A new paper from researchers at Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University finds that as humans increasingly rely on generative AI in their work, they use less critical thinking, which can result in the deterioration of cognitive faculties that ought to be preserved.[A] key irony of automation is that by mechanising routine tasks and leaving exception-handling to the human user, you deprive the user of the routine opportunities to practice their judgement and strengthen their cognitive musculature, leaving them atrophied and unprepared when the exceptions do arise, the researchers wrote.The researchers recruited 319 knowledge workers for the study, who self reported 936 first-hand examples of using generative AI in their job, and asked them to complete a survey about how they use generative AI (including what tools and prompts), how confident they are the generative AI tools ability to do the specific work task, how confident they are in evaluating the AIs output, and how confident they are in their abilities in completing the same work task without the AI tool. Some tasks cited in the paper include a teacher using the AI image generator DALL-E to create images for a presentation about hand washing at school, a commodities trader using ChatGPT to generate recommendations for new resources and strategies to explore to hone my trading skills, and a nurse who verified a ChatGPT-generated educational pamphlet for newly diagnosed diabetic patients.Overall, these workers self-reported that the more confidence they had in AI doing the task, the more they observed their perceived enaction of critical thinking. When users had less confidence in the AIs output, they used more critical thinking and had more confidence in their ability to evaluate and improve the quality of the AIs output and mitigate the consequences of AI responses.The data shows a shift in cognitive effort as knowledge workers increasingly move from task execution to oversight when using GenAI, the researchers wrote. Surprisingly, while AI can improve efficiency, it may also reduce critical engagement, particularly in routine or lower-stakes tasks in which users simply rely on AI, raising concerns about long-term reliance and diminished independent problem-solving.The researchers also found that users with access to GenAI tools produce a less diverse set of outcomes for the same task, compared to those without. This tendency for convergence reflects a lack of personal, contextualised, critical and reflective judgement of AI output and thus can be interpreted as a deterioration of critical thinking.The researchers also noted some unsurprising conditions that make workers use more or less critical thinking and pay attention to the quality of the AI outputs. For example, workers who felt crunched for time used less critical thinking, while workers in high-stakes scenarios and workplaces who were worried about harm caused by faulty outputs used more critical thinking.So, does this mean AI is making us dumb, is inherently bad, and should be abolished to save humanity's collective intelligence from being atrophied? Thats an understandable response to evidence suggesting that AI tools are reducing critical thinking among nurses, teachers, and commodity traders, but the researchers perspective is not that simple. As they correctly point out, humanity has a long history of offloading cognitive tasks to new technologies as they emerge and that people are always worried these technologies will destroy human intelligence.Generative AI tools [...] are the latest in a long line of technologies that raise questions about their impact on the quality of human thought, a line that includes writing (objected to by Socrates), printing (objected to by Trithemius), calculators (objected to by teachers of arithmetic), and the Internet, the researcher wrote. Such consternation is not unfounded. Used improperly, technologies can and do result in the deterioration of cognitive faculties that ought to be preserved.I, for example, am old enough to remember a time when I memorized the phone numbers of many friends and family members. The only number I remember now that all those contacts are saved on my phone is my own. I also remember when I first moved to San Francisco for college I bought a little pocket map and eventually learned to navigate the city and which Muni busses to take where. There are very few places I can get to today without Google Maps.I dont feel particularly dumb for outsourcing my brains phonebook to a digital contacts list, but the same kind of outsourcing could be dangerous in a critical job where someone is overrelying on AI tools, stops using critical thinking, and incorporates bad outputs into their work. As one of the biggest tech companies in the world, and the biggest investor in OpenAI, Microsoft is pot committed to the rapid development of generative AI tools, so unsurprisingly the researchers here have some thoughts about how to develop AI tools without making us all incredibly dumb. To avoid that situation, the researchers suggest developing AI tools with this problem in mind and design them so they motivate users to use critical thinking.GenAI tools could incorporate features that facilitate user learning, such as providing explanations of AI reasoning, suggesting areas for user refinement, or offering guided critiques, the researchers wrote. The tool could help develop specific critical thinking skills, such as analysing arguments, or cross-referencing facts against authoritative sources. This would align with the motivation enhancing approach of positioning AI as a partner in skill development.Emanuel Maiberg is interested in little known communities and processes that shape technology, troublemakers, and petty beefs. Email him at emanuel@404media.coMore from Emanuel Maiberg

Cap table management firm Carta made headlines in 2020 when its former marketing VP Emily Kramer filed a lawsuit alleging gender discrimination and retaliation.That case was settled in 2023. But since then, Carta has settled two other lawsuits filed by women who worked at the firm and alleged sexual harassment and discrimination, legal filings seen by TechCrunch show.On January 9, 2025, Carta settled a 2023 lawsuit from former sales manager Alexandra Rogers, who alleged that Cartas CRO Jeff Perry groped her thigh and her leg on two separate occasions. She was fired less than 2 months after reporting the alleged sexual harassment to HR, the complaint alleges.Carta and Perry who was personally named in Rogers complaint have strongly denied any wrongdoing. Perry filed a defamation counter complaint in October 2023 against Rogers. That case is now fully dismissed following the settlement. Carta confirmed to TechCrunch that the matter has been confidentially resolved without any admission of liability.Carta has always been committed to equality in the workplace and fair treatment of all its employees, Carta VP Communications Amanda Taggart told TechCrunch. Rogers lawyers did not respond to a request for comment from TechCrunch.The Rogers case marks the third time Carta settled a lawsuit from a former female employee in San Franciscos Superior court.Carta also settled a complaint from a former account executive named Amanda Sheets in November 2023, according to another legal filing, TechCrunch is reporting for the first time.In her complaint, Sheets claimed she was fired for trying to work remotely despite suffering from chronic migraines, while some of her male co-workers had been allowed to work from home without any issues. Sheets alleged she was denied accommodations for her disability and was the subject of sex discrimination.Sheets complaint (like Rogers) named Perry personally, based on him allegedly working on her remote request and asking her to fill out a new form. Carta, which denies Sheets claims, strongly disputes Perrys inclusion in the suit and filed a motion to have Perry dismissed from the case altogether, it told TechCrunch.However, before a ruling on that motion was made, all parties agreed to settle. Sheets lawyers did not return a request for comment.Carta has previously come under scrutiny for how women and others are treated at the company.In 2020, current and former employees told The New York Times they had been sidelined, demoted, or given pay cuts after voicing concerns about the way the company is run. In 2023, Business Insider reported that Carta had hired someone in 2020 to clean up a toxic, boys club culture at the firm (in that employees words.)But Ward went on the offensive in 2023, publishing a Medium post implying hes been targeted by ambitious reporters who want to build up their careers by exposing bad behavior at companies. His post was criticized for inadvertently alerting people to bad press about Carta.

If you want to relive Kendrick Lamars headline-making Super Bowl halftime show, Apple Music just dropped a replay of the performance in its surround sound-like Spatial Audio.Since Apple currently sponsors the Super Bowl halftime show, the company has permission to republish these musical spectacles but this is better than just a YouTube video of the event. Fans complain each year about the TV broadcasts poor sound mix of these highly anticipated performances, but Apple Musics support for Dolby Atmos means fans can listen to the show in a format with more integrity.Apple Music has uploaded each Super Bowl halftime show in Spatial Audio since 2023, when the company began sponsoring the event so the recent shows from Rihanna and Usher are also available in better quality than the original broadcast.Lamar took home five trophies at the Grammy Awards last week, including major wins for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. With twenty-two Grammys, Lamar is one of the most decorated musicians in the industry but President Donald Trump wasnt enthused with the rappers performance, reportedly leaving the stadium in the middle of the politically-charged set.While Lamars halftime show may have offered political statement, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently donated $1 million to Trumps inauguration fund. He sat behind the president on inauguration day alongside other tech bigwigs like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos who also donated millions.

The shows take top honors for Best Animated Feature, Best VFX, Vest Production Design, and Best Animated Series, respectively, at the February 7 ceremony.

Last week, organizers of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) College of Architectures Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP) announced five finalists for the 2025 award. The five projects come from Argentina, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The 2025 MCHAP finalists are: Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO; adamo-faiden; Colectivo C733; 5468796 Architecture; and Eskew Dumez Ripple, Marlon Blackwell Architects, and Andropogon Associates.The submission by Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIOan aquarium in Mazatln, Mexicomay already be familiar to AN readers: the concrete masterpiece was reviewed by Suleman Anaya last year. Meanwhile, adamo-faiden recently appeared in AN Interior, and projects by Eskew Dumez Ripple and Marlon Blackwell Architects regularly appear in AN in print and online.Below are the five finalists, coupled with excerpts from the architects project statements. A winner will be named on May 5. Centro de Investigacin Mar de CortsTatiana Bilbao ESTUDIOMazatlan, MexicoFor us, the building had to transmit to those who enter it the idea that we are part of nature and make explicit howarchitecture can become a means to reintegrate us into our ecosystem, allowing us, as a species, to remain on this planet. We started by imagining that the aquarium was a ruin and that the ecosystems of the Sea of Cortez had taken over. The aquarium offers an educational tour of the marine and coastal ecosystems of the Sea of Cortez through educational programs, exhibits, laboratory, auditorium, public plazas, administrative areas, and conservation zones for endemic species. Innovatively designed to merge marine and terrestrial elements, the Aquarium departs from traditional architectural norms. Large marine tanks display diverse species, encouraging visitor interaction and observation, while a conservation program focuses on the rehabilitation of marine species.Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIOClnica Veterinaria Guayaquil by adamo-faiden (Javier Agustin Rojas)Clnica Veterinaria Guayaquiladamo-faidenBuenos Aires, ArgentinaSuch is the case of the Guayaquil Veterinary Clinic, built from the recycling of an urban house from the beginning of the 20th century. The demolition of its central baywhere the circulatory system was originally locatedgave way to the creation of a new semi-covered passage that connects the street with a garden open to the community. A concrete floor with exposed stone designed for pets crosses this space where the vegetation and the outside climate are determining elements. The side bays organized on two levels open onto the central passage. On the lower floor they organize the store and the veterinary clinics while on the upper floor they arrange the laboratory, the X-ray room and the operating room.adamo-faiden Ecoparque Bacalar by Colectivo C733 (Rafael Gamo)Ecoparque BacalarColectivo C733Bacalar, MexicoThe projects main strategy is to reduce the requested program and minimize the impact of human activity on the sites rich flora and fauna. To achieve this, the design is based on precision and lightness, with a focus on maintaining the integrity of the surrounding ecosystem. The centerpiece of the project, a squared 800-meter long pier, was designed with varying heights to avoid disturbing the mangroves while still providing visitors with an elevated view of the lagoon. The solid parts of the pier house facilities such as a research laboratory and services area, while the shade of tall trees covers an open plain. One of the projects innovative aspects is the use of certified local wood for the structural system.Colectivo C733Pumphouse by 5468796 Architecture (James Brittain)Pumphouse5468796 ArchitectureWinnipeg, CanadaTwo interventions made the project viable: repurposing the capacity of the original gantry crane rails to suspend a floating floor above the equipment below; and proposing an ultra-thin residential block on the 40-foot sliver of land between the pumphouse and street. Unlocking these two potentials, along with a larger residential building on the opposite end of the pumphouse, altogether made the project financially feasible and socially meaningful.5468796 Architecture Thaden School (Timothy Hursley)Thaden SchoolEskew Dumez Ripple | Marlon Blackwell Architects | Andropogon Associates Bentonville, ArkansasThe Thaden School project emerges from a comprehensive understanding of its needs and aspirations, encapsulating a visionary spatial program that seamlessly integrates both interior and exterior spaces. The spatial layout is meticulously crafted to adhere to the vision that the school might provide a learning environment beyond benchmarks and standards, a place where landscape and buildings might work together in a closed loop of production and consumptionthe goal being not to just outperformcomparable buildings but rather to tell a story about building performance that would invite users to understand systems in play at every scale.Eskew Dumez Ripple, Marlon Blackwell Architects, Andropogon Associates

Yrj Kukkapuro, celebrated Finnish designer known for his Karuselli and Experiment chairs, passed away on Saturday, February 8 at the age of 91. The designer and architect was at his home just outside Helsinki where he continued to design until the very end. For over 70 years, Kukkapuro focused on ergonomic furniture for public spaces and offices. This experimental, and functional approach created a lasting legacy. Almost every Finn has sat on a chair he designedat a metro station, in a bank, at school, or in a library, said Studio Kukkapuro in a statement about the designers passing. His work is included in the collections of leading design museums, such as Museum of Modern Art in New York, V&A Museum in London, Vitra Museum, and Nationalmuseum in Stockholm.Kukkapuro was born in 1933 in Vyborg. He came to furniture design by happenstance. Originally, the designer enrolled at Helsinkis School of Art and Design to pursue graphic design, but when he arrived in the big city in 1953 he missed the selection process. Out on the street he happened to run into a former army mate, Pentti Hietanen, who set him up with a place to live and a job as a draughtsmen at Paul Bomans furniture factory. Thus began Kukkapuros love for furniture and interior design. During his studies at Aalto University, he attended a lecture by Olli Borg on chair physiology, learning forms affects on blood circulation, strain, and posture which would become the ethos of his ergonomic practice. By 1958, he qualified as an interior architect.An archival photo of the Experiment Chair (Courtesy Hem)One of his most renowned works, the Karuselli, or carousel, chair exemplifies Kukkapuros passion for fiberglass and comfort. Designed in 1964 and produced by Artek, the Karuselli is a result of the designers years-long quest to design a chair that supports the whole body. The curving Karuselli does so with by embracing the body in its deep seat. It caught the eye of Gio Ponti who then put it on the cover of Domus in 1966.As an interior architect himself, Kukkapuros relationships with other architects were integral to his work. He conceived of furniture design as part of architecture. Architects could call on him to see what he was working on to include in their interiors. For example, once architect Matti I. Jaatinen visited his workshop and saw a preform plaster mold of a chair (which Kukkapuro makes for every design as part of his process), and declared it as part of the design for the Waskia hotel. It went on to become an early iteration of Kukkapuros Saturn chair. To this day, Kukkapuros work continues to inspire. In 1982, he released the Experimental Chair, an angled-back chair with colorful, wavy armrests which was recently revived by Hem. The chair combined funky shapes and stylized details without sacrificing comfortability. Universal yet unfussy, the chair became a totem of postmodern design, arriving at the same year Memphis Group published their manifesto. Kukkapuro considered the chair one of his greatest works.We are saddened by the news of Yrjs passing, and our thoughts are with his family, Petrus Palmr, founder and chief executive of Hem, told AP News. He was a furniture design trailblazer, and showed us that a non-conformist approach is the only way to achieve a lasting legacy.Part of his legacy includes the home and studio he designed for himself and his wife, Irmeli Kukkapuro, in 1968. Located in Kauniainen, the home, composed of swooping concrete, is a feat of structural engineering. Working with Eero Paloheimo, Kukkapuro designed a concrete shell cast on three points. Walls were made from polyurethane-filled chipboard casing fixed to a steel grid. Thermal insulation was devised from polyurethane foam, which was mainly used for train carriages and caravans at the time, sprayed onto the concrete roof. Translucent fiberglass cylinders made up the shower and toilet. To honor and archive Kukkapuros work, the home and studio is slated to become a museum next year.

Spectrum. An Afterthought (19752014), synthetic fabric, neon lamps, colored filters, steel, aluminum, plywood, and plastic,40 x 105.6 x 53.9 meters. Photo by Antanas Luknas. Image courtesy of The Lithuanian National Museum of Art, Estate of Aleksandra KasubaImagining the Future Honors Aleksandra Kasubas Trailblazing Installations and EnvironmentsFebruary 10, 2025ArtDesignKate MothesFrom immersive fabric installations and sculptures to photography, landscape design, and architecture, the work of Aleksandra Kasuba (1923-2019) merges myriad ideas about how we experience the world around us. The intersection of technology and nature enchanted the late Lithuanian artist, and she often experimented with a variety of materials and the effects of light, hue, and tension to explore relationships between ourselves and notions of shelter and place.The first major exhibition of her work in Europe, Imagining the Future at Carr dArtMuse dArt Contemporain, explores the incredible breadth of Kasubas artistry.Shell Dwellers III (1989), paper and collage, 35 43.5 centimeters. Image courtesy of The Lithuanian National Museum of Art, Estate of Aleksandra KasubaBorn to an aristocratic family, Kasuba enrolled in art school in 1941, focusing primarily on sculpture and textiles. She married artist Vytautas Kauba, with whom she fled Lithuania in 1944 in the wake of the Nazi occupation of the country. They landed in a displaced-persons camp in Germany where they stayed until making their way to New York in 1947, and her experience as a refugee and an immigrant significantly affected her work.In the U.S., Kasuba found employment in crafts and design and began laying the foundations for her future artistic practice, which merged applied and functional arts with abstraction. Her interdisciplinary practice took shape in earnest the 1950s and 1960s and was deeply influenced by tenets of modernism and the era of space exploration, which cast humanitys existence on Earth in a new light.Mid-20th century scholarship on vernacular architecture also inspired Kasuba, and she was moved by a visit to Bernard Rudofskys 1964 exhibition Architecture Without Architects at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He took a broader view of global architecture than the field typically covered and emphasized the ingenuity and beauty of structures built by Indigenous cultures.Rudofsky suggested that modernismparticularly modern architecturehad lost touch with the real needs of society, and he urged viewers to pay attention to artistic, idiosyncratic, culturally rich local styles free from elitist design rules.Rock Hill House (2002). Image courtesy of The Lithuanian National Museum of Art, Estate of Aleksandra KasubaKasubas artistic practice blended with daily life in her own living spaces, too, from her New York City home in the 1970s to Rock Hill House, a sculptural dwelling in the New Mexico desert she completed between 2001 and 2005.The convergence of sculpture and environmental design also fascinated the artist, spurring unique material combinations in large-scale public interventions and spatial installations. Concerned with how we move through places and are affected by our surroundings, she was also commissioned to create numerous public wall installations using materials like brick, marble, and granite.Kasuba explored the relationships between transparency, color, and light in works like Spectrum, privileging organic shapes and an immersive passageway made from stretched nylon. Her Space Shelters series, composed of fabric in curving forms without ninety-degree angles, exemplifies her desire to harmonize nature, people, and technology.Imagining the Future continues through March 23 in Nmes, France. Learn more on the museums website.Dreaming III (1963), white marble, 103 x 91 centimeters. Photo Antanas Luksenas. Image courtesy of The Lithuanian National Museum of Art, Estate of Aleksandra KasubaInstallation view of Imagining the Future at Carr dArt, Nmes, France. Photo by Cdrick EymenierLive-In Environment, 43W90, NYC (19711972). From the digital archive of Aleksandra Kasuba. Image courtesy of The Lithuanian National Museum of Art, Estate of Aleksandra KasubaInstallation view of Imagining the Future at Carr dArt, Nmes, France. Photo by Cdrick EymenierInstallation view of Imagining the Future at Carr dArt, Nmes, France. Photo by Cdrick EymenierRock Hill House (2005). Image courtesy of The Lithuanian National Museum of Art, Estate of Aleksandra KasubaInstallation view of Imagining the Future at Carr dArt, Nmes, France. Photo by Cdrick EymenierShell Dwellers VI (1989), paper and collage, 35 43.5 centimeters. Image courtesy of The Lithuanian National Museum of Art, Estate of Aleksandra KasubaNext article

Apple is about to replace the now three-year-old iPhone SE, but there will never be another phone quite like it.

Amazon is selling the 2022 10.9-inch iPad (10th Gen) for just $279, a discount of $70 for a rarely marked-down tablet.

NEW ORLEANS, LA - FEBRUARY 3: A general view from outside of the Caesars Superdome prior to the ... [+] Super Bowl LIX Opening Night fueled by Gatorade with Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on February 3, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***Getty ImagesOh, boy. Tubi absolutely dropped the ball during its livestream of the 2025 Super Bowl game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. It wasnt all bad for the Fox-owned streamer, thoughat least the memes have been nothing short of spectacular.In an effort to onboard users, Tubi was running a free livestream for the championship gamewhich ended in a victory for the Eaglesbut things didnt exactly go swimmingly, with multiple users reporting intermittent buffering issues and freezes.Tubis Bumpy Super Bowl Viewing ExperienceAnyone else trying to watch the Super Bowl stream on Tubi? If so, is it stalling and buffering like crazy, a viewer asked on social media. If all the big-time sporting events are going to glitch like this because of the demand on free streaming service, they might as well give up on trying to do us this favor.The picture quality on Tubi for the Super Bowl is really bad, added another poster. Everything is washed out and gray.Still, other viewers were handling the glitches with more levity, though:MORE FOR YOUAlthough a chunk of football fans were ruffled by the sub-par viewing experience, there was quite a bit of praise for Tubis decision to offer a free livestream, with fans crowning the streamer as the real MVP.To Tubis credit, the buffering issues didnt impact all users, it seems. Tubi handled the Super Bowl with no issues whatsoever, but Netflix was shaking like a stripper with only Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson, one user posted on X.Tubis Super Bowl Ads Heavily MockedBut as the adage goes, nothing in life comes for free. In the case of Tubis Super Bowl stream, the trade-off was adsand fans had opinions on them.Okay, this Tubi commercial with the dude with the cowboy hat shaped head is one of the dumbest Super Bowl ads Ive ever seen, one person said.In Tubis defense, highly anticipated sports events garner unusually large viewership, which puts tremendous amounts of stress on servershence the buffering issues. Not so long ago, Netflix suffered similar issues during the fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.Actually, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos spun the issues into a success story. Its a Super Bowl-like audience we were able to draw, he said at the time, noting the fight was the most streamed global sporting event ever.So despite some of the ridicule it received on social media, perhaps Tubi has something to be proud of, too. I guess what Im saying is the streamer better hope that all PR is good PRbecause it definitely got a lot of it during the Super Bowl.