polina Zimmerman via Pexels
  • As we began prepping for isolation at home, there was a strange sense of disassociation, as if there was no need to think of or care for others and that it was everyone for themselves.
  • The pandemic, interestingly enough, put many of us in a situation of "forced empathy."
  • In reality, we are all "first responders" in the need for empathy, as countless anecdotes about inspiring acts of compassion during the pandemic attest.
Keep reading Show less
Empathy Coronavirus Social distancing compassion isolation coronavirus

This AI tool measures social distancing. But is more surveillance worth the risk?

The system can even be designed to send alerts to employees when they've come too close to a coworker.

Landing AI/YouTube
  • Since the pandemic began, nations have been using technology in varying degrees to contain the outbreak.
  • This new tool is able to place moving people on a map and estimate the distance between them.
  • Some privacy advocates are raising concerns about private companies and governments installing surveillance technologies.
Keep reading Show less
surveillance technology Coronavirus Artificial intelligence social distancing ai privacy
Quantcast