You may assume that a collapse in the imperial superstructure meant that people went hungry and homeless, and that is certainly the picture in the poems of lamentation and sorrow. But the physical evidence of people’s health, for instance, shows something very different. - Aeon
What a close comparison in fact illuminates is not just how pernicious A.I. can be to intellectual life, but also how it can undermine the very principles of the Enlightenment itself. - The New York Times
While the underlying mechanism is unclear, neuroscientists theorize saying something out loud separates and distinguishes it from “mere” thoughts. (You didn’t just think it. You also heard it.) - Fast Company
“It wasn’t so much that we’d failed to replicate (the study’s) famous longitudinal results. It was more that our study confirmed a nagging message that the field is still resistant to accepting: there are no childhood skills that are silver bullets.” - Psyche
“After a great loss, some people find themselves communing with nature, at the seaside or deep in a forest. Others turn to spirituality, toward a temple or church. Me? I’d come to grieve with the Muppets.” - The Atlantic
The rise of the cheap, daily newspaper in the 19th century created the first true attention economy—an endless churn of spectacle and sensation that remade how Americans engaged with the world. - The Atlantic
Looking back, it becomes clear that the process only really starts after severe damage has been wreaked to the fundamental concept of justice—and once the minimal morality you didn’t know you depended on has been destroyed. It is this exhausting, terrifying immorality that forces you to look for a somewhere else. - The Walrus
When technology mediates contact, this can strengthen familiar forms of scepticism about love – for example, about whether or not the other person is really who they seem to be. We want sincerity and depth of feeling. Not just a pleasing response. - The Conversation
If you want to make an accurate judgment of how progress is going, it seems intuitive that frequent monitoring would help. On the other hand, popular wisdom suggests that watching too intently can distort your sense of how quickly or slowly something is proceeding: as the saying goes: ‘A watched pot never boils.’ - Psyche
Once you understand how your reward system works, you can consciously redirect it toward the things that actually matter to you. Let’s explore the connection between slot machines, social media, and the secret to a more curious, fulfilling life. - Big Think
People are now using AI to create “grief bots,” which are simulations of deceased loved ones that the living can converse with. There has even been a case where an AI-rendered video of a deceased victim has appeared to deliver a court statement asking for the maximum sentence for the person who took their life. - The Conversation
The idea that technology is altering our capacity not just to concentrate but also to read and to reason is catching on. The conversation no one is ready for, though, is how this may be creating yet another form of inequality. - The New York Times
Social mobility will become progressively locked as AI progresses. What is at risk is not simply job loss, but the very idea of income distribution. The concept of valuable skills is vanishing in real time. - The Critic
Many companies are taking our time and money by practising the dark art of manipulation. They hide crucial terms in fine print. They automatically enroll you in programmes that costs money but don't benefit you at all. They make it easy for you to subscribe to a service, but extremely hard for you to cancel. - The Guardian
