Disrupting higher education was not Dr. Samuel Whitaker’s goal. All he wanted was for his psychology students to have an easier time understanding difficult ideas. What began as an additional podcast evolved into something quite different—incredibly powerful and profoundly transforming. Students started choosing his podcast broadcasts over in-class lectures within a single semester. Some even acknowledged that they completely avoided the hall in order to catch up on episodes while traveling. The disparity in memory and engagement was very comparable to switching from a rigorous treadmill to an open trail—one demanded conformity, while the other permitted independence. Though constructed with…
Author: errica
The places where technology is taught and developed are experiencing something unexpected. Though not out of nostalgia, people are coming back to the theories of ancient philosophers because they provide immensely useful tools for resolving contemporary issues. Because these frameworks are so successful when used to AI design, product development, and technical education, STEM programs around the world are incorporating concepts that date back more than two millennia. As a design leader with a strong foundation in both UX and classical thought, Jorge Valencia frequently cites Aristotle and Socrates as the first researchers. Once seen as poetic, the viewpoint now…
In the past, we developed intelligence by education, reading, and life experiences. We are renting it by the hour more and more these days. Artificial minds—models capable of analysis, reasoning, creation, and even advice—are being leased on a subscription basis by companies of all sizes. Training and developing human potential used to be a laborious process, but it has been remarkably simplified into a digital transaction. The topic of whence intelligence originates is reexamined in Christopher Summerfield’s These Strange New Minds, both philosophically and through the silicon lenses of machine learning. Millions of examples have been used to train these…
The trend toward sustainability is changing what it means to be a university; it is no longer a slow trickle through academia. Campuses from Cork to Riga, from Sydney to Rotterdam, are reevaluating every lecture, every research award, and every square meter in their quest to become the world’s greenest university. This campaign, which is about identity as much as environment, has been very successful in garnering international attention. Under Professor Barney Glover’s strategic direction, Western Sydney University has advanced more quickly and much beyond expectations. The institution made it clear that sustainability is the plan, not a side project,…
For a long time, being in love has seemed like magic—an unexplainable attraction between two individuals. These days, however, it’s being transformed into something quite different: a data-driven adventure led by predictive analytics, personality models, and algorithms. There hasn’t been much publicity around this evolution. Like the buzz of background music at a café, it gradually made its way into dating culture until eventually taking center stage. Once determined by chance, love is today being pushed more and more by calculations. Apps that used to only facilitate “meetings” are now able to predict who you’re most likely to click with.…
Although the billion-dollar “AI bubble” idea has gained more traction, the reality isn’t nearly as tidy or as loud. Rather, we are seeing a spike of investment that appears to be remarkably based in genuine infrastructure, applications, and long-term strategy, despite being quite aggressive. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, said it bluntly: the current situation feels both logical and illogical. That paradox is a sign of development rather than a warning sign. Naturally, discussing a bubble brings to mind the dot-com era, when firms with nothing more than a catchy name were able to raise enormous sums of money. However,…
Artificial intelligence is gradually taking on the role of the silent collaborator in law enforcement operations across numerous countries. While algorithms covertly rate neighborhoods according to statistical danger, officers now review data dashboards before going on patrol. Although hardly much appears to have changed to the untrained eye, police is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Bernard Marr has often emphasized this change, advocating for innovation that is both effective and human-centered. Departments can predict areas where crime is statistically more likely to occur by using predictive modeling. These AI algorithms create “hotspot” maps that direct patrols toward high-risk areas by analyzing…
Bernard Marr likes to draw attention to a subtle fact when people refer to data as the “new oil”: oil can power, but it cannot steer. In a similar vein, data can inform but not lead. Marr is a best-selling author and futurist from Britain who has spent years advising multinational companies on digital transformation. His message, however, is nonetheless refreshingly grounded: data is useful, but it cannot feel. This concept is remarkably comparable to what seasoned leaders have known for a long time but rarely express. Although they cannot be measured, good intuition can be incredibly powerful. As he…
Michael Ryan discusses AI and humor in a way that is both fascinating and cautious, like to someone elucidating a cosmic conundrum. As a researcher implanted at Stanford, Ryan is looking at whether machines can understand the inner architecture of comedy rather than just testing whether they can copy jokes. After all, it’s the rhythm, the context, and the absurdity woven within the truth that make us laugh, not simply the words. His initial investigations demonstrated the true complexity of this problem. When asked to compose a joke, ChatGPT and other AI models often fall back on cliched internet humor,…
It began with a voice. It was polished, composed, and sounded like a CFO, and it told an assistant to release money immediately. The fact that the call had never been from a human was only suspected after the transfer had cleared. The voice was artificial intelligence (AI), a clone educated on recordings of public events and excerpts from internal meetings. It’s not a forecast. This is already taking place. Cybersecurity teams have seen a slight but significant change in recent months. Attacks are not just quicker, but also more intelligent. They include references from last week’s Zoom call and…