When multibillion-dollar AI developer Anthropic released the latest versions of its Claude chatbot last week, a surprising word turned up several times in the accompanying “system card”: spiritual. Specifically, the developers report that, when two Claude models are set talking to one another, they gravitate towards a “‘spiritual bliss’ attractor state”, producing output such as […] … learn more→

Imagine a child reading the story of a refugee girl who crosses the sea to flee a war. By the end of the book, that child has not only learned new words: they have felt fear, hope, anger, relief… This is one of the powers of literature: its ability to make us experience other people’s […] … learn more→

AI has already transformed industries and the way the world works. And its development has been so rapid that it can be hard to keep up. This means that those responsible for dealing with AI’s impact on issues such as safety, privacy and ethics must be equally speedy. But regulating such a fast-moving and complex […] … learn more→

A federal judge in Boston on May 23, 2025, temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that would have revoked Harvard University’s authorization to enroll international students. The directive from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and resulting lawsuit from Harvard have escalated the ongoing conflict between the Trump administration and the Ivy League institution. It’s also the latest step […] … learn more→

Acquiring written language is a complex process that spans an entire school year. And the omnipresence of digital tools requires rethinking how we learn, as screens require a different way of processing information. From notebooks to computers or smartphones, the logic is no longer the same. Here are some ideas for reflection. “Writing is not […] … learn more→

The concept, cool yet maybe a little creepy, is known as mind uploading. Think of it as a way to create a copy of your brain, a transmission of your mind and consciousness into a computer. There you would live digitally, perhaps forever. You’d have an awareness of yourself, you’d retain your memories and still […] … learn more→

Have you heard of the “male technologist” mindset? It may sound familiar, and you may even know such people personally. Design researchers Turkka Keinonen and Nils Ehrenberg have defined the male technologist as someone who is obsessed with concerns about energy, efficiency and reducing labour. This archetype became apparent in my PhD research when I interviewed 12 […] … learn more→

As higher education transforms, administrative burdens are increasing and the race for publications is accelerating. How do academics experience their work today? This is what the major survey “Teachers-researchers: a great sick body” (Enseignants-rechercheurs: un grand corps malade) , published in May 2025 by Le Bord de l’eau, sheds light on. We invite you to read an […] … learn more→

Imagine you are planning the funeral music for a loved one who has died. You can’t remember their favourite song, so you try to login to their Spotify account. Then you realise the account login is inaccessible, and with it has gone their personal history of Spotify playlists, annual “wrapped” analytics, and liked songs curated […] … learn more→

If you’re a fan of the TV show Yellowstone, you’ll know the deal – you earn your place on the ranch by being branded. On the show, this means having a red-hot iron pressed into your flesh, leaving a permanent scar of loyalty to Yellowstone Dutton Ranch and its patriarch, John Dutton. In life imitating art, […] … learn more→