Science & Health
The impact and implications of large language models
Large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Google Bard have attracted a great deal of publicity in recent months …
We need to stop treating AI like humans
The artificial intelligence (AI) pioneer Geoffrey Hinton recently resigned from Google, warning of the dangers of the technology “becoming more intelligent …
Our female genital mutilation laws are broken
A nurse once told me many health professionals don’t report female genital mutilation (FGM) because it could result in children …
Rationalists and circumcision
On 14 April 2023, it will be 10 years since I sent out the very first edition of ‘RSA Daily’. …
Lessons from social science forecasting during the pandemic
Imagine being a policymaker at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. You have to decide which actions to recommend, how …
Multiverse: Betting on what’s beyond the horizon
It’s easy to envisage other universes, governed by slightly different laws of physics, in which no intelligent life, nor indeed …
How amateur scientists are making important discoveries
What images does science conjure up in your mind? You may well be visualising a laboratory, equations scrawled on a …
The future role of human judgement
There is an old Chinese curse, “May you live in an interesting age.” It continues: “They are times of danger …
Why I wrote a book on circumcision
I’ve spent the last 10 years researching and writing a book on circumcision. The first question most people ask me …
The gaping problem at the heart of scientific research
Researchers can’t progress their work without access to very expensive scientific journals. The rebellion against the publishers and their fees …
Success without substance
New Zealander Nigel Richards has won the French Scrabble championship twice. What’s more remarkable than double wins is that Nigel doesn’t …
In defence of nudging
Nudging – the idea that simple changes to how a choice is presented can lead people to make better decisions …