Public debate about artificial intelligence in higher education has largely orbited a familiar worry: cheating. Will students use chatbots to write essays? Can instructors tell? Should universities ban the tech? Embrace it? These concerns are understandable. But focusing so much on cheating misses the larger transformation already underway, one that extends far beyond student misconduct and […] … learn more→

Since its launch in late January 2026, Moltbook has seen AI agents found religions, create subcultures, and launch markets for “digital drugs.” A spectacular experiment, but one in which some of the protagonists are actually infiltrated humans. A new social network called Moltbook has been launched for artificial intelligence, aiming to allow machines to exchange […] … learn more→

The term “social media” has become fossilized in our vocabulary, a linguistic inertia that masks a very different technological and sociological reality. However, social media, as it was originally conceived, is dead. What we consume today are commercial platforms for mass entertainment, built on an architecture that no longer seeks connection between people, but rather […] … learn more→

I spoke in January 2026 with 150 high school students about career options. After explaining my own career as a professor of education, health and behavior, I asked the students a simple question: Would you want to be a teacher? “Why in the world would I want to be a teacher?” one female student said. “My […] … learn more→

For the past decade I have volunteered at St. Francis Inn, a soup kitchen in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. Kensington, for those not from Philly, has long had a reputation for potent but affordable street drugs. Interstate 95 and the Market-Frankford elevated commuter train line provide easy access to the neighborhood for buyers and sellers, and […] … learn more→

For years, social media has operated under a clear premise: participation means being visible. Posting photos, opinions, achievements, or snippets of daily life has become an implicit norm of digital presence. In many contexts, not doing so can even be interpreted as absence, disinterest, or social disconnection. However, a behavior that breaks with this logic […] … learn more→

In economics and planning, there is a thing called the sunk cost fallacy. It comes about when people continue with something that isn’t working because they have put so much effort into it that they don’t want to abandon it. Rather than cutting their losses, they continue because, in part, they can’t let go of the […] … learn more→

Family vacations are more than photo opportunities and hotel stays. They can become powerful learning experiences that shape how children see the world. When families travel with intention, every destination becomes a living classroom. History feels real. Geography becomes visible. Culture becomes personal. Even simple moments, like ordering food in a local market, turn into […] … learn more→

Publicly funded research underpins much of daily life, from policy decisions to innovation and public debate. When research remains inaccessible, its value is diminished. Australia has made real progress on open access to research. In 2024, around 59% of papers authored by researchers in Australia were freely available online. Yet a large and mostly invisible gap remains. […] … learn more→

A relation of cruel optimism exists when something you desire is actually an obstacle to your flourishing. It might involve food, or a kind of love; it might be a fantasy of the good life, or a political project. It might rest on something simpler, too, like a new habit that promises to induce in […] … learn more→