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What is AI slop? A technologist explains this new and largely unwelcome form of online content

  • Written by Adam Nemeroff, Assistant Provost for Innovations in Learning, Teaching, and Technology, Quinnipiac University
imageThis AI-generated image spread far and wide in the wake of Hurricane Helene in 2024.AI-generated image circulated on social media

You’ve probably encountered images in your social media feeds that look like a cross between photographs and computer-generated graphics. Some are fantastical – think Shrimp Jesus – and some are...

Read more: What is AI slop? A technologist explains this new and largely unwelcome form of online content

How Europe’s deforestation law could change the global coffee trade

  • Written by Paul Mwebaze, Research Economist at the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
imageThe beans that created this cup of coffee had a long journey.Guido Mieth/Moment via Getty Images

If your morning can’t begin without coffee, you’re in good company. The world drinks about 2 billion cups of coffee a day. However, a European Union law might soon affect your favorite coffee beans – and the farmers who grow them.

Starti...

Read more: How Europe’s deforestation law could change the global coffee trade

Personal power v. socialized power: What Machiavelli and St. Francis can tell us about modern CEOs

  • Written by William D. Spangler, Associate Professor Emeritus of Management, Binghamton University, State University of New York
imagePower can be a motivator – but not everyone wants the same kind of power.Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Niccolò Machiavelli, the infamous author of “The Prince,” wrote in the 1500s that the ideal leader makes and breaks solemn agreements. He creates alliances with weak allies to defeat a powerful enemy and...

Read more: Personal power v. socialized power: What Machiavelli and St. Francis can tell us about modern CEOs

Adding more green space to a campus is a simple, cheap and healthy way to help millions of stressed and depressed college students

  • Written by Chanam Lee, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University
imageGreen space at schools can benefit generations of students.AzmanL/E+ via Getty Images

Stress on college students can be palpable, and it hits them from every direction: academic challenges, social pressures and financial burdens, all intermingled with their first taste of independence. It’s part of the reason why anxiety and depression are...

Read more: Adding more green space to a campus is a simple, cheap and healthy way to help millions of...

Turkey and the PKK have made historic moves toward peace – now begins the hard diplomatic work

  • Written by Alpaslan Ozerdem, Dean of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University
imageMen watch the announcement of PKK's abandonment of armed struggle on a television screen inside a traditional Turkish tea house, in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Ilyas Akengin/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s peace process is advancing. In August 2025, three months after the Kurdistan Workers’ Party – commonly known as the PKK – announced...

Read more: Turkey and the PKK have made historic moves toward peace – now begins the hard diplomatic work

AI has a hidden water cost − here’s how to calculate yours

  • Written by Leo S. Lo, Dean of Libraries; Advisor to the Provost for AI Literacy; Professor of Education, University of Virginia
imageHow many AI queries does it take to use up a regular plastic water bottle's worth of water?kieferpix/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Artificial intelligence systems are thirsty, consuming as much as 500 milliliters of water – a single-serving water bottle – for each short conversation a user has with the GPT-3 version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT...

Read more: AI has a hidden water cost − here’s how to calculate yours

How to poop outdoors in a way that won’t harm the environment and other hikers

  • Written by Shari Edelson, Ph.D. Candidate in Recreation, Park and Tourism Management, Penn State
imageA pilot program to distribute waste bags to hikers on Mount Elbert in Colorado successfully cut down the amount of human waste on the massive mountain. Shari Edelson, CC BY-ND

If you’re one of the 63 million Americans who went hiking last year, chances are you’ve found yourself needing to go, with no toilet in sight.

Aside from personal...

Read more: How to poop outdoors in a way that won’t harm the environment and other hikers

Balancing kratom’s potential benefits and risks − new legislation in Colorado seeks to minimize harm

  • Written by David Kroll, Professor of Natural Products Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
imageKratom, an herbal supplement, is now being regulated in Colorado.AR30mm/iStock via Getty Images

David Bregger had never heard of kratom before his son, Daniel, 33, died in Denver in 2021 from using what he thought was a natural and safe remedy for anxiety.

By his father’s account, Daniel didn’t know that the herbal product could kill...

Read more: Balancing kratom’s potential benefits and risks − new legislation in Colorado seeks to minimize harm

Are high school sports living up to their ideals?

  • Written by Jedediah Blanton, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport Studies, University of Tennessee
imageMost coaches want to be able to do more than teach their athletes to win faceoffs and dodge defenders.Hannah Foslien/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Coach Smith was an easy hire as the head coach of a new high school lacrosse team in Tennesseee: She had two decades of coaching experience and a doctorate in sport and exercise science.

After...

Read more: Are high school sports living up to their ideals?

How does your body make poop?

  • Written by Brian Robert Boulay, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago
imageYour small intestine is lined with tiny protrusions called villi that play a big role in digestion.Sebastian Kaulitzki/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.


How does your body make poop? Owen,...

Read more: How does your body make poop?

More Articles ...

  1. Pregnant women face tough choices about medication use due to lack of safety data − here’s why medical research cuts will make it worse
  2. We’ve been tracking the number of Americans who identify as transgender – soon, there will be no reliable way to measure them
  3. How the conservative Federalist Society will affect the Supreme Court for decades to come
  4. Earth-size stars and alien oceans – an astronomer explains the case for life around white dwarfs
  5. As National Park System visitor numbers hit record highs, here’s how visitors can adapt for a better experience
  6. American capitalism is being remade by state power
  7. FDA approves updated COVID-19 vaccines with new restrictions, potentially limiting access for healthy children
  8. Supporting religious diversity on campus is a surprising consensus among faculty across the red-blue divide
  9. When federal courts fail to punish lawyers for potential misconduct, states can step in
  10. Latin American literature contains warnings for American universities that yield to Trump
  11. Escaped slaves on St. Croix hid their settlements so well, they still haven’t been found – archaeologists using new mapping technology are on the hunt
  12. When the government can see everything: How one company – Palantir – is mapping the nation’s data
  13. Pregnancy brings unique challenges for people with autoimmune diseases – but with early planning, pregnancy outcomes can be greatly improved
  14. How stripping diversity, equity and inclusion from health care may make Americans sicker
  15. Why religious groups are pushing for psychedelics as sacrament
  16. Trump’s firing of Fed governor threatens central bank independence − and that isn’t good news for sound economic stewardship (or battling inflation)
  17. Trump’s push to fire Fed governor threatens central bank independence − and that isn’t good news for sound economic stewardship (or battling inflation)
  18. The US really is unlike other rich countries when it comes to job insecurity – and AI could make it even more ‘exceptional’
  19. Active Clubs are white supremacy’s new, dangerous frontier
  20. Squash has been played in Philly for 125 years − a sports psychologist explains why it’s one of the city’s best-kept secrets
  21. College students are bombarded by misinformation, so this professor taught them fact-checking 101 − here’s what happened
  22. Like Reagan, Trump is slashing US environment regulations, but his strategy may have a far deeper impact
  23. Like Reagan, Trump is slashing environment regulations, but his strategy may have a far deeper impact
  24. Israel’s killing of journalists follows a pattern of silencing Palestinian media that stretches back to 1967
  25. Hurricane Katrina: 3 painful lessons for emergency management are increasingly important 20 years later
  26. Orwell’s opposition to totalitarianism was rooted in his support for freeing workers from poverty and exploitation
  27. Why is the object of golf to play as little golf as possible?
  28. Rural women are at a higher risk of violence − and less likely to get help
  29. Forget the warm fuzzies of finding common ground – to beat polarization, try changing your expectations
  30. From public confession to private penance: How Catholic confession has evolved over centuries
  31. Monsoon flooding has killed hundreds in Pakistan – climate change is pushing the rainy season from blessing to looming catastrophe
  32. How federal officials talk about health is shifting in troubling ways – and that change makes me worried for my autistic child
  33. Netanyahu remains unmoved by Israel’s lurch toward pariah status − but at home and abroad, Israelis are suffering the consequences
  34. Misunderstood Malthus: The English thinker whose name is synonymous with doom and gloom has lessons for today
  35. The ‘security guarantee’ paradox: Too weak and it won’t protect Ukraine; too robust and Russia won’t accept it
  36. A straight face, with a wink – the subtle humor of deadpan photography
  37. The first stars may not have been as uniformly massive as astronomers thought
  38. Trump’s Epstein problem is real: New poll shows many in his base disapprove of his handling of the files, and some supporters are having second thoughts about electing him
  39. A Detroit street is named in honor of Vincent Chin – his death mobilized Asian American activists nationwide
  40. Tit-for-tat gerrymandering wars won’t end soon – what happens in Texas and California doesn’t stay there
  41. Wildfire disasters are increasingly in the news, yet less land is burning globally – here’s why
  42. By ‘focusing on the family,’ James Dobson helped propel US evangelicals back into politics – making the Religious Right into the cultural force it is today
  43. Parenting strategies are shifting as neuroscience brings the developing brain into clearer focus
  44. ‘These people do it naturally’: President Trump’s views on immigrant farmworkers reflect a long history of how farming has been idealized and practiced in America
  45. Studying philosophy does make people better thinkers, according to new research on more than 600,000 college grads
  46. Why America still needs public schools
  47. Hulk Hogan’s daughter can’t write herself out of the wrestler’s will – but she can refuse to take his money
  48. State Department layoffs could hurt US companies’ ability to compete globally – an economist explains why
  49. Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ still speaks to a nation vacillating between hope and despair
  50. Pediatricians’ association recommends COVID-19 vaccines for toddlers and some older children, breaking with CDC guidance