Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 23
Posts 1 - 10

«Achtung, unterschätzen wir die Senioren nicht»

("Attention, let's not underestimate the elderly")

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Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 2.9.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, smartphone, threat
Summary | More and more rural post offices are being closed due to restructuring. Online post office services should pick up the slack but it is questionable whether elderly people will be able to adapt to virtual post offices with chatbots. The chief of the Swiss Post, Susanne Ruoff, urges us not to underestimate the elderly. Many of them are online with smartphones and computers nowadays.
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Emoji

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Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 2.8.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | emojis, marketing, smartphone
Summary | Nobody can imagine smartphone communication nowadays without emojis. Now there is an animated film starring emojis. The critics are not praising it. Apparently, the characters are quite one-dimensional (which makes sense however since they are emojis) and the product placement advertising tech firms in the movie is too frequent and obvious.
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Whatsapp ist erneut gefordert

(WhatsApp is being challenged once more)

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Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 19.5.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | translation, WhatsApp
Summary | There is a new rival for WhatsApp: the Swiss/Ukranian messaging app Drotr. Its main quality and advantage over WhatsApp is that it can do simultaneous written translations in 104 languages. It can simultaneously translate video conferences for 44 languages. Albeit a bit shaky, the translations are decent.
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Mark Zuckerbergs

(Mark Zuckerberg's)

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Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 13.1.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, Facebook
Summary | Mark Zuckerberg has expressed the goal to design a digital assistant. It should be able to help users simplify some daily tasks. It should, for instance, be able to recognize the face of anyone ringing the doorbell and unlocking it if that person is allowed to enter. This could be particularly useful for the elders. It is however questionable whether Facebook's digital AI assitant can replace human companions or pets.
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Handliche Hitliste für klares Formulieren

(Handy hit list for clear articulation)

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Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 19.5.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, language threat, social media, word/writing
Summary | Our ability to write clearly and poignantly is very important if we want to succeed in life. It is a complex skill that needs to be practiced and Facebook and co. do not help our sharpening of a writing style at all. Social media nurtures a much too simple genre of writing.
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Googles sprechender Assistent

(Google's speaking assistant)

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Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 20.5.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, Google
Summary | Google is launching a voice command assistant called "Google Home". Much like Amazon's Echo, it is a little speaker which picks up verbal commands from casual conversation and delivers answers to various questions or plays the music users request. Google's two decades of experience with online searches has given them enough data to be able to teach and AI robot what words mean in context.
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«Sprache verfällt nicht»

(«Language does not deteriorate»)

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Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 15.11.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | code-switching, language threat, research/study, social media, youth
Summary | German linguist Eva Gredel claims that language does not deteriorate because of its informal use online. Internet language is more differentiated and divided in subcultures the language itself is not at risk. Many people fear this when they visit social media and see how people disregard conventions. This is because many people want to be innovative with their language online. Parents do not need to be worried about their children's language online - it is good if they learn various codes/registers of speaking.
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E-Mails für verzweifelte Teenager

(Emails for desperate teenagers)

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Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 13.1.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | (mental) health, email, Facebook, youth
Summary | The volunteer project U25 provides peer counseling for suicidal teenagers. All volunteers at U25 are between 17 and 25 years old and they get extensive training before they are given up to three cases at a time. They exchange emails with the suicidal peers trying to counsel them into psychological stability. The volunteer counselors are not allowed to give out their cell phone numbers or befriend clients on Facebook for their own protection.
Image Description | Image of one volunteer counselor with a laptop.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, male(s), TV

Heisse Jobs für Poeten

(Hot jobs for poets)

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Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 15.5.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, misunderstanding
Summary | Linguists might become more important in new industries: chatbots need to be taught how to understand natural human language full of contradictions and unclarities. They have been developed by programmers but they misunderstand colloquial commands. Linguistic expertise is needed to improve artificial intelligence chatbots.
Image Description | Reuters image of a robot.

Logisches Pisa-Ergebnis

(Logical Pisa result)

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Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 15.12.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | childhood, research/study, school, social media, texting, word/writing, youth
Summary | The Pisa study shows that Swiss students have decreasing writing and reading skills. This is not suprising considering the high percentage of foreign heritage children in Switzerland, the many national languages and distinct dialects, and the fact that children learn two foreign languages while still in primary school - let alone the dubious influence of new media, texting, social media, and so on.
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