In recent weeks, the US State Department implemented a policy requiring all university, technical training, or exchange program visa applicants to disclose their social media handles used over the past five years. The policy also requires these applicants to set their profiles to public. This move is an example of governments treating a person’s digital persona as their political identity. […] … learn more→

We live surrounded by stimuli. Our phones vibrate constantly, platforms compete for our attention, and for many young people (and not so young people), reading a full text seems like a feat. As a university professor, I frequently observe that many students fail to fully understand what is being asked of them, not because of […] … learn more→

We know that without emotion there is no learning , but what role do emotions play in educational leadership? Although the concept of emotional intelligence began to be researched in the 1990s by authors such as Peter Salovey and Daniel Goleman , its application in education has gained momentum in the last decade. What once seemed “soft” or accessory is now revealed as the […] … learn more→

What do you think of when it comes to extra terrestrial life? Most popular sci-fi books and TV shows suggest humanoid beings could live on other planets. But when astronomers are searching for extra-terrestrial life, it is usually in the form of emissions from bacteria or other tiny organisms. A new research paper in the […] … learn more→

Badly behaved artificial intelligence (AI) systems have a long history in science fiction. Way back in 1961, in the famous Astro Boy comics by Osamu Tezuka, a clone of a popular robot magician was reprogrammed into a super-powered thief. In the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the shipboard computer HAL 9000 turns out to be more sinister […] … learn more→

AI has made it easier than ever to find information: Ask ChatGPT almost anything, and the system swiftly delivers an answer. But the large language models that power popular tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude were not designed to be accurate or factual. They regularly “hallucinate” and offer up falsehoods as if they were hard facts. […] … learn more→

I bought my first new car at 50 – a Tesla. Now, four years later, I’ve bought a second electric vehicle, a ridiculously yellow EX30 Volvo with a dual motor. Some might question buying new cars in quick succession, but I see it as helping to kickstart the second-hand electric vehicle market. After years of […] … learn more→

Videos of children opening boxes of toys and playing with them have become a feature of online marketing – making stars out of children as young as two. Twelve-year-old influencer Ryan Kaji, for example, earns US$30 million a year on YouTube leading one of the most popular children’s channels. His empire was built on toy unboxing. […] … learn more→

It’s never been easier to stay connected to work. Even when we’re on leave, our phones and laptops keep us tethered. Many of us promise ourselves we won’t check emails during our break. But we do. Being away from the workplace, and even in a new location, is often not enough to detach psychologically. We might […] … learn more→

In late November, Australia’s federal parliament passed landmark legislation banning under-16s from accessing social media. Details remain vague: we don’t have a complete list of which platforms will fall under the legislation, or how the ban will look in practice. However, the government has signalled that trials of age assurance technologies will be central to its enforcement […] … learn more→