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Daniel Immerwahr in The Guardian: The German forester Peter Wohlleben’s surprise bestseller, The Hidden Life of Trees (published in English in 2016), has inaugurated a new tree discourse, which sees
Continue readingMother Trees and Socialist Forests: Is the ‘Wood-Wide Web’ a Fantasy?
Rahul Rao in Scientific American: Few computer science breakthroughs have done so much in so little time as the artificial intelligence design known as a transformer. A transformer is a
Continue readingQuantum Computers Can Now Run Powerful AI That Works like the Brain
Hot air rises—and so, unfortunately, do many of the aspiring leaders who spout it. Why do we continue to mistake confidence for competence, and what should we be doing differently?
The computer scientist Ellie Pavlick aims to find out: She is translating philosophical concepts such as “meaning” into concrete, testable ideas. John Pavlus in Quanta: Start talking to Ellie Pavlick about her
Nora McDonald at The Conversation: Social media apps regularly present teens with algorithmically selected content often described as “for you,” suggesting, by implication, that the curated content is not just
Continue readingWhat Social Media is Doing to Teenagers – New Study
The giggle factor is finally history. Adam Frank at Aeon: After decades on the cultural margins, the question of life in the Universe beyond Earth is having its day in
Continue readingHow the Search For Aliens Went From Laughable to Scientific
Stand and Deliver: Working in public service is no easy feat. Today’s governments face increasing obstacles to achieving their primary mission: serving the public. Refreshed management approaches and new technologies
Continue readingModel Civil Service: The Three Imperatives for Civil Servants
Amir Levine in The Washington Post: For humans, biologically speaking, soul mates are entirely real. But just like all relationships, soul mates can be complicated. Of course, there isn’t a scientifically
There’s “a realistic possibility” that insects, octopuses, crustaceans, fish and other overlooked animals experience consciousness, experts declare. Dan Falk in Quanta Magazine: In 2022, researchers at the Bee Sensory and Behavioral
Continue readingInsects and Other Animals Have Consciousness
Irshad Salim: 20+ years ago in the early 2000s, my neighbor Narku from Ghana who was very articulate and well read, and belonged to a Political family, shared thoughts and
Continue readingRandom Thoughts: About a Cool Check, POI, Etc.
Today’s debates about artificial intelligence (AI) fail to grapple with deeper questions about who we are and what kind of future we want to build. Michael Levin in Noema: They
by Christian Schroeder at Singularity Hub: The origin of life on Earth is still enigmatic, but we are slowly unraveling the steps involved and the necessary ingredients. Scientists believe life
Continue readingThe Crucial Building Blocks of Life on Earth Form More Easily in Outer Space