Question: I suffered an injury while working out and my primary care physician ordered an X-ray. However, after reviewing the results, my doctor recommended that I have an MRI. I am a very anxious person. Can you explain more about what this type of testing entails and what I can expect?

Answer: Understandably, any health care concern can lead to feelings of anxiety and nervousness. Depending upon the situation, your care team may begin with an imaging scan such as X-ray, which is a painless test that gathers images of the structures within the body. If additional information is needed — particularly of the organs or soft tissues in the body — an MRI may be ordered.

MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, is a medical imaging technique that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create a detailed image of the organs and tissues in the body.

People often come into an MRI with a lot of misconceptions and just as many questions. Below are the top five questions I hear. Hopefully this will help you understand what to expect when undergoing this radiology test.

How long will this take?

MRI exams take longer than X-ray and CT scans. Our routine appointment time is 45 minutes, though some exams could take as long as four hours to complete. There are many reasons for this extreme time difference. First, electromagnetism is used to create these images. We can only go as fast as the human body will magnetize. Second, the intention is to create the best imaging possible, which inherently means more time inside the scanner.

Why do I have to change my clothes and remove my jewelry?

MRI machines have superconducting magnets that generate heat and create an extremely strong magnetic field, so it is imperative to be safe. The magnets can pull ferrous objects, or those containing iron, into the machine with a large amount of force. This also can cause the machine to rotate and twist with the magnets’ flux lines. Nonferrous objects such as aluminum or copper will generate heat once inside the scanner, which may cause burns. There have been instances in which clothing has caught fire. To prevent any of these issues, we ask all patients to change into hospital-approved clothing and remove all jewelry and any devices such as cellphones, hearing aids and other items from the body.

My doctor said my implanted device is safe. Why do you need my information?

To ensure the safety of every patient and the technologists, it is important to know if certain devices, such as pacemakers, stimulators, clips or coils have been implanted inside the body. These devices often have generators or batteries and require an additional layer of safety to ensure that nothing interferes with the machine, its ability to obtain the most accurate imaging or our ability to keep you safe. When we know that a patient has an implanted device, we must adjust how the scanner operates based on the manufacturer’s guidelines. We also must ensure the device is placed in “MRI safe” mode before we begin scanning. If a patient were to enter the MRI environment without all of the safety measures being taken it could damage the device or burn or even shock the patient.

What, if any, injections am I going to receive?

During an MRI exam, many patients receive a contrast injection, which is used to help enhance the imaging. The injection typically is given through an IV and does not hurt or burn. Also, depending on the exam being performed, some patients may receive an injection of a drug called glucagon, which will help slow the motion within the abdomen so more precise images can be captured.

I am claustrophobic. What happens if I feel unsafe or unwell during an exam?

There is a camera inside the MRI tube so technologists can monitor you. Also, patients wear headphones so they can hear instructions and communicate with the technologists. If you feel unwell or anxious at any time during the exam, you can speak up, and staff will work to aid you. Also, for some patients, sedation may be available. If you are unable to have the MRI performed, the radiologist and your referring physician will consult one another and determine if another exam is more appropriate.

Another question I often hear relates to whether it matters which type of facility is visited to obtain an MRI scan. I always encourage people to speak with their health team about the reason for the scan and to seek out the best facilities to perform their imaging. There are different types of scanners, which can vary in terms of the magnet strength used to gather images. Depending upon the need of the patient and the part of the body being scanned (i.e., brain, spine, abdomen, knee), a specific scanner might be better suited to accurately view a patient’s anatomy and determine a diagnosis.

Fabian Gonzalez is a radiologist with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.

Photography By Gary Landsman

A Regents exam administered to thousands of New York students last week was blasted by critics as “unconscionable and shameful” for including “loaded” questions about Israel.

A group of Jewish leaders and civic organizations ripped a section of the test that showed maps of the changes to Israel’s borders over the decades and asked two questions that gave a “dishonest” impression about the Jewish state’s expansion.

“The maps lack all context,” former state Assemblyman Dov Hikind said. “Specifically that border changes were the result of successive wars started by Arab states to annihilate Israel. Second, the questions, at best, lend themselves to debate, not to singular answers from among false choices.”

Hikind also said that the Global History and Geography Regents II, given last Thursday, included the trope that the Holocaust was the prevailing reason for the state of Israel and that “Zionists and Jewish immigrants” benefited most from the “changing borders.”

“When you show these maps, and ask why the state of Israel was created, it just attributes it to the Holocaust,” said Hikind who added that the Zionist movement toward the Jewish state actually began in the 19th century under Theodor Herzl.

He also complained that the test referred to the Golan Heights region, which was recognized by the US in 2019, as being “annexed” by Israel.

The questions shocked proctors charged with administering the test, he said.

“One proctor was so angry, she was beside herself,” Hikind told The Post. 

Hikind, along with Brooklyn Councilwoman Inna Vernikov and the group Americans Against Antisemitism, are calling on New York State Commissioner of Education Betty Rosa “to swiftly remove the disingenuous questions and conduct a thorough audit to ensure such egregious distortions of history that invariably lead to animosity for the sole Jewish state aren’t being inadvertently fed to our children.”

One of the controversial questions asked, “Which historical event most directly influenced the development of the 1947 plan shown on map A (and showed a map of Israel from 1947).” The possible answers were 1) Russian pogroms, 2) the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire 3) Paris Peace Conference 4) the Holocaust, with 4 being the right answer.

The other asked, “Which group benefited most from the changes shown on the maps?” The right answer, according to the test, was “Zionists and Jewish Immigrants.”

“Test transparency can raise legitimate issues of questions’ appropriateness and wording,” said David Bloomfield, education professor at  Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center. “It’s not a matter of ‘wokeness’ to civilly debate these matters.”

Hikind said that by reducing the creation of the Jewish state to the Holocaust ignores all historical, ancestral and biblical connections of the Jewish people to the land of Israel. “That connection goes back thousands of years.”

This isn’t the first time the Regents has had an Israel problem. 

In 2017, an “anti-Israel” cartoon blasted as “anti-Israel propaganda” was discovered on the Global Studies Regents.

The New York State Education Department said the two questions on Israel were “designed to test students’ knowledge of geography as it relates to historical events.”

“New York State social studies teachers prepared, selected, and reviewed the excerpt and questions on the Global History Regents exam prior to their inclusion,” they added. “All exam questions are reviewed multiple times by NYS-certified teachers and State Education Department subject matter and testing specialists to ensure they are not biased, accurately measure the learning standards, and contain no errors.”

Rising Network Infrastructure Automation Trend to Boost Software-Defined Security Market Growth

New York, US, Feb. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Market Analysis 

According to a comprehensive research report by Market Research Future (MRFR); Software-Defined Security Market Research Report By Component, By Enforcement Point, By Deployment Mode, By End-Users Forecast till 2030. The global software-defined security market will touch USD 57.36 billion at a 29.51% CAGR by 2030, according to the current Market Research Future report.

Software-Defined Security Market Key Players 

Eminent industry players profiled in the global software-defined security market report include:

• Intel Corporation (California)

• Juniper Networks (California)

• Cisco Systems (California)

• Dell Inc. (US)

• Symantec Corporation (California)

• Check Point Technologies (Israel

• Palo Alto Networks (California).

• Catbird Networks Inc (US)

• Versa Networks Inc (US)

• Citrix Systems Inc (US)

• Certes Networks Inc (US)

• Cloud Passage Inc (US)

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https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1616

Drivers 

Perks of Virtualization to Boost Market Growth 

Virtualization offered by software defined security lowers capital & operating costs, remote management, device footprint, centralizes security management, streamlines deployments, and makes system upgrades simple. In the coming years, this factor would stimulate demand for and expansion of software defined software.

Opportunities 

Rising Network Infrastructure Automation Trend to offer Robust Opportunities 

The rising network infrastructure trend and digitalization of existing 4G and 3G networks will offer robust opportunities for the market in the forecast period.

Restraints 

Increasing Concerns regarding Security to act as Market Restraint 

The increasing concerns regarding security, configuration complexity and latency may act as market restraints over the forecast period.

Software-Defined Security Market Report Scope:

Challenges 

Story continues

Lack of Technical Expertise to act as Market Challenge 

The lack of technical expertise and the lack of industry regulations may act as market challenges over the forecast period.

Browse In-depth Market Research Report (100 Pages) on Software-Defined Security Market:
https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/software-defined-security-market-1616

Market Segmentation 

The global software-defined security market is bifurcated based on component, enforcement point, deployment mode, and end-user.

By component, services will lead the market over the forecast period.

By enforcement point, the market is bifurcated into server security, application & mobile device security, network security gateways, and others.

By deployment mode, cloud will domineer the market over the forecast period.

By end user, cloud service providers will spearhead the market over the forecast period.

COVID-19 Analysis 

There are many workers who work remotely, and they frequently use personal devices and must access sensitive company infrastructure from less secure locations, such as their residences. Due to these circumstances, there are more instances of cyber-attacks directed at such personnel, which could jeopardize the security of business data and the personal information of other employees who are connected to the same network.

Many businesses have invested significantly in strong software defined security solutions for their employees to strengthen the protection of the company's and the employees' assets in order to prevent such a situation from occurring. Software-based firewalls & intrusion detection systems have grown in popularity throughout the pandemic and were swiftly put into employees' systems to bolster the security perimeter of such systems.

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https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/1616

Regional Analysis 

North America to Head Software-Defined Security Market 

The significant advancement of the technical aspects is the main emphasis of North America's market dominance in this industry. In this situation, people and organizations tend to accept and assimilate the new advances in workplace culture.

Consequently, software-defined protection has experienced rapid expansion. Profiting from its dominance in infrastructure, the region is witnessing a proliferation of the sector across all vertical industries. The region may also take pride in the significant presence of some commercial behemoths that help to shape the continental economy and have a lasting impact on the world market. The biggest market share is anticipated to be held by North America during the forecast period.

By implementing cutting-edge security solutions, the businesses in the province are eager to Boost their security posture and speed up the market's expansion in the next years. Additionally, these solutions have the best adoption rates in the country. The market is expanding in this sector as a result of elements including the presence of numerous significant businesses, an increase in cyber-attack incidents, and an increase in the number of hosted servers in the nation.

One of the biggest markets for cloud software defined security is the United States. This can be explained via the existence of major players, the increase in the frequency of cyber-attacks, and the expansion of hosted servers in the nation. About 63% of the world's privately-owned cyber security organizations are based in the United States, which is also home to several cloud security providers. Before introducing them globally, the majority of businesses test out their new services in their home countries.

APAC to Have Admirable Growth in Software-Defined Security Market 

Asia-Pacific is seeing a sharp surge in the amount of unstructured data being generated by the region's diverse businesses and being stored both on-premise and in cloud environments. Additionally, the amount of data generated at the edge is growing quickly due to the widespread use of IoT in the area.

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These elements have aided in the development of a scalable storage system that is secure and dependable. The region offers attractive business for software-defined storage (SDS) manufacturers because high-density nations like China and India still rely on conventional hardware for their storage and need to undergo digital transformation to keep up with technological developments.

According to FalconStor, a well-known US vendor that provides SDS through Huawei in China, customers and businesses throughout Asia, including China, are optimistic about switching to modern storage and represent one of the largest potential markets for IT services. The tendency to change stemmed mostly from the need to address issues with data protection, disaster recovery, and the integration of virtual and non-virtualized resources.

The demand for remote storage services has been primarily driven by hyper-scale and global digital media content providers as well as public cloud service providers like Facebook, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, and Alibaba Cloud. Over the past few years, these companies have significantly increased their uptake of data centre capacity in the Asian region, particularly in Hong Kong.

Related Reports:

Commercial Security Market- By Product, By Type, By End-users - Forecast 2030

Global Security Software in Telecom Market- By Component, By Deployment, By Security Type - Forecast till 2030

Network Security Appliance Market- By Component, By Industry Vertical Forecast till 2027

About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis regarding diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.

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CONTACT: Contact Market Research Future (Part of Wantstats Research and Media Private Limited) 99 Hudson Street, 5Th Floor New York, NY 10013 United States of America +1 628 258 0071 (US) +44 2035 002 764 (UK) Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Website: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com

Welcome to EURACTIV’s Tech Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. 

“AI systems intended to be used by children in a way that may seriously affect a child’s personal development.”

-Compromise amendment on Annex III to the AI Act

Story of the week: Compromise amendments on crucial parts of the AI Act were on the table this week. In a new version of Annex III, the co-rapporteurs proposed significant changes to the high-risk areas and use cases, for instance, extending the notion of biometric identification and categorisation to biometric-based systems. A possible compromise on facial recognition is taking shape, with live identification in publicly available spaces banned, whilst ex-post would be allowed as a high-risk application. Digital critical infrastructure remains out, whilst the areas of education, employment, law enforcement and access to public services have been extended.

A new risk area was added in relation to vulnerable groups, notably children, with broad wording that would also cover social media’s recommender systems. Algorithms that could influence democratic processes like elections were also added, with a residual category covering generative AI models such as ChatGPT, deep fakes and subliminal techniques for scientific research. The Annex III discussion was moved to Friday morning, as Zelenskyy’s visit to the parliament cut the Thursday meeting short, and only the definitions were discussed. The prohibited practices article was on the agenda of the technical meeting on Monday. The leading MEPs are still pushing to reach a political agreement next Wednesday when sensitive questions like the AI definition and General Purpose AI will have to be addressed.

Don’t miss: Signatories to the Code of Practice on Disinformation released their first progress reports on compliance this week, reviewing their actions over the past month. These initial reports will be the benchmark for future ones and are seen by the Commission as a first step to compliance with the Digital Services Act, which will start applying for the largest platforms in July. As expected, Twitter was singled out by Commission officials as having submitted a notably shorter report than its fellow platforms, also lacking in data and information about fact-checking. Besides Twitter, fact-checkers have criticised the likes of YouTube and TikTok as they consider the platforms have fallen short of the Code’s commitments.

Also this week:

• The European Parliament’s ITRE committee adopted its reports for the Data Act and European Digital Identity.
• The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority issued preliminary findings against the Microsoft-Activision merger.
• The EEAS announced a pan-European platform to coordinate anti-disinformation efforts.
• Intel is reportedly asking the German government for additional money to finance two mega fabs in the country.
• Flexibility and independence of media regulators are top concerns for EU countries regarding the European Media Freedom Act.

Before we start: If you just can’t get enough of tech analysis, tune in on our weekly podcast.

Artificial Intelligence

Conformity assessment. This week, other compromise amendments circulated in the European Parliament deal with how high-risk systems should comply with the regulation. The compromise focuses on the conformity assessment procedure for the biometric recognition system, which will need to be audited by a third party unless using harmonised standards, whilst all other high-risk applications will be able to use internal assessments. The article providing a derogation to the conformity assessment procedure in exceptional cases was reintroduced but limited to the authorisation of judicial authority. Read more.

Critical infrastructure question. Work on the AI Act is moving forward, with Parliament negotiators on the cusp of reaching a common position in the coming weeks. However, one area that has yet to be resolved is the extent to which AI models deployed in critical infrastructure management should be regulated. Read more.

AI and market dominance. Just as Microsoft unveiled a new version of Bing with ChatGPT built into the search engine, CNBC reported that the company is also set to let companies create their own tailored versions of ChatGPT using their own data. However, some observers have raised concerns that this move will allow Microsoft to become even more dominant in the operating system market.

Protect not Surveil. A 200-strong coalition of civil society organisations and academics have called on lawmakers to Boost protections for algorithm-powered border control tools in their negotiations on the AI Act. The campaign, entitled #ProtectNotSurveil, is pushing for prohibitions on AI systems used to violate the rights of migrants through, for instance, “digital pushbacks” and prejudicial biometric analysis.

Falling short? A survey by the Panoptykon Foundation found that EU citizens are seeking greater transparency, more protections against discrimination, and regulation of the AI used by social media platforms. For the NGO, the AI Act will fall short in several areas, like giving citizens the right to know when governments and companies are using AI systems.

Competition

A difficult marriage. The UK’s antitrust authority has issued a preliminary conclusion to its investigation into Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of gaming company Activision Blizzard, finding that the merger could harm competition across multiple markets. The US Federal Trade Commission requested that the deal be blocked in December, and a statement of objections was sent to Microsoft last week by the European Commission, marking the start of the second phase of Brussels’ investigation. Read more.

Cybersecurity

Everybody, calm down. At the Cybersecurity Standardisation Conference on Tuesday, ENISA’s lead certification expert Éric Vetillard said that, while sovereignty requirements need to be thought about politically, there should also be a technical reflection on how to operationalise them. On the cloud certification scheme (EUCS), he recognised that the discussion had become rather heated but hoped it would calm down going forward. Several interventions called for the mapping of existing standards before creating new ones.

Cybersecurity call. A new call for a Horizon 2020 programme has opened, with funding available for up to 21 SME projects to develop new prototypes or demonstrators in security and cybersecurity. The projects must be run by at least two SMEs, at least one of which should be a tech/IT solution provider.

Data & Privacy

ITRE’s vote. European Parliament’s ITRE committee adopted the Data Act report on Thursday in a single block. So far, no political group is expected to propose alternative amendments during the plenary vote in mid-March.

Council’s crunch time. Last Friday was the deadline to submit comments on the fourth presidency compromise. France has retaken Airbus’s position, which has been lobbying aggressively (also MEPs) on trade secrets. Some member states raised the idea of holding a workshop on trade secrets like the one on the relation with the GDPR that took place in November, but the presidency turned the idea down as it wants to close the file as soon as possible. The Netherlands also seems less on the offensive concerning B2G data-sharing and more content with the cloud provisions. Based on the written comments, the presidency is trying to get all open issues sorted by the end of the month.

Digital Markets Act

IMCO’s meeting. On Monday, IMCO’s DMA subgroup met for the second time. The European Commission reported back on the first workshop. The second part of the event was on the interoperability of messaging services, with representatives from Google, Meta, academia, and Open-Xchange. Some lawmakers did not hide their annoyance with Meta, which was seen as bringing up ‘technical excuses’.

4-column publication. Four transparency organisations have filed a joint complaint with the EU ombudsman relating to the European Parliament’s handling of requests for access to four-column documents during the DMA trilogue last year. The groups accuse the Parliament of maladministration in having de facto circumvented its obligation to disclose the requested documents and call for the proactive publication of four-column documents to heighten transparency.

Digital skills

Training goals. IT firm Cisco announced a goal of training 2.6 million people within the EU in digital and cybersecurity skills over the next decade. The training will occur via the company’s Networking Academy in partnership with local educators. It will contribute, Cisco says, to establishing a workforce central to longer-term social inclusion and economic resilience.

Disinformation

Anti-disinfo platform. Brussels will launch a new platform to boost EU efforts in tackling disinformation, the EU’s diplomatic chief Josep Borrell announced on Tuesday. The new Information Sharing and Analysis Center will act as a decentralised platform for tracking information manipulation efforts by foreign entities and coordinating responses among member states and civil society actors. Borrell also criticised Twitter’s announcement that it would scrap free API access for third-party developers, describing it as a step back in terms of transparency. Read more.

Criminal disinformation. Intentionally spreading disinformation could become a criminal offence in Czechia, according to new plans currently under discussion by the government. Under the draft plans, which have yet to be made public, legislation could clarify the legal status of disinformation and allow authorities to block sites deemed to threaten national security. Read more.

eGovernance

eIDs ITRE vote. On Thursday, MEPs of the ITRE committee backed their version of the European Digital Identity, which included stronger privacy and cybersecurity safeguards and a register of all transactions to ensure the organisations using the wallet can be held accountable. EU countries will have to issue at least one wallet (i.e. software application) under a national digital identity scheme interoperable at the European level. The wallet remains voluntary, meaning there will need to be other means to access public and private services. Lawmakers also increased the wallet’s functionalities and mandated it should remain free of charge. The file will not need plenary approval; it will go directly to trilogues.

Common EU toolbox. As anticipated by EURACTIV, the Commission published the first version of a common EU toolbox for implementing the European Digital Identity Wallet today. Jointly developed by member states and the Commission, the toolbox is set to act as a first step towards creating a framework for common digital identification standards across the EU. Its requirements will become mandatory once the eIDs regulation comes into force.

Industrial strategy

Subsidy race bites. Chipmaker Intel is reportedly seeking more financial support from Berlin for the two ‘mega fabs’, semiconductor factories the American company is set to open in Germany. Initially promised €6.8 billion to launch the two facilities, the company is now reportedly asking for €10 billion instead, justifying the new calculation on the ballooning construction costs and energy prices. While declining to comment on the indiscretions, an Intel representative told EURACTIV that the cost gap with other competitive locations outside Europe has widened since the investment was first announced. However, German officials are annoyed at the request, as it is allegedly also justified that the mega fabs will produce more advanced technology. Read more. 

Public procurement for start-ups. A group of 15 European start-ups have jointly signed a non-paper “in defence of EU digital sovereignty and the twin transition,” calling for a revision of the EU’s public procurement rules to facilitate eligibility for smaller innovative SMEs. The non-paper argues that the rules currently definite innovation too narrowly, restricting it to R&D only and that there are too few references to the Green Deal and twin transition. Read more.

Law enforcement

CSAM diplomacy. Commissioner Ylva Johansson was in Berlin this week to discuss the fight against child sexual abuse with, among others, Federal Minister of Interior Nancy Faeser and Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschman. The official visit was a ‘charm offensive’ addressed at a country that has been extremely critical to Johansson’s CSAM proposal.

Media

Top of mind. Feedback from seven member states on the proposed European Media Freedom Act has highlighted the flexibility and the independence of media regulators as key areas of concern amongst national authorities. In a document circulated last week and seen by EURACTIV, the capitals outlined what they saw as points for improvement in the text, including response times, the relationship between the Commission and the new European Board for Media Services, personal data, and spyware. Read more. 

RT DE’s turn. RT DE, the German branch of state-backed media outlet Russia Today, has closed down following the latest round of EU sanctions. Following similar events in France last month, RT DE shut its doors due to a lack of funds resulting from measures put in place by Brussels in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The outlet criticised the EU’s moves in a statement issued last week and said the channel would continue to operate from Moscow. Read more. 

Product liability

PLD 1^st compromise. The Swedish EU Council presidency circulated the first compromise on the Product Liability Directive, obtained by EURACTIV, to be discussed at the Civil Law Working Party on 15 February. The presidency’s work focused on clarifying key concepts, like personal injury in terms of psychological health. The text now explicitly says that the product definition includes software-as-a-service and raw materials. The concept of defectiveness was refined to cover the foreseeable use and its misuse when required by sectorial product safety legislation, like on toys or industrial machinery. Importantly, if it is too difficult to prove the product’s defectiveness due to its technical or scientific complexity, as will probably be the case for AI, the manufacturer will not be able to rebut the presumption of defectiveness. Moreover, the causal link might also be assumed if the defectiveness in question has caused similar cases. The concept of manufacturer control has also been broadened. The compromise also seeks to clarify the application of the strict liability regime.

Platforms

The espionage question. Two US Senators have written to Meta with questions about documents that show the company was aware that developers in China and Russia had access to sensitive user data that could have enabled espionage. Mark Warner and Marco Rubio, chair and vice-chair of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, are seeking answers on whether the tech giant has identified the developers, any communications with them and the kinds of information they might have been able to access. Read more. 

No porno for minors. French regulators will introduce new measures to prevent minors from accessing porn websites after legal challenges hampered previous efforts to take such a step. The new proposal is set to require those trying to access such material to obtain an app giving them a digital certificate and code. It comes as part of a broader pledge by France’s President Emmanuel Macron to protect children online.

Free speech shaken. This week, access to Twitter was briefly restricted in Turkey following criticism of the government’s reaction to the catastrophic earthquakes that hit the region on Monday. As usual in these cases, people turned to VPNs to circumvent shutdowns, with Proton saying it saw registration to its VPN service jumping by over 30,000% more than normal levels.

Metaverse hearing. The JURI committee hearing on the metaverse, requested by the Social Democrat group (S&D) is set to take place in March.

Research & Innovation

Fully operational. The European Innovation Council Fund has launched 42 new investment decisions, totalling €331 million, since its last update in November, the Commission announced this week. The injections, which focus on 13 deep-tech companies working on breakthrough innovation, mean that the EIC Fund is now fully operational and has taken a total of 77 investment decisions since the appointment of an external fund manager in September.

Standardisation

Sherpa meeting agenda. The ‘sherpa’ sub-group of the High-Level Forum on European standardisation will meet next Thursday to follow up on the priorities identified at the C-level and start preparing the Forum’s recommendation for next year’s Annual Union Work Programme, the EU work programme for standardisation. According to a draft agenda seen by EURACTIV, the sherpa meeting will detail the work plan for this year, including the expected deliverables and outcomes and a set of deep dive sessions with dedicated experts.

Tech diplomacy

EU-India TTC. A new Trade and Technology Council has been established between the EU and India, designed to boost strategic engagement between the two. This new TTC is set to facilitate work on critical areas such as connectivity, green technologies and resilient supply chains. Working groups will gather within the next few weeks to plan their operations.

Telecom

The consolidation question. Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton called on antitrust regulators to consider allowing more cross-border mergers within the telecoms industry, saying he saw it as key to creating a true single market for the industry. However, for the telcos, the national consolidation is the real problem, which has so far been met with resistance by EU competition head Margrethe Vestager. The ‘litmus test’ on whether the Commission will allow consolidation in the telecom market will be provided in the coming weeks with the Orange-MasMovil merger in Spain.

ETCA’s war footing. The European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA), the organisation representing alternative telecom operators, has denounced a draft Commission recommendation on the regulatory promotion of Gigabit Connectivity, saying it was “stunned” by a leaked copy of the document. The text, ECTA says, is undemocratic in nature as it reverses some critical parts of the European Electronic Communications Code and would have a significantly adverse impact on investment and the contestability of markets, lead to price rises for consumers and harm the take-up of gigabit connections.

Not on my network. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has put in place measures to prevent Ukraine’s military from using its Starlink satellite service to operate its drones, the company’s president announced this week, saying that the service, which Ukrainian forces have used for communications throughout the war, was “never meant to be weaponised” and was “leveraged” in unintended ways by the army. Read more. 

Brussels tour. Edward Bouygues, deputy CEO of Bouygues and president of Bouygues Telecom, was in town on Wednesday to meet MEPs from different political groups to persuade them about the senders-pay initiative.

What else we’re practicing this week:

Elon Musk’s Free-Speech Twitter Faces a Skeptical Germany (Bloomberg)

China pulls back from global subsea cable project as US tensions mount (FT)

FIRST ON FOX – All but two members of the House GOP delegation from New York are demanding an investigation into a statewide standardized test question Jewish leaders consider antisemitic. The Republican congresspersons say the question reflects a "far-left anti-Israel ideology" permeating the public school system pushing "ideological revisions" of history. 

In a letter to Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York State Education Department Commissioner Betty Rosa, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., leads eight fellow Republican House members from New York state in expressing "grave concern with the abhorrent, antisemitic question included in this winter’s NYS Regents exam in Global History and Geography." 

The question asks who benefited the most from changes shown on maps of Israel and surrounding areas from 1947 to 2017. The options were: Zionists and Jewish immigrants; the government of Jordan; Palestinian nationalists; or the citizens of Lebanon.

"It is simply beyond comprehension that anyone at the New York State Education Department would approve a question on a statewide exam that blatantly promotes hateful anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rhetoric which only fan the flames of antisemitism in our schools," the letter says. "For centuries, the State of Israel, one of our Nation’s greatest allies, and Jews have fought for their right to exist. This question attempts to cast doubt on that very notion and rewrite history by erasing the struggle for independence that the State of Israel faced." 

NY EDUCATION COMMISSIONER UNDER FIRE OVER ‘EGREGIOUS DISTORTIONS OF HISTORY' IN exam QUESTION ABOUT ISRAEL

The letter cites an "unprecedented surge" of antisemitism across the nation. 

In November 2022, New York City alone saw a 125% increase in antisemitic hate crimes compared to the same period the year before. 

"This question is just the latest instance of the anti-Israel and antisemitic ideologies that are infiltrating our schools and communities," the nine Republican members of Congress assert. "Moreover, it indicates a complete lack of oversight in the approvals process at the New York State Education Department."

In addition to Lawler, the letter was signed by Reps. Nick Langworthy, Anthony D’Esposito, Claudia Tenney, Nick LaLota, Marcus J. Molinaro, Elise Stefanik, Brandon Williams and Andrew R. Garbarino. The only Republican House members from New York not to sign on were Reps. Nicole Malliotakis and George Santos. 

Santos, the subject of a House Ethics probe into alleged campaign finance law violations, has rebuffed calls to resign even from members of his own party after lying about descending from survivors of the Holocaust, having a college degree and having had a successful career at two Wall Street firms while running for office. 

The letter also cites the accurate passage of Bill A.472, which required the New York State Education Department to examine whether schools across the state were adequately teaching about the horrors of the Holocaust. 

"This question indicates that even the state’s own education department isn’t following this new law," the letter asserts. 

"We are calling on you to launch an immediate investigation into this attack on New York’s Jewish community. There must be a thorough examination into this abject failure and the
individuals responsible must be held accountable. This type of anti-Jewish sentiment needs to be singularly and unequivocally condemned," the letter says. "We respectfully request an investigation into this matter to hold those responsible accountable for this heinous, antisemitic question that appeared on a statewide exam." 

"How someone could have signed off on this, a question that seemingly calls into question the very right for Israel to exist, is beyond absurd," Lawler said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "It is imperative that we take on antisemitism wherever it attempts to take root and a thorough investigation into this matter should help prevent a question of this nature from ever appearing on a state Regents exam again."

"Antisemitism in any form is vile, unacceptable, and I condemn it in the strongest way possible. New York students should be learning and tested on real history, not ideological revisions. I urge Governor Hochul and Commissioner Rosa to act in the best interest of our students," LaLota said. 

"It defies comprehension how such a blatant antisemitic question passed through the layers of approval process in our state’s education system, but unfortunately, it’s a reflection of the far-left anti-Israel ideology that is permeating our government," Langworthy said. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Education said: "A diverse group of New York State social studies teachers prepared, selected, and reviewed the excerpt and questions on the Global History Regents exam prior to their inclusion. All exam questions are reviewed multiple times by NYS-certified teachers and State Education Department subject matter and testing specialists to ensure they are not biased and accurately measure the learning standards. The questions were designed to test students’ knowledge of geography as it relates to historical events surrounding the creation of the State of Israel, including the impact of the Holocaust on migration to Israel." 

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"As per standard practice, these questions will not be used on future exams," the statement added. "The Department will continue to work with educators and stakeholders across New York to advance equitable access to opportunity while keeping the lessons and atrocities of the past, such as the Holocaust, as testament to the work we must do together to build a better future for all students."

Fox News Digital also reached out to Hochul's office for comment Thursday. 

CNN  — 

ChatGPT is smart enough to pass prestigious graduate-level exams – though not with particularly high marks.

The powerful new AI chatbot tool recently passed law exams in four courses at the University of Minnesota and another exam at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, according to professors at the schools.

To test how well ChatGPT could generate answers on exams for the four courses, professors at the University of Minnesota Law School recently graded the tests blindly. After completing 95 multiple choice questions and 12 essay questions, the bot performed on average at the level of a C+ student, achieving a low but passing grade in all four courses.

ChatGPT fared better during a business management course exam at Wharton, where it earned a B to B- grade. In a paper detailing the performance, Christian Terwiesch, a Wharton business professor, said ChatGPT did “an amazing job” at answering basic operations management and process-analysis questions but struggled with more advanced prompts and made “surprising mistakes” with basic math.

“These mistakes can be massive in magnitude,” he wrote.

The test results come as a growing number of schools and teachers express concerns about the immediate impact of ChatGPT on students and their ability to cheat on assignments. Some educators are now moving with remarkable speed to rethink their assignments in response to ChatGPT, even as it remains unclear how widespread use is of the tool among students and how harmful it could really be to learning.

Since it was made available in late November, ChatGPT has been used to generate original essays, stories and song lyrics in response to user prompts. It has drafted research paper abstracts that fooled some scientists. Some CEOs have even used it to write emails or do accounting work.

ChatGPT is trained on vast amounts of online data in order to generate responses to user prompts. While it has gained traction among users, it has also raised some concerns, including about inaccuracies and its potential to perpetuate biases and spread misinformation.

Jon Choi, one of the University of Minnesota law professors, told CNN the goal of the tests was to explore ChatGPT’s potential to assist lawyers in their practice and to help students in exams, whether or not it’s permitted by their professors, because the questions often mimic the writing lawyers do in real life.

“ChatGPT struggled with the most classic components of law school exams, such as spotting potential legal issues and deep analysis applying legal rules to the facts of a case,” Choi said. “But ChatGPT could be very helpful at producing a first draft that a student could then refine.”

He argues human-AI collaboration is the most promising use case for ChatGPT and similar technology.

“My strong hunch is that AI assistants will become standard tools for lawyers in the near future, and law schools should prepare their students for that eventuality,” he said. “Of course, if law professors want to continue to test simple recall of legal rules and doctrines, they’ll need to put restrictions in place like banning the internet during exams to enforce that.”

Likewise, Wharton’s Terwiesch found the chatbot was “remarkably good” at modifying its answers in response to human hints, such as reworking answers after pointing out an error, suggesting the potential for people to work together with AI.

In the short-term, however, discomfort remains with whether and how students should use ChatGPT. Public schools in New York City and Seattle, for example, have already banned students and teachers from using ChatGPT on the district’s networks and devices.

Considering ChatGPT performed above average on his exam, Terwiesch told CNN he agrees restrictions should be put in place for students while they’re taking tests.

“Bans are needed,” he said. “After all, when you deliver a medical doctor a degree, you want them to know medicine, not how to use a bot. The same holds for other skill certification, including law and business.”

But Terwiesch believes this technology still ultimately has a place in the classroom. “If all we end up with is the same educational system as before, we have wasted an amazing opportunity that comes with ChatGPT,” he said.

Jewish groups and leaders are up in arms after a New York State Regents exam included two questions about Israel that they believe oversimplifies and distorts history.

According to the New York Post, the questions on the Global History and Geography Regents II exam were preceded by images of maps of the land showing the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for dividing the land into separate states for Jews and Arabs, how the land was divided in 1949 in the aftermath of the war between Israel and Arab nations, and how areas of the land were controlled as of 2017.

One question, referencing the 1947 map, asked which event most influenced the development of the UN Partition Plan, offering the choices of Russian pogroms, the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Paris Peace Plan, and the Holocaust. According to the Post, the intended answer was the Holocaust.

The next question asks who benefited the most from the maps' changes over time, with the correct answer reportedly being intended as "Zionists and Jewish Immigrants." among choices that also included the government of Jordan, Palestinian nationalists, and citizens of Lebanon.

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"The maps lack all context," Democratic former state Assemblyman Dov Hikind told the Post. "Specifically that border changes were the result of successive wars started by Arab states to annihilate Israel. Second, the questions, at best, lend themselves to debate, not to singular answers from among false choices."

Hikind also pointed out the problem with attributing the creation of the state of Israel to the Holocaust, noting that the modern Zionist movement had been pushing for a Jewish home in that land since the 19th century.

Even those administering the test were upset by the questions, Hikind told the Post.

"One proctor was so angry, she was beside herself," he said.

The Department of Education told the Post in a statement that the exam questions had been "designed to test students’ knowledge of geography as it relates to historical events."

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The department's statement, rather than address the distress the questions caused, appeared to defend the reasoning behind them, making clear that there were no unintentional acts on their part.

"New York State social studies teachers prepared, selected, and reviewed the excerpt and questions on the Global History Regents exam prior to their inclusion," the statement said. "All exam questions are reviewed multiple times by NYS-certified teachers and State Education Department subject matter and testing specialists to ensure they are not biased, accurately measure the learning standards, and contain no errors.

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According to the Post, Hikind, City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, and the group Americans Against Antisemitism are urging Commissioner of Education Betty Rosa "to swiftly remove the disingenuous questions and conduct a thorough audit to ensure such egregious distortions of history that invariably lead to animosity for the sole Jewish state aren’t being inadvertently fed to our children."

Fox News Digital reached out to Vernikov's office for comment they did not immediately respond.