EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY Is Artificial Intelligence Inevitable? Key Takeaway: The hype surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) is a long-standing belief in technological determinism, which suggests that once a technology is developed, its widespread adoption is unavoidable. However, this perspective is oversimplified and misleading when it comes to AI. Evidence of AI’s impact on productivity remains sparse, and there’s little consensus on its utility […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY The A.I. Energy Dilemma Key Takeaway: Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries but also causing significant environmental costs. As AI systems require vast computational power, they increase greenhouse gas emissions, making it difficult for companies like Google to achieve net-zero goals by 2030. As traditional energy sources struggle with intermittency, tech leaders are exploring nuclear power, particularly nuclear fusion, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK The Comeback Of China’s Tech Billionaires: A New Dawn Or Controlled Market? Key Takeaway: Pony Ma, co-founder of Tencent Holdings, has regained the title of China’s richest individual with a net worth of over A$65 billion. His rise reflects Beijing’s control over its private sector, which aligns with the state’s goals in China’s unique “socialist market economy.” Tencent’s success, including the AAA video game “Black Myth: Wukong,” […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK The Real Inspiration Behind House Of The Dragon Key Takeaway: HBO’s “House of the Dragon” explores medieval conflicts, values, and societal norms in the fictional world of Westeros. The show reflects the enduring issues of hereditary succession and medieval misogyny, highlighting the intractable feuds between the Bracken and Blackwood families. The show also highlights the impact of elite rivalries on the common people, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Science Of Beauty Key Takeaway: Beauty is more important to us than we often realize, as it can have a compelling effect on our experience and behavior. Beauty emerges from properties of the object itself, such as proportion, symmetry, and curvature, as well as the relationship between the object and the viewer, including the degree of familiarity. Aesthetics […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE Medical Care In Space Key Takeaway: Space exploration is becoming more accessible due to advancements in technologies and partnerships, such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Sierra Space. However, new challenges arise, such as maintaining astronaut health and performance. As spaceflight becomes more accessible, astronaut crews will need access to medical care over longer voyages and on commercial flights. Private […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE How To Tell If Conspiracy Theory Is False Key Takeaway: Conspiracy theories are prevalent and can involve various factors. People believe false conspiracy theories for various reasons, such as the existence of real conspiracies. However, unfounded conspiracy theories often lack evidence and substitute elements that should be red flags for skeptics. To vet a claim, one should seek out evidence, test the allegation, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK What Vietnam Can Teach Us About The Vulnerabilities Of Banks Key Takeaway: Vietnam’s businesswoman Truong My Lan was sentenced to death for taking out $44 billion in fraudulent loans from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) by bypassing a law that prevents anyone from owning more than 5% of a bank’s shares. The loans made up 93% of the bank’s entire lending portfolio. The case highlights the […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK STRATEGY Humility Is The Secret To Leadership? Key Takeaway: A study has found that humble leaders can become more promotable by growing others through a “humility route”. Human capital theory suggests that employees’ value can be enhanced by investing in their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Humble leaders focus on the learning and growth of their followers, creating human capital value for themselves. […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY The Inherent Risks Of A.I. Key Takeaway: Leading scientists and technologists often make terrible predictions about the direction of innovation, leading to misalignments between a company’s economic incentives to profit from its proprietary AI model and society’s interests in how the AI model should be monetised and deployed. Focusing on the economic risks from AI is not just about preventing […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Future Merging Of Mind And Machine Key Takeaway: Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology is rapidly redefining human potential, with breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and machine learning enabling the translation of thoughts into action. The brain is a complex network of over 80 billion neurons, processing thoughts, memories, emotions, and sensory inputs. Advances in AI, miniaturized electronics, and neuroimaging have led to the […] Written by Empirics Asia April 16, 2025April 16, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Hard Problem Of A.I. Key Takeaway: AI systems are often portrayed as human, but they are not sentient, conscious, or feeling. They lack the interoceptive feedback that shapes human cognition and are not able to understand the content they produce. This disconnect creates a gulf between real consciousness and synthetic simulation. The illusion of humanity projected by AI becomes […] Written by Empirics Asia April 15, 2025April 15, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Future Tech Of Music Is Space-Bending Key Takeaway: Researchers have developed a technology that creates “audible enclaves” in open air, creating highly focused, localized zones of sound. These isolated audio pockets allow sound to materialize only at a precise point in space, unheard by others nearby. This breakthrough could revolutionize public communication, entertainment, military applications, and office design. The process, known […] Written by Empirics Asia April 9, 2025April 9, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Promise And Peril Of A.I. Therapy Key Takeaway: AI-powered mental health tools, such as chatbots and self-help apps, offer immediate emotional support to those in need. However, these tools cannot replace the complexity, depth, and ethical safeguards of human therapy, especially when dealing with serious mental health issues. AI lacks emotional understanding, cultural context, and real-time adaptability, which can be dangerous […] Written by Empirics Asia April 8, 2025April 8, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Humanity’s Greatest Threat Might Come From Above Key Takeaway: The discovery of asteroid 2024 YR4 has reignited fears about cosmic threats, highlighting the need for a global planetary defense system. Political scientist Daniel Deudney warns that unchecked expansion into space, especially with geopolitical rivalries, could be a recipe for global disaster. The fear of space, its vastness, and existential indifference is deeply […] Written by Empirics Asia April 7, 2025April 7, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How Cereal Sparked The Plant Based Revolution Key Takeaway: John Harvey Kellogg, a controversial doctor, played a significant role in the development of the plant-based movement. He combined the Progressive Era with “biologic living” and established an experimental kitchen to develop alternatives to meat. In 1896, the U.S. Department of Agriculture asked Kellogg to create a plant-based protein that could rival meat […] Written by Empirics Asia April 4, 2025April 4, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Are Viruses Alive? Key Takeaway: The question of whether viruses are alive or not has become increasingly complex due to the lack of a universally accepted definition of life. Viruses are neither truly alive nor completely inanimate, as they cannot replicate on their own and have no metabolism or self-contained cellular structure. They can, however, hijack a host […] Written by Empirics Asia April 3, 2025April 3, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Rethinking Education Key Takeaways: The Industrial model of education that fueled the modern era and its dizzying reach did its job incredibly well. In his writing, Flynn illustrates study after study, spanning nations and decades, in which modern educational gift of abstraction — a transcendent sign of intelligence, as we saw in Raven’s Matrices — has been […] Written by Anthony Fieldman March 2, 2022October 19, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How China Is Transforming Its Economy Through Learning I highly recommend reading the McKinsey Global Institute’s new report, “Reskilling China: Transforming The World’s Largest Workforce Into Lifelong Learners”, which focuses on the country’s biggest employment challenge, re-training its workforce and the adoption of practices such as lifelong learning to address the growing digital transformation of its productive fabric. How to transform the country […] Written by Enrique Dans February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Why You’re Not Seeing Success With Influencer Marketing With the new year around the corner, now is a good time to re-evaluate your past marketing strategies and gear up for the year ahead. For some businesses, influencer marketing has simply not seemed to live up to its lofty promises of genuine engagement, credibility, and transparency. Some have claimed that it has been failing […] Written by Michael Tan January 14, 2021January 15, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
A New Philosophy of Business I’m about to ask you to take a mental leap. For the next 8 minutes, suspend your notions of what a business is, and I’ll propose a new lens for you to look through. There are a lot of questions asked around what “community” means for business. “Where should community fit in my organization?” and […] Written by Empirics Asia September 5, 2018September 5, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked