David Schmidtchen

"While AI assistance may ease initial learning, it appears to undermine the effortful processes needed for robust learning. These results have important implications of how generative AI tools should be integrated into higher education." sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Robert Pogue Harrison on the varieties of our ignorance go.nybooks.com/4bxQHB1

OPINION | Policy fatalism erodes belief government can act, undermining trust, morale, and expertise. The APS must respond, but constraints mean it cannot rebuild confidence alone. themandarin.com.au/309772-why-pol…

This paper by Novelli et al. shows that metaphors like "black box" and "hallucinations" shape how we regulate AI, often leading to misconceptions. Calls for reframing these patterns as design-based hazards. spkl.io/6015AIvV3 #AI #Regulation #Ethics

Now available! This book is a delectable history of macaroni and cheese, tracing an extraordinary journey of cultural exchange and social change. buff.ly/D7BNBWg #MacAndCheese #FoodHistory #CulinaryHistory #SoulFood #CulturalHistory

Can we really create more cohesive societies by banning everything we deem to be not cohesive? It can be part of the approach, but there's more work to do. @rlwickes @khardyGCI @Griffith_Uni theconversation.com/we-cant-coerce…

Out today, 7 years in the making — a reckoning with what makes a body a person, what makes a planet a world, and what gives meaning to our tender, transient lives: themarginalian.org/traversal/

Leaders who are pushing for four or five days in the office are fixated on the wrong problem. Hybrid work is not a policy challenge — it’s a leadership capability challenge. mitsmr.com/4oNGFke

Perhaps we shouldn’t get too carried away by what machines—notably humanoid robots—*can* do, and keep an eye on what they (still) can’t do. Dexterity still seems a particularly hard challenge, writes @_brianpotter: buff.ly/Ku8BJ8k

“In some ways technology is a great equaliser both within countries and between countries.” Watch this year’s economic science laureate Joel Mokyr talk about the impact of technology, in particular mobile phones, at our Nobel Prize Dialogue event from 2015. Mokyr was awarded the 2025 prize in economic sciences for showing how new technology can drive sustained growth. See the full conversation ‘How will AI change the world?’: youtube.com/watch?v=KUFGWB…

A psychology professor argues that young people, especially Gen Z-ers, are facing an “epidemic of perfectionism,” largely fuelled by social media. nyer.cm/8READOl

Read the original essay here: hedgehogreview.com/issues/lessons…

We don’t give walking a second thought because it’s such a natural part of our lives. It feels automatic, familiar, and almost invisible. But each stumble a robot makes reminds us that we are not machines. wombatsafari.substack.com/p/the-graceful…

Wombat - Cooleman Ridge, this afternoon

We “grab an Uber” or “hop on a train.” The language of movement has shifted from effort to efficiency, from body to machine. Phrases like hoof it, leg it, and Shank’s pony have faded. But what if we’re losing more than just quirky expressions? wombatsafari.substack.com/p/on-shanks-po…

In a world where our attention is being treated as a resource to be captured, caged, commodified, and mined, sauntering is a word whose time has come. wombatsafari.substack.com/p/a-genius-for…

In an age of speed, distraction, and constant productivity, the Cloud Appreciation Society’s motto, “look up,” encourages us to shift our perspective. wombatsafari.substack.com/p/the-art-of-l…

We don’t just walk—we amble, stride, meander, trudge, and pace. Each word for walking captures not only a physical motion but a state of mind, a mood, and more. Walking is more than just a means of getting from A to B. wombatsafari.substack.com/p/our-walking-…

AI can optimise and predict, but it can't wander. It can't pause beside a puddle or forget what it was doing and find something better instead. Walking is not just movement; it’s a reminder of humanness. wombatsafari.substack.com/p/walking-is-s…

🧠🔍What is knowledge? How do we build and transfer it? And how do we make decisions based on different knowledge and beliefs? 👉Watch our brand new research video about Formal and Social Epistemology at #LSEPhilosophy here: youtube.com/watch?v=qQAtjy…