This paper aims to dissect the phenomenon of AI hype in light of its core mechanisms, drawing comparisons between the current wave and historical episodes of AI hype, concluding that the current hype is historically unmatched in terms of magnitude, scale and planetary and social costs. We identify and discuss socio-technical mechanisms fueling AI... See more
Comparing VR to non-VR breathing interventions, there were no significant differences in overall mental health, stress, anxiety or mood, nor in HR or HRV. There was no evidence that participants liked VR breathing interventions more than non-VR, nor would use them more in the future. These results suggest that there is no evidence that VR breathing... See more
We now know that the brain’s capacity to learn, to adapt, to change in response to experience is so fundamental that it strikes the wrong note to say that an activity (like meditation) ‘changes the brain’ as if such change is special or unusual. In fact, everything we do changes the brain on some level. Or rather, the brain is constantly changing,... See more
Asking people to change themselves instead of changing the work environment around them is a strategy that not only wastes resources but may also infuriate employees, who feel like all the responsibility for dealing with a toxic work environment and unrealistic demands rests on their shoulders alone.
You can’t really be in favour of both democracy and billionaires, because democracy requires equal opportunity in order to participate, and extreme wealth gives its holders unfathomable advantages with little accountability.
when the trauma label has been applied by outside mores – when an event like an explosion, an assault or a sexual event has taken place and our culture insists that it be traumatising. Sometimes this extraneous narrative resonates and provides a sense of relief, but in other instances disagreement and refusal of the label can lead to judgement from... See more
Unlike tearing down monuments to white supremacy in the American South, purging statistics of the ghosts of its eugenicist past is not a straightforward proposition.