Earlier this March, an autopsy report ruled that Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old transgender student from Oklahoma, had died by suicide.1 Controversy surrounding the circumstances of Benedict’s tragic death has since reignited national attention towards LGBTQ-related issues, particularly within schools. In the United States, on average, LGBTQ youth are over four times more likely to report attempted suicide. In the 2021-2022 school year, one out of eight LGBTQ students reported experiencing identity-based physical assault while at school.2 As a former high school teacher in a small, secluded rural ..read more

Background Over the last year, there has been increased engagement between the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Central Asian states (C5), particularly in the energy sector. 2023 saw several steps towards closer inter-regional connections, including the first GCC-C5 Summit held in Jeddah in July, participation of Central Asian states in the Arab-Islamic extraordinary summit in November, and a stream of announcements regarding future investment by the Gulf in Central Asia, particularly in renewable energy projects. The economic diversification goals of the Arab Gulf, combined wi ..read more

Smart contract or dumb contract? Everyone should consider this question before using a blockchain to carry out a transaction.  Any transaction on a blockchain requires the use of a contract that is itself encoded on a blockchain: a “smart contract.” Blockchain users unfortunately often discover that this so-called smart contract is not as smart as it seems. Aware of the risks generated by the use of smart contracts, the European Union attempted to address this issue in the Data Act in December 2023.1 The Data Act, however, suffers from several shortcomings: in addition to containing only ..read more

The global growth projection of the cryptocurrency market is at 11.1% for 2021-28.1 It could turn into another gambling mechanism, the future of payments — or anything in between. Therefore, one must stop and think strategically about how and where to regulate. In its current stage, this market is becoming increasingly global, with companies operating across geographies. (Among multinational companies, one could find Coinbase, Binance, Kraken eToro, and many others.) This market is one of the most exciting tools to democratize investments, creating access to capital for individuals from divers ..read more

In 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 57% of the global population (4.6 billion people) used a safely managed sanitation service, and over 1.5 billion people still do not have basic sanitation services, such as private toilets.1 Sanitation remains an important focus globally under Sustainable Development Goals.2 The sanitation situation in India, at the start of 2014, was severally critical with 500 million people defecating in the open.3 Over the last decade, India pumped billions into sanitation through the Swachh Bharat Mission or the Clean India Mission.4, 5 More ..read more

In 1965, the Head Start Program was launched as the first form of public early childhood education in the United States. Since then, early childhood education has become an increasingly important topic amongst families, legislators, advocates, and educators. High-quality early childhood education has life-long academic, developmental, and social impacts, but access to early childhood education differs substantially for children from different backgrounds. This disparity poses a complex issue: do children have a right to publicly funded preschool? A case could be made that children do have a ri ..read more

HKS Student Policy Review Senior Editor Chacier Alexander held a joint interview with Symbiotic CEO Riccardo Di Molfetta and cognitive scientist Dr. Daniel Dennett on his perspectives on the philosophical implications of artificial intelligence, the challenge of aligning advanced AI systems with human values, and whether AI consciousness or free will would be functionally different from their biological counterparts.  Daniel C. Dennett was a renowned philosopher, cognitive scientist, and writer. He was a Distinguished Arts and Sciences Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Cognitiv ..read more

Last October, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro accused the US of allegedly judicially “kidnapping” Citgo Petroleum, the country’s foremost overseas asset.1 The president’s comments referred to an ongoing court-mandated auction by a federal district judge in Delaware, who ruled that Citgo could be seized to satisfy international arbitration awards against the country. While Maduro may wish to blame the former interim administration of Juan Guaido, recognized by the US in 2019 and briefly in control of the country’s foreign assets, for the court auction, the legal proceedings against Citgo u ..read more

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are prevalent in everyday life whether its users are aware of it or not.1 From facial ID recognition on mobile phones to e-mail spell checks, voice assistants, to GPS navigation systems — these are a small snapshot of AI’s efficiency in everyday life.2, 3 At one of the leading global technology conferences, the Web Summit, held in Qatar from February 26 to February 29, 2024, conversations on AI dominated many of the discussion topics over the four days.4 The significance of AI can be seen in the myriad of ways in which AI software has revolutionized an ..read more

On March 27, 2024, HKS Student Policy Review Senior Editor Ala’a Kolkaila spoke with Omar Razzaz. The coversation focused on a range of topics affecting Jordan and the region. Omar Razzaz was the Prime Minister of Jordan from 2018 to 2020. Born in Al-Salt, Razzaz began his schooling in Amman, later continuing his studies abroad. He was director of several national and international institutions. He was Minister of Education in Hani Al-Mulki’s government since 2017, before his designation as Prime Minister. Razzaz was enrolled at AUB’s faculty of engineering from 1979 to 1981 and holds a maste ..read more