Mary Martin

For 24 hours a day, if we’re upset about something, we can reach out and have our feelings validated,” says Laestadius. “That has an incredible risk of dependency.”

What happens when what we’re thinking becomes increasingly transparent to technology and therefore to the rest of the world?

The Empathy Trap: Lessons from Contemplative Medicine | Jud Brewer

“When we can see how being with suffering doesn't deplete us, and, in fact, energizes us... then also we can know what our limits are, instead of trying to be the hero.”

Cut the bullshit: why GenAI systems are neither collaborators nor tutors

A chatbot helped more people access mental-health services

An experiment seven years in the making has uncovered new insights into the nature of consciousness and challenges two prominent, competing scientific theories: Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT).

1. IIT suggests that consciousness emerges when information inside a system (like the brain) is highly connected

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In other words, rather than trying to please humans, Scientist AI could be designed to prioritize honesty.

Quanta interviewed 19 current and former NLP researchers to tell that story. From experts to students, tenured academics to startup founders, they describe a series of moments — dawning realizations, elated encounters and at least one “existential crisis” — that changed their world. And ours.

If an AI companion becomes someone’s most consistent emotional presence, the right question isn’t “how do we stop this?” It’s “what does that say about the world around them?” Technological relationships are not new. What’s new is how effective they’ve become; and how clearly they mirror the gaps we’ve refused to address.

We’ve tried prohibition bef... See more