upworthy

the world

Family

Wondering how to help after a tragic news story? This bot might have the answer.

Technology is coming through for us all in a big way in the age of Trump.

There's a lot going on in the world right now, and it makes total sense if you're feeling a bit overwhelmed. I am too.

Hurricane recovery, wildfires ripping along the West Coast, rising tensions with North Korea, repeated threats to the state of health care in this country, trans people being banned from the military, people from other countries being banned from traveling here, Title IX protections being reinterpreted, environmental protections being gutted, professional sports becoming a divisive topic — the list goes on and on.

Maybe one of these causes really hits home for you. Maybe you want to help, but don't know where to even start. I hear that, and as someone who is both plugged into current events and prone to anxiety attacks when presented with complicated situations, getting involved can be really overwhelming.

I've turned to robots for help. Yes, robots.

A slew of new chatbots have come out in the past year or so, and they're really useful for people, like me, who are feeling overwhelmed by the world around them.

Some chatbots, such as infinite conversation application Cleverbot, are little more than novelties, but others are actually improving lives in tangible ways.

DoNotPay is a chatbot that started out as a way to automatically challenge parking tickets in court, but now includes the ability to sue Equifax in the wake of its massive data breach. Other bots, such as 5 Calls and Resistbot, make contacting your representatives in Congress a breeze.

One of the newest chatbots I've added to my life recently is called Hope.

When you open up the app's chat dialogue in your phone's browser, you're presented with a handful of the day's top stories. Tell it which one you're curious about, and it will ask if you're interested in getting more context, want links to more detailed sources, or it gives you the option of learning how you can help.

The interface is simple, feels natural, and makes for a pretty smooth user experience for chatbot power-users as well as relative newbies. I was drawn in by its ability to distill overwhelming events into single action items. For example, if you select the "How can I help?" option when reading about recovery in Puerto Rico, you'll be prompted to donate to either the Hispanic Federation, a nonprofit currently being promoted by Lin-Manuel Miranda, or Bethenny Frankel's B Strong initiative. Clicking "Donate" takes you directly to the individual charities' websites.

"Sometimes we'll see a really cool action [people can take] tied to a news story and build it out from there," says Marisa Kabas, Hope's editorial director, describing the process as a bit of a "chicken and egg" situation.

One thing Kabas and her team ask themselves before highlighting a story on Hope is whether there's actually something people can do with the news item. In other words, it's unlikely you'll see much about Trump's tweets or the controversy in reaction to those tweets on Hope. Kabas says that those types of stories are "just adding to the noise" and are often unproductive.

While the simplicity and narrow focus of Hope is one of its strengths, it's also one of the bot's biggest weaknesses, as its "help" options are currently limited to a somewhat sparse selection of topics. Still, if you're feeling stressed, but interested in finding out how to get involved in a specific cause, Hope is a pretty solid first place to check.

Whether you're looking for a new way to consume news, contact your representatives, or take action, there's probably a chatbot out there for you.

Maybe, like me, you're easily overwhelmed by what Kabas refers to as "the noise," the superfluous-yet-predictable result of a 24-hour news and entertainment media. Or maybe, like so many of us, you're just really busy and don't have time to tackle every thing happening in the world all at once.

The bots mentioned above are great because they do a lot of the work for you, helping you be informed while giving you real, tangible things you can do to make your life even just a little bit easier.

Disclaimer: We were not paid to promote any of the products mentioned in this article. We just thought they were pretty cool.

More

Incredibly detailed photos document the stories our hands tell.

Hands are more than just a useful part of the body.

Human hands helped to develop tools that pushed civilization forward. Our hands help us do everything from working and communicating to creating art and making music. Each hand can tell a story about a person's life.

That's exactly what photographer Omar Reda is showcasing in his new series, "Hands: The Story of Life," in which he explores the beauty found in the hands of people from all walks of life. Reda traveled across Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nepal, and Saudi Arabia to capture these portraits.

1. Like this beautifully detailed hand of a 3-year-old boy from the Masai Tribe in Africa.

All photos by Omar Reda.

2. This worn hand that belongs to a gardener.

3. And this hand that belongs to a mechanic.

4. This hand may be small, but it belongs to a woman who's worked many years on a farm.

5. These deeply wrinkled, calloused hands tell the story of an elderly tribal woman.

6. This skillful hand of a barber is covered in tiny hair clippings.

7.  A capable hand of a plumber.

8.  This seasoned hand of a baker.

9. This soldier's hand is covered in deep lines with a lifetime of stories to tell.

10. The sagely hand of a local holy man.

11. This calloused, worn, and stained hand tells the story of a blacksmith.

12. The ring-adorned hand of an elderly tribal man.

13. The confident and strong hand of a girl from a tribal village.

14. The competent, worn hand of a driver.

15. This carpenter whose experienced hand shows off a hard days work.

16. The clay covered hand of a potter perfecting their craft.

Each hand tells a unique story.  

These portraits of hands show that the beauty and richness of humanity can be glimpsed even in the simple lines on our hands.

"I am trying to capture the beauty of human hands around the world and from the different scope of life. People from tribes, villages, and cities," Reda explained of the series on his website.

What story do your hands tell?

You can see more of Omar Reda's work on Instagram and on his website.

This post was updated on 3/31/2017.

Most Shared

How did the animals cross the road? Using these beautiful, innovative wildlife corridors.

True
Rocky Mountain Wolf Project

Animals in North America have a problem — they’re having a hard time moving around.

Migration is key for the survival of a lot of species. But in many places, developments like roads, highways, towns, industrial plants, or even entire cities form roadblocks that limit how far animals can move before they encounter humans in a potentially dangerous way. That's bad news on any day, but especially now that temperatures are on the rise. According to a study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, only 41% of natural lands in the United States are connected enough to allow animals to trek safely toward cold enough habitats.

“Wildlife corridors” are areas of protected land where animals can carve an uninterrupted path from one place to another.

Scientists have begun looking for ways to build these "habitat hallways" by protecting and connecting wildlife areas, granting animals safe access to wider swaths of land. In some cases, like that of the Flatland River Valley, that means identifying existing wildlife areas that could easily be connected and moving to protect the land that lies between them.

Flatland River Valley where proposed conservation would protect a critical link in the continent's longest-remaining wildlife corridor. Image courtesy of Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.

In some habitats, conservation has to get creative — and the wildlife corridors that result are pretty cool.

Some wildlife areas are interrupted by just a thin highway, and though it doesn't take up much space, highways present a real danger to animals attempting to cross to safety. In Canada, architects solved that problem with a special landscaped bridge that allows large and small animals to safely cross the road. In Banff National Park, wildlife-vehicle collisions have dropped by more than 80% since these structures were built.

The Banff Overpass in Alberta, Canada. Image via iStock.

Another unusual wildlife corridor is the Bee Highway in Oslo, Norway. Airborne animals don't need continuous swaths of land in order to travel, but they still need places to land, feed, and rest along the way. So the people of Oslo went outside and built bee-friendly gardens and hives to provide the colonies safe passage through the city.

Marie Skjelbred went a step further, constructing a full beehive on the roof of an accounting building in Oslo. Photo by Pierre-Henry Deshayes/AFP/Getty Images.

As manmade wildlife structures are being implemented in the U.S., we're seeing a steep decrease in deaths among wolves, moose, wild cats, bears, and more.

Colorado's Highway 9 used to be a problem location for drivers and animals, reporting over 650 vehicle-wildlife crashes since 2005 in just a 10-mile stretch of road. In 2015, the Department of Transportation built seven animal pathways over and under the highway. Sure enough, there were just two animals hit by cars the following winter — a fraction of the amount from earlier years.

So far, Colorado's Highway 9 wildlife safety project consists of two overpasses, five underpasses, and a handful of widened shoulders and strategically placed border fences. Photo by Josh Richert/Blue Valley Ranch.

Highway 9 happens to cross an area of land that serves as a migration pathway for a variety of wildlife species, which is why it saw so many animal casualties over the years. The protections put in place were designed to allow animals to reach the opposite side without having to cross the actual roadway — but for those that wind up there by mistake, widened shoulders and "escape ramps" provide a route off the road, and fences prevent the animals from wandering back.

A herd of deer exit the highway via a "wildlife escape ramp," which is positioned to allow animals off the road and prevent them from re-entering. Photo by the Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and ECO-Resolutions.

All around the world, wildlife corridors connect habitats and are the key to millions of species’ survival.

From the Terai Arc in India and Nepal...

Image via iStock.

...to the U.S. Highway 93 Wildlife Crossings in Montana...

...to the crab crossings on Christmas Island...

...to the Tsavo East National Park in Kenya.

Photo by Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images.

Animals of every size, shape, and habitat rely on humans to mitigate the damage that our developments have had on them by providing safe crossing to protected lands.

There are dozens of ways to protect and connect wildlife corridors to help animals survive rising temperatures.

Some, like the Bee Highway, are as easy as planting a garden in your community, while others like the Banff Overpass could help protect highway drivers as much as it protects the wildlife around it.

The problem of migration fragmentation is only going to have worse consequences as climate change continues. But we can help. Donate to organizations that help build corridors, like the National Wildlife Federation. Urge your representatives to support the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act. Look for ways to support the wildlife in your area, and plant animal- and insect-friendly gardens that will provide a safe haven for traveling creatures.

It's up to us to make sure that animals are free to roam wherever they must in order to survive.

From Your Site Articles
More

How I responded when my Muslim students asked, 'Why does he hate us?'

Getting out of your comfort zone can be an eye-opening experience.

“Ms. Kayla, why does he hate us?”

All photos courtesy of the author.

That’s one of the many questions I was bombarded with by my Indonesian high school students the day after President Donald Trump was elected. I’d spent the morning talking and crying with my sister, a New York transplant from Texas, about Trumpism, the state of America, and what I was supposed to say to a classroom full of Muslim teenagers.

“Sometimes, people hate what they don’t understand,” I responded shakily.

I chose to teach in Indonesia because I felt it imperative to spend a year in a country completely different from the Western world I’d inhabited for 24 years. I didn't know that when it would be time for me to leave, the home I was returning to would also look and feel drastically different.

I didn't know how much living in Indonesia would prepare me to go back and fight for change.

The population in Indonesia is about 88.1% Muslim, making it the largest Muslim-majority country in the world. Islamic teachings are a part of most schools, and the intersections of culture and religion cross one another in Indonesian communities.  

Instead of quivering down and trying to save face, I’ve been honest with my students about the state of Islam in America and how people are treated in different areas. In turn, my students have been honest with me. Their candidness has made way for a deeper understanding of Islam and a desire to help Americans understand the importance of inclusion for all religions.

My students have discussed what being a Muslim means and its importance to them. They’ve discussed how America — a country many of them perceive to be amazing — is a place they assumed everyone was welcome. Until this year.

That’s what America is supposed to be. That's what we used to be. That's what we should be.

“Ms. Kayla, will we ever be able to come visit you in America?”  

Religion is often a part of coursework and Indonesian school days.

Every week, I have the unique opportunity of not only teaching these students English, but learning about and understanding Islam from a perspective outside of America. While I knew about Islam, I’d never been around Muslim people outside of a few interactions with university colleagues and teachers. In Indonesia, I’m immersed in a culture that integrates Muslim identity into daily life. I’ve learned more about the history of Islam, how it ended up in Indonesia, and the role it plays in government and society.

In engaging with a religion and culture that is unlike mine, I’ve been able to see more of the complexities of our world, which has led to more understanding and even more questions.

I've been reminded of the importance of faith in communities across the globe. How the ability to express that faith free of hatred and judgement is a human right that should be unconditionally upheld in a nation that claims to be free for all.

Seeing my students learn and excel has only enhanced my desire to see the beauty and work of immigrants across America. Cultural exchange is one of the best ways to gain understanding. To block people from entering our nation because of religion or race is not only morally wrong — it puts our nation at the disadvantage of missing out on learning from different points of view.

“Ms. Kayla, what will you do when you go home?”  

Over the past few months, protesters have organized across the country to demand change and acceptance, and I’ve learned just how much our country must grow and learn to unite.  

This is the moment when we get to decide our role in history, when empathy must morph into advocacy and where actions must speak louder than words. Our diverse world deserves it.

Trending Stories