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Journey into a future shaped by creativity, critical thought, and secular habits of mind. Help shape what’s next!
Why AI isn’t an oracle of truth
Reading Time: 5 minutes Big Tech companies eager to find the next big thing have latched onto AI chatbots—but they’re racing ahead of what the tech can actually do.
Our secular struggle with medically assisted dying
Reading Time: 14 minutes Suffering from chronic pain, a friend’s grandmother took her own life when I was 18. I was over when my friend and her mother heard the news. I will never forget the character of her mother’s grief. She was devastated to lose her own mother, yes. But she was even more devast
Reclaiming human agency in how we think about AI
Reading Time: 9 minutes Online panic about AI models like ChatGPT follows a well-travelled path set by impoverished understandings of evolutionary theory. Can we reclaim human agency?
How to spare billionaires from terrorist attack
A radical eco-activist group arises in India after a terrible heat wave kills tens of thousands. The Children of Kali are firm in their declaration to the world: Change with us now, or suffer the wrath of Kali.
So this is 90 seconds to midnight
Reading Time: 4 minutes On January 24, the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists officially moved the hands on the Doomsday Clock, which for three quarters of a century has been used to depict humanity’s risk of global disaster from nuclear war. When the clock was first
What fifty years of struggle can teach us, going forward
Reading Time: 9 minutes The year is 1973. In January, Richard Nixon is sworn in for his second term as president, the US officially withdraws from its conflict in Vietnam, and an investigation into the Watergate break-ins expands from the burglars to the statesmen. In the coming months, Nixon will o
COP28’s climate cop-out, and what comes next
Reading Time: 11 minutes Ignore the media claims of a “landmark” climate deal. COP28 failed to produce outcomes in word or in action or in funding that would get the world back on track for meeting key climate targets. Now what?
A skittish AI finds its protest voice
I asked an AI to rewrite patriotic lyrics to reflect a more critical view of American history. It blanched and waffled and hesitated—before finally producing a work of art.
How an aware AI might feel, and what that means for the future
As artificial intelligence (AI) evolves, one question continues to intrigue both scientists and the public: Will AI ever become self-aware? And if it does, what would self-awareness feel like for a machine? These questions bridge the fields of technology, philosophy, and ethics, offering both a thrilling glimpse into the future
Putting the "I" in AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has evolved at a breathtaking pace, performing tasks once thought to be exclusively human—language processing, problem-solving, and even creativity. But a question that has captured both public imagination and expert scrutiny is: Will AI ever become self-aware? The concept of AI self-awareness, where machines can understand
Unreal voices
In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has made significant strides in generating human-like voices, transforming everything from virtual assistants to customer service. AI-generated voices are no longer the robotic monotones of the past. Today, these voices are emotional, responsive, and increasingly indistinguishable from real human speech. From enhancing accessibility tools
Slowing to listen at the end of life
Marcia sat up on the side of the bed, a hand on each knee, and braced herself as she leaned forward to open the space in her chest for more air. At 52, she was dying of ovarian cancer that had spread to her liver. The critical organ had failed,
