Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s convicted associate and former girlfriend, invoked her Fifth Amendment right and refused to testify before a US congressional committee, with her lawyers saying she would only answer questions if granted clemency.
Published On 10 Feb 202610 Feb 2026
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Feb. 5 (Asia Today) — Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant prospect. It is rapidly advancing into areas once considered uniquely human, including translation, medical diagnosis, law and content creation. With the possibility of human-level general AI now openly discussed, its impact is widely viewed as greater than any previous technological breakthrough.
Optimists foresee a long-awaited utopia. Self-driving cars dominate roads, AI assistants handle household chores and administrative work, doctors deliver more precise care with AI support, and teachers focus on personalized education. Like electricity or the internet, AI is expected to function as a general-purpose technology that raises productivity across the entire economy. Some forecasts suggest it could add about one percentage point to annual productivity growth over the next decade, potentially accelerating research and development and sustaining long-term economic expansion.
History, however, offers a more complex picture. General-purpose technologies often depress productivity in their early stages because firms and workers need time to adapt and reorganize. This so-called productivity J-curve may also apply to AI, as high implementation costs and training requirements delay gains and concentrate benefits among a limited number of firms and industries.
More immediate concerns are emerging in labor markets. Automation is already replacing clerical and repetitive tasks, while mid-skilled jobs are shrinking. As AI evolves from generative models to autonomous agents and physical systems, even highly educated workers may struggle to find stable employment. A small group with advanced AI skills may enjoy rising wages, while many others face job insecurity, raising fears of a society where algorithms dominate and humans are treated as expendable.
The debate over whether AI leads to utopia or dystopia ultimately centers on a single question: will AI replace humans. The answer lies in understanding the fundamental differences between artificial and human intelligence. AI excels at processing vast data and making predictions, but humans interpret context, make judgments under uncertainty and weigh ethics and values. Humans also build trust through empathy, communication and responsibility.
What matters most in the AI era is not intelligence itself but wisdom – the capacity to reflect on purpose, distinguish right from wrong and respect others. Rather than competing with AI, humans must cultivate complementary abilities that guide technology in constructive directions.
The future shaped by the AI revolution remains open. Its outcome depends on whether individuals and societies can develop the knowledge, skills and wisdom suited to this era. Continuous learning is essential, as is education that moves beyond test scores to nurture curiosity, critical thinking, ethics and responsibility.
At the societal level, education systems must shift away from standardized knowledge delivery. As AI handles information retrieval and analysis, priorities should include creativity, problem definition, collaboration and lifelong learning. Universities need closer alignment with labor market needs, while labor systems must become more flexible and competency-based.
Vocational training and retraining are equally urgent. In an age of rapid job transformation, a single education cannot last a lifetime. Governments, businesses and schools must cooperate to support mid-career workers and vulnerable groups. At the same time, governance frameworks ensuring transparency, accountability and fairness in AI use are essential for building public trust.
Artificial intelligence can expand human capabilities rather than replace them. True competitiveness in the AI era will come not from algorithms alone, but from the intellectual synergy created when humans and AI work together. What is needed now is not abstract optimism or fear, but deliberate investment in people.
Lee Jong-hwa is a chair professor of economics at Korea University. The views expressed are the author’s own.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260205010002059
An amnesty law that would provide clemency to political prisoners in Venezuela has passed an initial vote unanimously in the National Assembly, stirring hopes among the country’s opposition.
On Thursday, members of both the governing socialist party and the opposition delivered speeches in favour of the new legislation, known as the Amnesty Law for Democratic Coexistence.
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“The path of this law is going to be full of obstacles, full of bitter moments,” said Jorge Rodriguez, the head of the National Assembly.
But he added that it would be necessary to “swallow hard” in order to help the country move forward.
“We ask for forgiveness, and we also have to forgive,” Rodriguez said.
But critics nevertheless pointed out that the text of the bill has yet to be made public, and it offers no clemency for individuals accused of serious crimes, including drug trafficking, murder, corruption or human rights violations.
Instead, media reports about the legislation indicate that it focuses on charges often levelled against protesters and opposition leaders.
The bill would grant amnesty to individuals accused of crimes like treason, terrorism, rebellion, resisting authorities, instigation of illegal activities, and spreading hate, if those crimes were committed in the context of political activism or protest.
Opposition leaders like Maria Corina Machado would also see bans on their candidacy for public office lifted.
In addition, the legislation specifies certain events that would qualify for amnesty, including the demonstrations that unfolded in 2007, 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2024.
That period stretches from the presidency of the late President Hugo Chavez, founder of the “chavismo” movement, through the presidency of his handpicked successor, Nicolas Maduro.
Both Chavez and Maduro were accused of the violent suppression of dissent, through arbitrary arrest, torture and extrajudicial killings.
But on January 3, the administration of United States President Donald Trump launched a military operation in Venezuela to abduct Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. They have since been transported to New York City, where they await trial on charges related to drug trafficking.
While members of Venezuela’s opposition have cheered the military operation as a long overdue move, experts have argued that the US likely violated international law as well as Venezuela’s sovereignty in removing Maduro from power.
Images of Chavez were a common sight during Thursday’s debate at the National Assembly, which has been dominated since 2017 by members of the chavismo movement.
That year, Venezuela’s top court dissolved the opposition-led National Assembly and briefly absorbed its powers, before re-establishing a legislature stacked with Maduro supporters.
In 2018 and again in 2024, Maduro claimed victory in contested elections that critics say were marred by fraud.
In the July 2024 vote, for instance, the government refused to release voter tallies, as was previously standard practice. The opposition, however, obtained copies of nearly 80 percent of the tallies, which contradicted the government’s claims that Maduro had won a third six-year term.
After Maduro’s abduction last month, the remnants of his government remained in power.
Within days, his vice president — Delcy Rodriguez, the sister of the National Assembly leader — was sworn in as interim president.
She used her inaugural speech to denounce the “kidnapping of two heroes who are being held hostage: President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores”.
Rodriguez has nevertheless cooperated with US demands, including by supporting a bill to open Venezuela’s nationalised oil industry to foreign investment.
On the floor of the National Assembly on Thursday, her brother Jorge raised a photo of Chavez holding a crucifix while he spoke. Maduro’s son, National Assembly member Nicolas Maduro Guerra, also presented remarks.
“Venezuela cannot endure any more acts of revenge,” Maduro Guerra said as he appealed for “reconciliation”.
Still, opposition members in the National Assembly expressed optimism about the bill.
National Assembly representative Tomas Guanipa, for instance, called it the start of a “new, historic chapter” in Venezuelan history, one where political dissidents would no longer be “afraid to speak their minds for fear of being imprisoned”.
Nearly 7.9 million Venezuelans have left the country in recent decades, fleeing political persecution and economic instability.
But there have been lingering concerns about the human rights situation in Venezuela in the weeks following Maduro’s abduction — and whether it is safe to return home.
President Rodriguez has pledged to release political detainees and close the infamous prison El Helicoide, where reports of torture have emerged. But some experts say the number of people released does not match the number the government has reported.
The human rights group Foro Penal, for instance, has documented 383 releases since January 8.
That figure, however, is lower than the 900 political prisoners the government has claimed to have released. Foro Penal estimates 680 political prisoners remain in detention.
Opposition figures also allege that the government continues to intimidate and harass those who voice sympathy for Maduro’s removal and other opinions that run contrary to the chavismo movement.
Still, the head of Foro Penal, Alfredo Romero, applauded the initial passage of the amnesty law as a step forward.
“Amnesty is the framework that will ensure… that the past does not serve to halt or derail transition processes,” Romero told the news agency AFP.
A second vote is expected to be held on Tuesday next week.