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Can chatbots be therapists? Only if you want them to be

A manager at artificial intelligence firm OpenAI caused consternation recently by writing that she just had “a quite emotional, personal conversation” with her firm’s viral chatbot ChatGPT. “Never tried therapy…

The form and design of IMF programmes

For most of the IMF programmes since 1988, a coupling of short-term programme (Stand-by SBA) with a medium-term programme (Extended Fund Facility (EFF), variously named) has been the norm. The…

Larkana’s HIV outbreak

FOR several years, bonfires were lighting up in small towns and villages of Sindh; bonfires turned to bushfires, and bushfires are now rapidly engulfing the forest. Brave firefighters are battling…

Time to end TB

SHE sits before me, a frail woman of 28, pregnant for the fourth time. Her chest X-ray before treatment shows severe lung disease, and further testing reveals she harbours drug-resistant…

Healthy opportunity

NEXT week, the UN is convening three high-level meetings on universal health coverage (UHC), tuberculosis (TB) and pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR) at its 78th General Assembly session. These…

Hidden casualty of conflict

AS the global health community rallies to eliminate hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) by 2030, a relentless adversary undermines progress: conflict and political instability. These crises…

Sudden freeze

DONALD Trump’s recent decision to freeze US foreign aid for 90 days has sent shockwaves across South Asia, which has long depended on American assistance for economic development, healthcare, and…

A brand new world?

Economics is at the forefront, intertwined with politics, shaping international relations today. Global politics is entering a new era driven by artificial intelligence (AI), offering vast opportunities to advance economic…

Prison reform in action

For over a century, Pakistan’s prison system operated under the antiquated Prisons Act of 1894, a colonial relic designed to subjugate rather than rehabilitate. This draconian framework treated inmates as…