Culture & Society
Art, media, philosophy and the social effects of technology.
How Reading Books Adds Years to Your Life
Exploring research on how reading books contributes to mental health, cognitive function, and longevity in older adults.
India's Cheapest Video AI Just Learned What Global Models Missed About Culture
How Avataar AI's Varya model, trained on curated Indian cultural data, delivers affordable, context-aware video generation at 20x lower cost than global competitors.
Vint Cerf’s Favorite Place Is the Uncharted Future of the Open Internet
How Vint Cerf’s metaphor of ‘the place he’s never been before’ captures the uncharted frontier of AI agent identity and open internet infrastructure.
Redefining Streaming: How MoQ Scales Real-Time Media
Explore why real-time Media over QUIC (MoQ) is becoming essential for Indian AI cloud infrastructure companies running agentic AI workflows, and how the protocol solves streaming scaling challenges.
Midjourney’s Water Tank Leap: How an AI Art Studio Ended Up Building a Full-Body Ultrasound Scanner
San Francisco’s Midjourney has pivoted from AI image generation to full-body ultrasound imaging, partnering with Butterfly Network and building a water-coupled scanner with 358,000 ultrasonic elements—while betting on a spa-like rollout in 2027. Here’s what we know, what’s missing, and why this mix-up matters.
First Complete Reading of an Ancient Herculaneum Scroll Unveils Lost Stoic Philosophy
The Vesuvius Challenge team has achieved the first end-to-end reading of a sealed Herculaneum papyrus scroll — PHerc.1667 — using AI-assisted virtual unwrapping and synchrotron X-ray imaging, revealing a previously unknown Stoic treatise on ethics sealed for nearly two millennia.
The $1.45B Bet That AI's Next Chapter Isn't About Language
A startup co-founded by autonomous vehicle veterans leverages physics-grounded world models to power robotics, gaming, and AI — backed by Amazon and top-tier investors.
Micron’s AI-Fueled Surge Isn’t Just a Bounce — It’s a Bet Against History
How Boise-based Micron is rewriting the semiconductor playbook by locking in long-term contracts with hyperscalers — but whether this breakout lasts depends on how fast AI’s hunger for memory outpaces its ability to build more.
Beyond the Beat: How Infants Bridge Music and Movement in Their First Year
A new study leveraging EEG and AI motion-tracking reveals that while infants process music early, the sophisticated neural pathway required to translate musical perception into movement doesn't fully mature until around 12 months.
Beyond the Screen: How Toy Story 5 Navigates Modern Childhood
An analysis of how the latest Pixar film uses the beloved franchise to explore the complexities of children's relationship with technology, from social connection to the importance of imaginative play.
Nova's Test Campaign and the Dream of Personal Flight
A grounded look at the real barriers — not just tech — to personal aerial transit, from noise regulations to battery physics, using SpaceX’s Nova test campaign as a lens.
Google Just Let You Delete Your Search History—But Should You?
Google’s new privacy controls let you erase your search history and mute recommendations—but the real question is whether you’ll ever notice the difference.