Culture

A black and white image split into two sections: a half globe on the left and a crowd of people on the right, with the text "More Humans Are Better" in the center and the number 3 in the top right corner.

The overlooked virtues of a crowded world

In a world of rising cynicism, a celebration of our capacity to create, adapt, and thrive.

Jason Crawford

A graphic titled "Humanity vs. Nature" showing a human evolutionary timeline, biocentrism, ecocentrism, and ethos depictions of nature, including a tree, a bird, and marine life.

Why harmony with nature is a myth

Slowing growth and limiting development isn’t living in harmony with nature—it is surrendering in a battle.

Jason Crawford

Entertainment

How the internet changed news, according to The Onion

Freethink spoke to Onion staffers about parodying news from the print era into the digital age.

Tim Brinkhof and Stephen Johnson

What’s so wrong about sexbots?

These sexbots remember that you are 32 years old, and you like sushi, except on Thursdays — and they can teach us a lot about coexisting with AI.

Alex Pearlman

AI artist Botto has made its first million

AI artist Botto, which hones its taste via a human community, has made a splash in the art market, going from NFTs to Miami.

B. David Zarley

AI creates realistic pictures from pure text

NVIDIA’s new AI can translate text into images.

B. David Zarley

Business

The “great resignation” is a trend that began before the pandemic – and it may be the new normal

The current resignation behavior may seem like a new trend, data shows employee turnover has been rising steadily for the past decade.

Ian O. Williamson

Education

Traditional colleges are recognizing Google career certificates

Google career certificates are now being accepted for college credit at some universities, helping students obtain degrees more cheaply.

Kristin Houser

Music

Apes and NFTs run the first metaverse music group

Universal Music Group has just "signed" KINGSHIP, a band of four NFTs of Bored Apes and Mutant Apes, destined to perform in the metaverse.

Kristin Houser

Food

McDonald’s McPlant takes plant-based meat mainstream

McDonald’s McPlant, a burger with a plant-based meat patty, is now available at select locations in the U.S. for a limited time.

Kristin Houser

Archaeology

Lasers reveal hundreds of Mayan and Olmec ceremonial centers

Archaeologists are hunting for — and finding — previously hidden ancient structures in lidar data collected by planes and drones.

Kristin Houser

Food

Fungus-based “mycoprotein” may be the next future food

Startups around the world are racing to get mycoprotein — food based on fungus — to plates.

B. David Zarley

Blockchain

Crypto and traditional art are merging — and the result is fantastic

The addition of a physical component could help crypto art go mainstream.

Amanda Winkler

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Video

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