Science & Health
We risk a deluge of AI-written ‘science’ pushing corporate interests
Back in the 2000s, the American pharmaceutical firm Wyeth was sued by thousands of women who had developed breast cancer after taking ...
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AI slop: An unwelcome form of online content
You’ve probably encountered images in your social media feeds that look like a cross between photographs and computer-generated graphics. Some ...
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It’s fantasy to think AI can be free from bias and ideology
In July, the United States government made it clear that artificial intelligence (AI) companies wanting to do business with the White House ...
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Science versus ownership: The true value of fossils
Last year, a Stegosaurus nicknamed ‘Apex’ sold at auction for US$40.5 million. A juvenile Ceratosaurus fetched US$30.5 million just last month. Supporters of ...
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The dangers of exponential growth
António Guterres understands something that most world leaders do not. He knows that exponential growth is unrelenting and immensely destructive. ...
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The fast lane to a renewable energy future
An academic living in cold Canberra retired his gas heaters a few years ago and installed electric heat pumps for ...
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When AI audits the scholarly record, what will happen to public trust in science?
Self-correction is fundamental to science. One of its most important forms is peer review, when anonymous experts scrutinise research before it ...
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Why the British accepted evolutionary science and Americans didn’t
One hundred years after a Tennessee teacher named John Scopes started a legal battle over what the state’s schools can ...
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Reproducibility: A foundation of scientific credibility
Many people have been there. The dinner party is going well until someone decides to introduce a controversial topic. In ...
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Just like magic: Tapping into the secrets of the human mind
Magicians have long been masters of mind games, turning our brain’s quirks and blind spots into moments of pure astonishment. ...
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Separating facts from fake news in the realm of health and nutrition
The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated a vast landscape of misinformation about many topics, science and health chief among them. Since then, information overload continues unabated, and ...
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In science we trust
Public trust in scientists is vital. It can help us with personal decisions on matters like health and provide evidence-based ...
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