Of art and artifice

In a landscape increasingly saturated with instant content, the verified effort of a human creator is shifting from a baseline expectation to a highly coveted, bespoke quality. Ultimately, what we value about art is not whether it’s perfect, but its ability to connect us with another human being.

The risks and rewards of AI biology

Artificial intelligence is rapidly learning to autonomously design and run biological experiments, but the systems intended to govern those capabilities are struggling to keep pace.

Welcome to workslop!

The New Zealand government’s promised overhaul of its public service has made much of the potential of artificial intelligence to streamline operations and compensate for savage cuts in the workforce, so will it work?

Don’t get fooled again

AI generated images, videos and articles are everywhere, so how can you recognise them as the auto-generated slop they are and avoid them in future?

Godbots

The phenomenon of unofficial religious AI chatbots – also known as “godbots” – is a recent development offering both opportunity and danger for both users and society.

AI in health education

If GenAI is to play a meaningful role in preparing future health professionals, then it needs to be judged with the same care we apply to the rest of health practice.

How the Pope took on AI

The Vatican has a chequered history with regard to its reaction to scientific and medical developments, but the Pope’s encyclical on artificial intelligence was the product of widespread expert consultation.

Magnificent humanity

Pope Leo XIV has just declared artificial intelligence one of the defining moral challenges of our time in his first encyclical. Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity) argues the technology must serve humanity, rather than concentrate power or weaken human dignity.

AI ‘nothingburgers’

Every company is an AI company now, hyping up their latest product as the next big thing, so why do so many of these fail to deliver any benefits at all?

Cracking down on AI slop

The pre-print science website arXiv has announced that researchers who put their names to papers which included errors clearly generated by artificial intelligence will face a year-long ban and ongoing restrictions.

AI chatbots and mental health

AI chatbots are used by almost a billion people around the world for all kinds of purposes, but what happens when people rely on chatbots during moments of mental distress and psychological vulnerability rather than their doctors, families or friends?

The evolution of AI

What happens when natural selection, the most powerful process driving change in the living world, shapes artificial intelligence, perhaps the most potent technology humanity has invented?
We might be about to find out.