In this national election year, the concept of a universal basic income has become a political football. The opposition Congress Party is promising to implement a “nationwide minimum income for the poor” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration is proposing a “basic income for poor farmers.” What is not needed on this very serious and important topic is the scoring of political points. What is needed is a careful and considered non-partisan assessment by an independent commission to … [Read more...]
Articles
Frank blogs regularly for the Huffington Post and writes occasional columns and articles for publications such as the International Business Times and The Economic Times of India.
Frank writes on a wide variety of topics that are critical to shaping the future of America and the American dream and to making the United States and the world a better place. These include: Business; education; poverty and inequality; politics and public policy; immigration; manufacturing; innovation; leadership; citizenship; and social commentary.
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The Automation and Artificial Intelligence Race:
Who Will Win and What Does Winning Mean? Following up on the promise made in his State of the Union address, on February 11 President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence. There was no money provided in the Order for what is being called the American Artificial Intelligence Initiative (Initiative) and each agency was directed to “prioritize investments” in AI research and development. Therefore, … [Read more...]
Automation, Artificial Intelligence and the American Dream
This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it. Those were the words of HAL 9000 (HAL) in the classic science-fiction movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey (2001)). HAL was a programmed computer that controlled the systems of the Discovery One spacecraft, and interacted with the crew on the spaceship in an almost human way, doing things such as talking with them and playing chess. When 2001 was released a little over one half a century ago, what Hal was able … [Read more...]
Pakistan’s employment conundrum
Being one of the world’s most populous countries, Pakistan is uniquely blessed with plenty of untapped human resources. Most of the country’s over 200 million citizens are young and ready to work. However, there are not enough jobs in the country to cater to the growing needs of its younger population. According to estimates of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), unemployment between the ages of 15 and 24 in Pakistan is 10.8 percent. This is higher than other countries in the … [Read more...]
Mayday: Brexit-Related Decisions and Britain’s Future
Mayday is recognized internationally as a word signaling a life-threatening emergency. The word is repeated three times in a row “Mayday. Mayday. Mayday.” to ensure there is no confusion regarding it being a call for help. In 2019, Mayday has taken on a new meaning for Great Britain. It is a word signaling distress and chaos in trying to reach a mutually agreed upon solution in Brexit-related decisions. There are three Maydays here as well. Mayday 1 was Parliament’s decision to defeat … [Read more...]
Pakistan’s bid to become a regional peacemaker: a positive step
Pakistan, under the new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, appears to be repositioning itself to be a regional peacemaker. This is a positive step in a region that has been conflict torn for decades and where the divisive issues are compound and complex. This repositioning began early in Prime Minister Khan’s tenure when he offered to provide mediation assistance to end the Yemen war. Early on, he also pledged to hold peace talks with arch-rival India and extended … [Read more...]
Words Of The Year: Toxic Justice, Trumper-Tantrum, Shutdown
2018 is past. May it rest in peace. It deserves a gentle farewell because there was little that was relieving or relaxing during this most tumultuous year. There are many words or phrases that could be used to capture the year’s happenings. They include chaos, division and autocracy. In retrospect, the ones that stand out for us are: toxic justice; trumper-tantrum; and, shutdown. Let us explain why. Toxic justice. The Oxford dictionaries chose justice as its word for 2018. Merriam … [Read more...]
View: India needs a competency-enhancing, job-creation master plan
When Narendra Modi was running for office, he promised to create 10 million jobs per year. The Modi administration has come nowhere near generating that number of jobs during his tenure in office, with the Indian economy expanding but the growth being essentially "jobless". This shortfall was not focused upon much in the early years of the Modi's time as Prime Minister. As India has moved through 2018 toward a national election in May of 2019, however, job creation, or the … [Read more...]
Lessons on the Team, the Game and Grit
Remarks By Frank F. Islam On Lessons on the Team, the Game and Grit for Maryland Youth Cricket Association Banquet December 2018 Good Evening Thank you very much for that kind introduction. It is my pleasure and honor to be here with all of you this evening to participate in this celebration. Thank you for your warm welcome and your hospitality. I want to express my deep gratitude to Jamie Harrison for inviting me to speak on this special occasion. … [Read more...]
Curing Pakistan’s ailing healthcare system
Pakistan’s healthcare system is sick. Successive governments have neglected this critical area for the past 70 years. Urgent measures need to be taken to improve this ailing system. The government of Prime Minister Imran Khan is aware of the needs and importance of Pakistan’s health care sector and appears poised to act on them. In its election manifesto, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf promised to revamp the health care system completely. Speaking to senior journalists recently, the Prime … [Read more...]