Ms. Rachel is best known “for her enthusiastic and approachable ditties on key subjects, like potty training.” But recently, she’s been using her big YouTube platform to advocate, strongly, for child welfare in Gaza. - LitHub
Scientist Ludwik Fleck is credited with first describing science as a cultural practice in the 1930s. Since then, understanding has continued to build that scientific knowledge is always consistent with the cultural norms of its time. - The Conversation
Excellence is not a neutral concept. Its not a fixed standard hovering above culture, waiting to be discovered. It's a construct. When we pretend otherwise, when we speak of excellence as if it were objective and settled, we obscure the real question. - Emil Kang
Our rage for hormone therapies, supplements, beauty procedures, and longevity interventions suggest we’re all competing in the Enhanced Games now. - Daniel Kunitz
The current strategy of merely making A.I. bigger is deeply flawed — scientifically, economically and politically. Many things from regulation to research strategy must be rethought. One of the keys to this may be training and developing A.I. in ways inspired by the cognitive sciences. - The New York Times
Despots over the ages devised a lopsided way of funding science that punished blue-sky thinkers and promoted gadget makers. Mr. Trump’s science policies, experts say, follow that approach. - The New York Times
"Freedom is neither a fixed idea nor a story of progress toward a predetermined goal. The history of American freedom is a tale of debates and struggles. Often, battles for control of the idea illustrate the contrast between the “negative” and “positive” meanings of freedom." - The Nation
Whatever the fate of modern DEI programs in corporate America, diversity of experience, thought, and ideology is a meritorious goal for a company to pursue. Done right, it will be good for business. - The Atlantic
Might the relationship between humanity and artificial intelligence follow a similar logic—a hope of consciousness helping consciousness across generations? Perhaps the best thing that we’re put here for is indeed to see; but our vision is limited. - 3 Quarks Daily
Reality, as we now understand, does not tend towards existential flourishing and eternal becoming. Instead, systems collapse, things break down, and time tends irreversibly towards disorder and eventual annihilation. - Aeon
To say that “reasonable people can disagree” can encourage suspension of judgment in response to important matters of personal and social concern. - 3 Quarks Daily
ChatGPT, as ever, was upbeat, inexhaustible, and, crucially, unfazed by failure. It made suggestions. It asked its own questions. Some avenues were promising; others were dead ends. - The New Yorker
Rather than asking AI to hurl itself over the abyss while hoping for the best, we should instead use AI’s extraordinary and improving capabilities to build bridges. What this means in practical terms: - The Atlantic
Algorithmic culture taps into the casual randomness with which we apportion our care; it takes advantage of the fact that what we bump into today might obsess us tomorrow. Its webs, meanwhile, are woven by machines that are owned by corporations. - The New Yorker
For years, researchers have wondered: If the models are just reassembling, then how does novelty come into the picture? It’s like reassembling your shredded painting into a completely new work of art. - Wired
