Monthly Archives: August 2025

AI has passed the aesthetic Turing Test − and it’s changing our relationship with art

AI has passed the aesthetic Turing Test − and it’s changing our relationship with art

Pick up an August 2025 issue of Vogue and you’ll come across an advertisement for the brand Guess featuring a stunning model. Yet tucked away in small print is a startling admission: She isn’t real. She was generated entirely by AI. For decades, fashion images have been retouched. But this isn’t airbrushing a real person; it’s a […] … learn more→

Fail, help each other, dare: skate culture in the service of education

Fail, help each other, dare: skate culture in the service of education

Skateboarding is about learning to perform difficult tricks in unfamiliar environments. And it can help young people master other types of skills, as experimented with in learning communities and, sometimes, even schools. At a school in Malmö, Sweden, skateboarding is part of the curriculum. John Dahlquist, vice-principal of Bryggeriets High School , teaches skateboarding lessons and integrates […] … learn more→

What Healthcare will look like in 10 years from now

What Healthcare will look like in 10 years from now

The healthcare landscape is poised for unprecedented transformation over the next decade. As we stand at the crossroads of technological innovation and medical advancement, the healthcare system of 2035 will be dramatically different from today’s model. From artificial intelligence revolutionizing diagnostics to personalized medicine becoming the standard of care, the next ten years promise to […] … learn more→

Why programming should be as important as math

Why programming should be as important as math

Every day, almost every hour, we use code from various programming languages. We do this when we use apps on our mobile devices to cook, entertain ourselves, listen to music, even navigate from one place to another using a map or get restaurant directions. We depend on them for the most basic activities of our lives, but […] … learn more→

Teenagers are choosing to study Stem subjects – it’s a sign of the times

Teenagers are choosing to study Stem subjects – it’s a sign of the times

A-level results in 2025 show the increasing popularity of Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) among students. For students taking three A-levels – the majority – the most popular combination of subjects was biology, chemistry and maths. The subject with the greatest rise in entries from 2024 is further maths, followed by economics, maths, physics and chemistry. Maths remains […] … learn more→

Freud would have called AI a ‘narcissistic insult’ to humanity – here’s how we might overcome it

Freud would have called AI a ‘narcissistic insult’ to humanity – here’s how we might overcome it

In 1917, Sigmund Freud described three “narcissistic insults” that had been caused by science. These were moments of scientific breakthrough that showed humans that we are not as special as we once believed. The first came with astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus’s discovery%5D) that we are not at the centre of the universe, because the sun rather than the Earth […] … learn more→

Generative AI is not a ‘calculator for words’. 5 reasons why this idea is misleading

Generative AI is not a ‘calculator for words’. 5 reasons why this idea is misleading

Last year I attended a panel on generative AI in education. In a memorable moment, one presenter asked: “What’s the big deal? Generative AI is like a calculator. It’s just a tool.” The analogy is an increasingly common one. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman himself has referred to ChatGPT as “a calculator for words” and compared comments […] … learn more→

Demotivation is not laziness: Understand this psychological signal

Demotivation is not laziness: Understand this psychological signal

● Demotivation is a psychological condition that often occurs when meaning, control, or connectedness in an activity is disrupted. ● Causes include loss of task relevance, excessive workload, lack of autonomy, fatigue, and monotonous routines. ● There are various ways to manage demotivation, from rediscovering personal meaning to adjusting expectations. Ever had those days when […] … learn more→

At one elite college, over 80% of students now use AI – but it’s not all about outsourcing their work

At one elite college, over 80% of students now use AI – but it’s not all about outsourcing their work

Over 80% of Middlebury College students use generative AI for coursework, according to a recent survey I conducted with my colleague and fellow economist Zara Contractor. This is one of the fastest technology adoption rates on record, far outpacing the 40% adoption rate among U.S. adults, and it happened in less than two years after ChatGPT’s public […] … learn more→

How traveling broadens students' perspectives and worldviews

How traveling broadens students’ perspectives and worldviews

Ever wonder what the most effective way to completely transform a student’s perspective? Travel. Simple as that. Something incredibly powerful happens when you step outside your comfort zone and see the world through completely new eyes. For students in particular, travel isn’t just a fun change of scenery, it’s an experience that can fundamentally alter […] … learn more→