
To understand the future of AI, take a look at the failings of Google Translate
The computer scientists Rich Sutton and Andrew Barto have been recognised for a long track record of influential ideas with this years Turing Award, the most prestigious in the field. Suttons 2019 essay The Bitter Lesson,...

I researched poetry written during COVID – five years on, here’s how people say it helped them
Historically, poets have had less to say about pandemics than you might imagine. Hardly any English-language poetry written during successive waves of bubonic plague focused directly on the effects of the disease, for...

Russia’s economy is stagnating – but that won’t force it to end the war
In recent months, many western media commentators have suggested the Russian economy is in such serious trouble that President Vladimir Putin will soon have little choice but to end the war in Ukraine. In December, the...

Many cities are banning ads for airlines, SUVs and fossil fuels – and yours could be next
Towns and cities are pushing ahead with ambitious climate policies, even as global collaboration on climate breakdown splinters. One flagship example is the proliferation of bans on advertising for highly polluting...

America is becoming a nation of homebodies
In his February 2025 cover story for The Atlantic, journalist Derek Thompson dubbed our current era the anti-social century. He isnt wrong. According to our recent research, the U.S. is becoming a nation of homebodies....

Soon after taking office for a second time, President Donald Trump pardoned anti-abortion activists who had blockaded and restricted access to the entrance of a reproductive health clinic in Washington, D.C., in October...