On Feb. 22, 2020, “Mad” Mike Hughes towed a homemade rocket to the Mojave Desert and launched himself into the sky. His goal? To view the flatness of the Earth from space. This was his third attempt, and tragically it was fatal. Hughes crashed shortly after takeoff and died. Hughes’ nickname – Mad Mike – might […] … learn more→

Continuous notifications, urgent headlines, chained short videos, streaming series , personalized ads, after-hours work emails… Today, our brain is no longer a serene and orderly space, but a constant battlefield where hundreds of actors fiercely compete to win our attention. The economist and Nobel laureate Herbert Simon already warned in the 1970s of a paradox that is central today: […] … learn more→

The Victorian government has announced it will send social workers to 20 of the state’s schools to try to reduce violent youth crime. It will spend A$5.6 million on “targeted” schools next year. The aim is to “intervene early in the lives of children who are heading down the wrong path […] drifting towards violence, crime and […] … learn more→

Over the past few years, social media has become a fundamental tool for socialization among young people. Who could have imagined, years ago, the relevance and role these digital platforms would play in people’s lives, perhaps even more so among children and teenagers? Mobile phones and their apps are being used at increasingly younger ages. Nine […] … learn more→

In the most talked-about film from the final year of the 20th century, “The Matrix,” a computer hacker named Neo finds that the world he lives and works in isn’t real. It’s a virtual reality, created by artificial intelligence. At the time, the idea seemed like science fiction. In the years since, however, that concept […] … learn more→

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used to preserve the voices and stories of the dead. From text-based chatbots that mimic loved ones to voice avatars that let you “speak” with the deceased, a growing digital afterlife industry promises to make memory interactive, and, in some cases, eternal. In our research, recently published in Memory, Mind & […] … learn more→

The federal government has just released an expert review to try and prevent bullying in schools. One of the greatest areas of concern is cyberbullying, which is alarmingly common among young people. As federal Education Minister Jason Clare said over the weekend, […] now it’s just not happening in the playground, it’s not push and shove in the […] … learn more→

In Canadian society, the narrative of multiculturalism can lean toward a “colour-blind” ideology — a comforting idea that race doesn’t matter and everyone is treated the same — even though such narratives mask persistent inequalities. They may also undermine efforts to address structural racism. Yet race is always present, regardless of whether it’s consciously acknowledged. It surfaces in questions […] … learn more→

People’s lives are more enmeshed with digital systems than ever before, increasing users’ vulnerability and insecurity. From data leaks like the 2017 Equifax data breach to the more recent cyberattack on British retailer Marks & Spencer, business operations and data on the internet continue to be vulnerable. There are good reasons to believe that little will be done […] … learn more→

Parents struggle to help teens deal with online racism. Online racism is different from in-person racism because the people behaving that way usually hide behind fake names, making it hard to stop them. Studies found that teens of color see more untargeted racism – memes, jokes, comments – and racism targeting others online than racism targeted directly […] … learn more→