Monthly Archives: December 2025

What the hyperproduction of AI slop is doing to science

What the hyperproduction of AI slop is doing to science

Over the past three years, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has had a profound impact on society. AI’s impact on human writing, in particular, has been enormous. The large language models that power AI tools such as ChatGPT are trained on a wide variety of textual data, and they can now produce complex and high-quality texts of […] … learn more→

Is playing chess an asset for academic success?

Is playing chess an asset for academic success?

Chess, which has long suffered from a dusty image in society, is now enjoying a surge in popularity among young people thanks to series like The Queen’s Gambit (2020), the growth of esports , and initiatives by French NBA star Victor Wembanyama. Last July, Wembanyama proposed combining basketball and chess in a single competition, emphasizing: “We need a variety of things to […] … learn more→

6-7 , parasocial and 'rage bait': 2025 in three words

6-7 , parasocial and ‘rage bait’: 2025 in three words

In 2024, “ brainrot ” was chosen as the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year. The term highlights the mental deterioration caused by excessive consumption of trivial and low-quality digital content. This year, 2025 , three prestigious linguistic authorities—Dictionary.com , the Cambridge Dictionary , and the Oxford English Dictionary —suggest a shift to a more active and complex phase. Digital “slang” points to […] … learn more→

'Sadfishing': displaying suffering on social media to seek sympathy (and reactions)

‘Sadfishing’: displaying suffering on social media to seek sympathy (and reactions)

A young woman posts a video of herself crying on TikTok, without giving many details. Someone on Instagram shares a long post about a breakup or a personal crisis. An influencer reveals their mental health diagnosis in a live stream. These are recurring scenes, with different faces and nuances, but the same underlying dynamic: publicly displaying personal […] … learn more→

Teenagers are preparing for the jobs of 25 years ago – and schools are missing the AI revolution

Teenagers are preparing for the jobs of 25 years ago – and schools are missing the AI revolution

The government has recently released its national youth strategy, which promises better career advice for young people in England. It’s sorely needed: for teenagers today, the future of work probably feels more like a moving target than a destination. Barely three years after ChatGPT went mainstream, the labour market has already shifted under young people’s […] … learn more→

“Small” things we owe to Albert Einstein

“Small” things we owe to Albert Einstein

If we were to ask people on the street for the name of a scientist, the answers would mostly be divided between Albert Einstein , Marie Curie , Isaac Newton , Stephen Hawking and local scientists, such as Santiago Ramón y Cajal , or those who appeared in films, such as Robert Oppenheimer . According to some polls , the first four would get approximately between 60% and […] … learn more→

Artificial empathy: from technological miracle to relational mirage

Artificial empathy: from technological miracle to relational mirage

American psychologist Mark Davis defines empathy as the ability to perceive the mental and emotional states of others, to adjust to them, and to take them into account in one’s behavior. Researchers distinguish between two aspects: cognitive empathy, based on understanding intentions, and affective empathy, linked to sharing feelings. This distinction, central to social psychology, shows that […] … learn more→

Science has always been marketed, from 18th-century coffeehouse demos of Newton’s ideas to today’s TikTok explainers

Science has always been marketed, from 18th-century coffeehouse demos of Newton’s ideas to today’s TikTok explainers

People often see science as a world apart: cool, rational and untouched by persuasion or performance. In this view, scientists simply discover truth, and truth speaks for itself. But history tells a different story. Scientific theories do not simply reveal themselves; they compete for attention, credibility and uptake. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. once suggested […] … learn more→