With the dramatic development of technology, artificial intelligence has grown so big that it now transcends almost all areas of industries. Especially in the art industry, AI has emerged as a powerful collaborator in art as its algorithms generate intricate compositions and digital masterpieces. Following this trend, such attributions of AI-generated artworks have raised questions regarding ownership and protection issues, alarming awareness of the relationship between such works and copyright law. Companies like OpenAI and StabilityAI started to release AI-enabled text and image generators beginning in late 2022. Initially, the Copyright Office was not prepared to decide on these works’ eligibility as copyrighted works until 2022, when author Kris Kashtanova’s…

The on-going debate of whether student-athletes should be considered as employees continues to linger. One area particularly looked upon in consideration is the introduction of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) laws that allow student-athletes to profit from their personal brands. In recent years, the landscape of college-level sports has vastly transformed in accordance with the continuous growth in new NIL laws. However, there is one class of student-athletes whose accessibility to these sizeable opportunities has been specifically handicapped, and that is international student-athletes. Twelve percent of D-I athletes are international student-athletes who continue to face unique legal implications that intertwine visa regulations, work authorization, university policies, and tax considerations. Differential…

We have all heard the phrase, “once something is on the internet, it’s there forever.” Though this may be true, a new concern is not that an item is available in an easily accessible digital format, but more, who can say they own this digital format. As the world progresses and we change the way we trade, buy, and own items, a new way of owning and protecting digital objects has emerged. This new way is through Non-Fungible Tokens. Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are a new form of digital ownership. According to Forbes, NFTs are “a digital asset that can come in the form of art, music, in-game items, videos, and more.…

Beneath the surface of bustling global trade and commerce, there’s a subtle yet unmistakable signal: the approach of a global economic slowdown, a phenomenon reshaping more than just market trends. This deceleration, as projected by the UN’s World Economic Situation and Prospects report for 2024, indicates a growth rate dwindling to just 2.4%. Yet, this figure is more than a cold statistic; it vividly portrays the deep-seated imbalances in a system that often tips the scales in favor of capital over labor. The numbers tell a story, not just of markets and economies, but of the lives and struggles of those who form the backbone of these systems​​. In developing…

As a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States, the G7, and other international partners have imposed unprecedented global economic sanctions on the Russian Federation with the goal of degrading its defense sector, its ability to extract energy resources, and its access to the global financial system. The aim of the economic sanctions against the Russian Federation is to inhibit Russia’s ability to manufacture sophisticated weapons and generate revenue to fund its war in Ukraine. At present, only the United States, the European Union, and a limited number of allies have imposed sanctions. This means that only western companies need to be concerned with their…

In October of this year, the Marshall Islands, situated in the Central Pacific, was the last of three island nations to renew their Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the United States, inking a $2.3 billion deal that continues a nearly eighty-year relationship.  The agreement was a win for U.S. national defense strategy as the tug-of-war for influence in the region continues between the U.S. and China.  After World War II, the territories that were formerly claimed by Japan became a United Nations strategic-area trusteeship administered by the U.S., known as the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The Trust Territory included the over 2,100 islands of Micronesia divided between…

The Federal Reserve plays an essential role in balancing fiscal and monetary policies to shape the U.S. economy, through interest rate manipulation aimed at controlling inflation or stimulating it when necessary. Their most recent move – selling more government debt to increase interest rates at a time when U.S. national debt levels have skyrocketed to $33.17 trillion and major foreign creditors like China are selling down their holdings of U.S. bonds – highlights its influence. Adjusting interest rates is one of the Fed’s primary tools to combat inflation. By selling off more government securities and restricting money supply through selling off more securities to investors, they use funds that otherwise…

Twelve years after a major earthquake and tsunami led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster, effects of the catastrophe linger, most recently impacting the fishing industry of Japan. As part of the cleanup, radioactive wastewater has been stored at Fukushima since 2011, and now over 1,000 storage tanks have nearly reached their capacity. On August 24th of this year, Japan began its long-planned release of treated radioactive wastewater from the plant, which will take place slowly over several decades. One radioactive element in the wastewater, tritium, cannot be removed; however, the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that the release was consistent with IAEA Safety Standards and the discharges would…

Recent data from an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report last week has indicated that a financial crisis in China is no longer unthinkable. One of the world’s preeminent emerging economies is now bracing for cover as a deflating property bubble, local governments struggling to service their debts, and geopolitical tensions are prompting concern. In the report from the IMF, China’s economic growth stood strong at 4.9% this year through the third quarter. However, the IMF only sees Chinese economic growth averaging just 4% over the next four years, down 0.6% from last year’s projection. How does a 0.6% projection decrease make a difference? China has the world’s second-largest economy with…

Have you ever planned on going to bed at reasonable hour only to find yourself on TikTok until 3am? Yeah, me too… TikTok was first launched in 2018 by Chinese tech giant ByteDance. Soon after, TikTok began to take the world by storm becoming an increasingly popular social media platform amongst young Americans. However, as TikTok’s popularity grew, so did the concern about the Chinese government spying on us. Both Democrats and Republicans have spoken out against TikTok. In a country so divided, at least we could join hands and attempt to take down a social media platform. Some states, such as Florida, have passed or proposed legislation that would…