Microsoft recently launched a new version of all of its software with the addition of an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant that can do a variety of tasks for you. Copilot can summarise verbal conversations on Teams online meetings, present arguments for or against a particular point based on verbal discussions and answer a portion of your emails. It can even write […] … learn more→

Future historians may well regard 2023 as a landmark in the advent of artificial intelligence (AI). But whether that future will prove utopian, apocalyptic or somewhere in between is anyone’s guess. In February, ChatGPT set the record as the fastest app to reach 100 million users. It was followed by similar “large language” AI models from Google, Amazon, Meta and other […] … learn more→

As the holidays progress, parents will no doubt be hearing a classic line from their kids: “I’m boooooored”. We all get bored from time to time and there is nothing particularly wrong with feeling bored. In fact, it is a useful emotion because it is helps us reflect and make changes to what we’re doing […] … learn more→

The move in Canadian academia to “decolonize” or “Indigenize,” and commit to broader frameworks of reconciliation, pertains to how work is done within universities, as well as how universities engage with broader communities. Commitments aim to increase the visibility of Indigenous academics, including hiring of Indigenous faculty members and staff, but they are also about the […] … learn more→

When I started my podcast, Studies in Taylor Swift, in the spring of 2021, I felt that I was simultaneously helping to invent, and trying to catch up to, the academic discipline of Taylor Swift studies. Though there wasn’t much published on reading Swift as literature, I had no trouble finding guests who had some kind […] … learn more→

Many of us remember vividly being yelled at or feeling threatened by a family member, a teacher, or a boss. Terrifying experiences often get imprinted in our memory; remembering frightening events is essential to avoid them in future. It is a normal reaction that promotes our survival. This strong connection between fear and memory may lead […] … learn more→

Measuring the number of steps you take every day; tracking your heart rate, your pace or average ascent while jogging; memorizing the total distance you cycle over the course of a year and sharing it with an online community. These practices have become commonplace in the world of sport, even for amateurs. This digitization of […] … learn more→

When we play chess or cards, we can feel like we are racking our brains. But is it true that they stimulate our mind? Can playing board games help us train memory, attention or impulse control? Play, in addition to a recognized right of childhood, is what allows us to learn from our environment from an early […] … learn more→

Artificial intelligence (AI) carries with it the seeds of major impacts in many sectors of society over the coming decades. Some of these effects could be positive, others less so. When ChatGPT was released , the teaching profession, proud of its integrity and high ethical standards, feared that AI could expand opportunities for student cheating . The question remains relevant. Some […] … learn more→