Samuel Greengard, Contributing ReporterFebruary 19, 20255 Min ReadTithi Luadthong via Alamy StockFor businesses across every industry, artificial intelligence is rapidly reshuffling the deck. The technology opens the door to deeper insights, advanced automation, operational efficiencies, and cost savings.Yet, AI also delivers some baggage. The power-hungry nature of the technology, which impacts everything from data centers to training and using generative AI models, raises critical questions about sustainability. AI could double data center electricity demand in the US by 2030.As a result, business and IT leaders can easily find themselves caught in the crossfire between AIs benefits and risks. As organizations pursue carbon targets and other sustainability issues, a lack of clarity about the technology -- and perceptions of inconsistencies -- can evoke charges of greenwashing.Sustainable AI touches everything from the direct energy requirements that power artificial intelligence models to supply chain, reporting, hardware and data center operations. It can also raise questions about when and where organizations should use AI -- and when they shouldnt.Sustainable AI is about using AI in ways that minimize environmental impact while promoting sustainability throughout its lifecycle, says Sammy Lakshmanan, a partner at PwC Sustainability. The goal isnt to just reduce AIs footprint. Its to make AI both effective and sustainable.Related:Beyond the AI HypeA growing challenge for CIOs and other tech leaders is to fully understand the impact of AI, including GPUs that devour energy at about a 10x rate over other chips. While no company wants to miss the opportunities that AI can deliver, its also important to recognize that the technology comes with costs. Theres a temptation for organizations to get caught up in an AI arms race without looking at the returns, states Autumn Stanish, a director and analyst at Gartner.A haphazard or inconsistent approach to AI can contribute to the perception that a company is engaging in greenwashing. Many of the common uses of AI link directly to climate change, says David Rolnick, an assistant professor in the School of Computer Science at McGill University. Framing specific AI initiatives as net positives or negatives isnt the right approach, he argues. Its vital to gain a more holistic understanding of how AI impacts sustainability.Greenwashing problems often revolve around two key issues, Rolnick says. First, companies that use carbon offsets must recognize that they arent reducing emissions produced by AI systems. Second, sloppy reporting creates more questions than answers. While quantifying the carbon generated from AI is difficult -- especially Scope 3 emissions -- a lack of transparency increases the odds that a company will find itself in the crosshairs of activists and the media.Related:But theres also the fundamental question of how an organization uses AI, Rolnick says. Its important to put AI to work strategically. There are many places where it can improve efficiency -- particularly when it comes to automating processes and optimizing system -- but there also are many instances where it doesnt provide any significant advantages. This includes tossing generative AI at every problem. In many cases, humans make better decisions, he states.As companies pursue carbon reduction targets, its important to identify where delivers specific strategic advantages -- and how it impacts sustainability in both positive and negative ways. Sustainable AI does not happen by accident -- it involves proper governance and engineering to create systems that are efficient and beneficial for productivity and innovation, Lakshmanan explains.Cracking the CodeTurning an AI strategy into broader sustainability issues helps build an energy framework based in renewables -- including wind, solar and emerging sources of nuclear energy, such as small modular reactors (SMRs). While this approach doesnt directly lower the energy demand for AI, it can significantly curtail carbon output.Related:The challenge lies in verifying that energy labeled as sustainable or carbon free is genuinely renewable, Lakshmanan points out. As a result, he recommends that organizations adopt transparency tools such as renewable energy certificates (RECs) and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) that help track the lifecycle impacts of renewable infrastructure.There are also practical steps organizations that help align AI with sustainability initiatives. This includes improvements in data center efficiency, such as better hardware and understanding when CPUs are a better option than GPUs. It also involves responsible data practices such as optimizing AI algorithms and models through pruning and sampling, and with transfer learning, which can significantly decrease computational demands by recycling pre-trained models.Transfer learning involves using a model trained for one task to improve results for a related task.Training and inferencing models in a horizontal or cross-cutting manner can alleviate the need to repeat processes across departments and groups, Lakshmanan points out. For example, Summarizing documents is a repeatable process whether it relates to sustainability or tax documents. Theres no need to train the system twice for the same capability, he explains.The end goal, Lakshmanan says, is to adopt a holistic approach that spins a tight orbit around both innovation and the greater use of renewables. For instance, if an organization uses carbon offsets, he recommends pairing the program with a meaningful decarbonization strategy. This ensures offsets complement broader sustainability targets rather than replacing them. It makes AI projects both innovative and environmentally responsible.Beyond the AlgorithmAvoiding greenwashing accusations also requires sound carbon accounting practices that can measure and track AI emissions. A growing array of consulting firms and private companies offer tools to track AI emissions and optimize energy usage based on real-time grid conditions.Measurement, combined with deeper analysis of AI and data center energy consumption, can boost efficiency in other ways. There are ways to use AI to analyze and improve power consumption, including putting AI on the edge, says Gillian Crossen, Risk Advisory Principal and Global Technology Leader at Deloitte. Not everything has to go through the data center. AI can also right-size models and produce other insights and gains that offset its power requirements.Finally, its important to avoid over-marketing claims or publishing data that presents an unrealistically positive picture to the public and investors, says Thomas P. Lyon, Dow Professor of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce at the University of Michigans Ross School of Business. An organization must be able to fully substantiate its claims about AI and sustainability, typically through metrics and third-party verification.With transparency across key segments, including customers, investors, partners and employees, the risks of greenwashing subside. Organizations should step back and think about how they can use AI effectively, Rolnick says. There are legitimate and productive use cases but theres also a lot of energy waste associated with AI. Without a detailed assessment and a clear understanding of the various factors the risks increase.About the AuthorSamuel GreengardContributing ReporterSamuel Greengard writes about business, technology, and cybersecurity for numerous magazines and websites. He is author of the books "The Internet of Things" and "Virtual Reality" (MIT Press).See more from Samuel GreengardNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

Lisa Morgan, Freelance WriterFebruary 19, 202510 Min ReadTithi Luadthong via Alamy StockGenerative AIs use has exploded across industries, helping people to write, code, brainstorm and more. While the interface couldnt be simpler -- just type some text in the box -- mastery of it involves continued use and constant iteration.GenAI is considered a game-changer, which is why enterprises want to scale it. While users have various resources available, like OpenAI and Gemini, proprietary LLMs and GenAI embedded in applications, companies want to ensure that employees are not compromising sensitive data.GenAIs unprecedented rate of adoption has inspired many individuals to seek training on their own, often online at sites such as Coursera, EdX, and Udemy, but employers shouldnt depend on that. Given the strategic nature of the technology, companies should invest in training for their employees.A Fast Track To Improving Prompt Engineering EfficacyAndreas Welsch, founder and chief AI strategist at boutique AI strategy consultancy Intelligence Briefing, advocates starting with a Community of Multipliers -- early tech adopters who are eager to learn about the latest technology and how to make it useful. These multipliers can teach others in their departments, helping leadership scale the training. Next, he suggests piloting training formats in one business area, gathering feedback and iterating on the concept and delivery. Then, roll it out to the entire organization to maximize utility and impact.Related:Despite ChatGPT being available for two years, Generative AI tools are still a new type of application for most business users, says Welsch. Prompt engineering training should inspire learners to think and dream big.He also believes different kinds of learning environments benefit different types of users. For example, cohort-based online sessions have proven successful for introductory levels of AI literacy while executive training expands the scope from basic prompting to GenAI products.Advanced training is best conducted in a workshop because the content requires more context and interaction, and the value comes from networking with others and having access to an expert trainer. Advanced training goes deeper into the fundamentals including LLMs, retrieval-augmented generation, vector databases and security risks, for example.Andreas Welsch, Intelligence BriefingFunction-specific, tailored workshops and trainings can provide additional level of relevance to learners when the content and examples are put into the audience's context, for example, using GenAI in marketing, says Welsch. Prompting is an important skill to learn at this early stage of GenAI maturity.Related:Digital agency Create & Grow, initiated its prompt engineering training with a focus on the basics of generative AI and its applications. Recognizing the diverse skill levels within its team, the company implemented stratified training sessions, beginning with foundational concepts for novices and advancing to complex techniques for experienced members.This approach ensures that each team member receives the appropriate level of training, maximizing learning efficiency and application effectiveness, says Georgi Todorov, founder and CEO of Create & Grow, in an email interview. Our AI specialists, in collaboration with the HR department, lead the training initiatives. This dual leadership ensures that the technical depth of AI is well-integrated with our overarching employee training programs, aligning with broader company goals and individual development plans.The companys training covers:The basics of AI and language modelsPrinciples of prompt design and response analysisUse cases specific to its industry and client requirementsEthical considerations and best practices in AI usageEducational resources including online courses, in-person workshops, and peer-led sessions, and use of resources from leading AI platforms and collaborations with AI experts that keeps training up-to-date and relevantRelated:To gauge individuals level of prompt engineering mastery, Create & Grow conducts regular assessments and chooses practical projects that reflect real-world scenarios. These assessments help the company tailor ongoing training and provide targeted support where needed.Its crucial to foster a culture of continuous learning and curiosity. Encouraging team members to experiment with AI tools and share their findings helps demystify the technology and integrate it more deeply into everyday workflows, says Todorov. Our commitment to developing prompt engineering expertise is not just about staying competitive; its about harnessing the full potential of AI to innovate and improve our client offerings.A Different TakeKelwin Fernandes, cofounder and CEO at AI strategy consulting firm NILG.AI says good prompts are not ambiguous.A quick way to improve prompts is to ask the AI model if there's any ambiguity in the prompt. Then, adjust it accordingly, says Fernandes in an email interview.His company defined a basic six-part template for efficient prompting that covers:The role the AI should play (e.g., summarizing, drafting, etc.)The human role or position the AI should imitateA description of the task, being specific and removing any ambiguityA negative prompt stating what the AI cannot do. (E.g., dont answer if youre unsure)Any context you have that the AI doesnt know (E.g., information about the company)The specific task details the AI should solve at this time.[W]e do sharing sessions and role plays where team members bring their prompts, with examples that worked and examples that didn't and we brainstorm how to improve them, says Fernandes.At video production company Bonfire Labs, prompt training includes a communal think tank on Google Chat, making knowledge accessible to all. The company also holds staff meetings in which different departments learn foundational skills, such as prompt structure or tool identification.This ensures we are constantly cross-skilling and upskilling our people to stay ahead of the game. Our head of emerging technologies also plays an integral role in training and any creative process that requires AI, further improving our best practices, says Jim Bartel, partner, managing director at Bonfire Labs in an email interview. We have found that the best people to spearhead prompt training are those who are already masters at what they do, such as our designers and VFX artists. Their expertise in refinement and attention to detail is perfect for prompting.Why Developers May Have an EdgeEdward Tian, CEO at GPTZero believes prompt engineering begins with gaining an understanding of the various language models, including ChatGPT, GPT-2, GPT-3, GPT-4, and LLaMA.Its also important to have a background in coding and an understanding of NLP, but people often have minimal knowledge about the different language models, says Tian. Understanding how their learning concepts work and how they are structured can help significantly with prompt engineering. Working with pre-trained models can also help prompt engineers really hone their skills and [gain] a further understanding of how it all works.Chris Beavis, partner and AI Specialist at design-led consultancy The Frameworks suggests using the OpenAI development portal versus ChatGPT or Gemini, for example.It offers a greater level of control and access to different models. The temperature of a model is particularly important, allowing you to flex the randomness [and] creativity of answers over determinism [or] repeatability, says Beavis in an email interview.Chris Beavis, The Frameworks[The user] should start by identifying an idea or a challenge they are facing to see what impact AI can have. Try out different approaches, remember to give specific instructions, provide examples, and be clear about the format of the result you are expecting. Some other tips include breaking problems down into steps, including relevant data sets for context and prompting the AI to ask you questions about your request if its not clear.Most employees are experimenting with AI at The Frameworks in different ways, from image generation and summarization to more advanced techniques like augmented information retrieval and model training.I certainly think there is an initial barrier to overcome [when] familiarizing yourself with how to prompt, which may suggest the need for a beginner level of training. Beyond that, I think its a learning journey that will depend on your area of interest. A developer may want to explore how to connect AI prompting to data sets via APIs, copywriters may want to use it for brainstorming or drafting and strategists may want to use it to interrogate complex data sets. Its a digital literacy question.His company is finding the most useful applications are where they use code to combine prompts with data sets, like mail merging. That way, AI can be treated as a step in a repeatable problem-solving process.As with most companies, we started by simply seeing what the technology could do, says Beavis. As we become more familiar with the capabilities, we are finding interesting uses within client projects and our own internal processes.Intelligence Briefings Welsch says for software developers, mastery is a cost function such as getting the optimal output with the shortest possible prompt (to consume the least amount of tokens). For business users, he says proficiency could be measured by awareness of common prompting techniques and frameworks.Prompting is often portrayed as a glorified science. While teaching techniques is a good start for laying a foundation, Generative AI requires users to think differently and use software differently, says Welsch. [Trainees] can learn about examples of what these tools can be used for, but it is experimenting and iterating over an open-ended conversation that they should take away from it.Engage Specialized TrainersBrendan Gutierrez McDonnell, a partner at K&L Gates in the law firm's AI solutions group, says his company uses a multifaced approach to prompt engineering training.We have relied on experiential training provider AltaClaros prompt engineering course as an introduction for our lawyers and allied professionals to the world of prompt engineering. We have supplemented that foundational training with prompt engineering courses tailored to the GenAI [and other] AI solutions that our firm has licensed, says McDonnell in an email interview. These more tailored programs have been conducted in tandem by the vendor providing the solution and by our internal community of power users familiar with the specific solution.At present, the firm is building its own internal database of prompt engineering questions that work well with the various GenAI solutions. Over time, he expects the solutions themselves will recommend the best prompt engineering guidance to solve a particular problem.The best way to develop a degree of mastery is through education from outside educational vendors like AltaClaro, solution vendors like Thomson Reuters, and by learning from your colleagues, says McDonnell. Prompt engineering is best approached as a team sport. Most importantly, you must dive in and use the program. Be creative and push your own limits and the programs limits.Brendan Gutierrez McDonnell, K&L GatesK&L Gates has training programs for beginners that cover the basics and nuanced programs for advanced users, but before jumping into prompt engineering, he believes the user should have a fundamental understanding of how a GenAI solution works and whether the information input into the program will remain confidential or not.The user [should] understand that the output needs to be verified as large language models can make mistakes. Finally, the user needs to know how to vet the output. Once the user has these basics in order, she or he can start to learn how to prompt, says McDonnell. The user should be given problems to solve so that the user can put his or her prompting to the test and then review the results with peers. Having a training partner like AltaClaro can make sure that the training experience is effective, as they are experts in building programs tailored to the way lawyers learn best.Bottom LineOrganizations are approaching GenAI training differently, but they tend to agree its necessary to jumpstart better prompting.Where to get that training varies, and the sources are not mutually exclusive. One can hire expert help on-site, create their own programs and invest in GenAI online courses depending on the level of existing knowledge and the need to provide training that advances GenAI proficiency at varying levels of mastery.Read more about:Cost of AIAbout the AuthorLisa MorganFreelance WriterLisa Morgan is a freelance writer who covers business and IT strategy and emergingtechnology for InformationWeek. She has contributed articles, reports, and other types of content to many technology, business, and mainstream publications and sites including tech pubs, The Washington Post and The Economist Intelligence Unit. Frequent areas of coverage include AI, analytics, cloud, cybersecurity, mobility, software development, and emerging cultural issues affecting the C-suite.See more from Lisa MorganNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Your most important customer may be AI Imagine you run a meal prep company that teaches people how to make simple and delicious food. When someone asks ChatGPT for a recommendation for meal prep companies, yours is described as complicated and confusing. Why? Because the AI saw that in one of your ads there were chopped chives on the top of a bowl of food, and it determined that nobody is going to want to spend time chopping up chives. It may seem odd for companies or brands to be mindful of what an AI thinks in this way but its already becoming relevant as consumers increasingly use AI to make purchase recommendations. The end results may be a supercharged version of search engine optimization (SEO) where making sure that youre positively perceived by a large language model might become one of the most important things a brand can do.Read the full story. Scott J Mulligan Congress used to evaluate emerging technologies. Lets do it again. The US Office of Technology Assessment, an independent office created by Congress in the early 1970s, produced some 750 reports during its 23-year history, assessing technologies as varied as electronic surveillance, genetic engineering, hazardous-waste disposal, and remote sensing from outer space. The office functioned like a debunking arm. It sussed out the snake oil. Lifted the lid on the Mechanical Turk. The reports saw through the alluring gleam of overhyped technologies. In the years since its unceremonious defunding in 1995, perennial calls have gone out: Rouse the office from the dead! But, with advances in robotics, big data, and AI systems, these calls have taken on a new level of urgency. Read the full story. Peter Andrey Smith This story is from the next edition of our print magazine, which is all about relationships. Subscribe now to read it and get a copy when it lands on February 26! How generative AI is changing online search Generative AI search, one of MIT Technology Review's 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2025, is ushering a new era of the internet. Despite fewer clicks, copyright fights, and sometimes iffy answers, AI could unlock new ways to summon all the worlds knowledge. Our editor in chief Mat Honan and executive editor Niall Firth explored how AI will alter search in a live half-hour Roundtables session yesterday. Watch our recording of their conversation. MIT Technology Review Narrated: The weeds are winning As the climate changes, genetic engineering will be essential for growing food. But is it creating a race of superweeds? This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we're publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it's released. The must-reads Ive combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Electricity demand is set to soar globally On current trends, well add the equivalent of Japans entire consumption each year between now and 2027. (The Verge)+ China is planning to boost its energy storage sector to cope with a surge in demand. (South China Morning Post $)+ Why artificial intelligence and clean energy need each other. (MIT Technology Review)2 How Israel uses US-made AI to wage warIts use of OpenAI and Microsoft skyrocketed after October 7 2023. (AP)+ OpenAIs new defense contract completes its military pivot. (MIT Technology Review)+ How the drone battles of Ukraine are shaping the future of war. (New Scientist $)3 Googles AI efforts are being marred by turf warsIt has a lot of people working on AI, and theyre not all pulling in the same direction. (The Information $)4 OpenAIs ex-CTO has launched a rival labThinking Machines will focus on how humans and AI can work together better. (Axios)5 Humanes AI Pin is deadHP is buying most of its assets for $116 million, which is quite the climbdown from being valued at nearly $1 billion. (TechCrunch)6 Tech IPOs keep getting delayedEveryones waiting for more certainty and stability. But theres no sign of it arriving. (NYT $)7 Scientists in the US feel under siegeSweeping layoffs, funding freezes and executive orders are really starting to bite. (NBC)+ Its likely only the start of a long battle over how research can and will be done in the United States. (The Atlantic $)8 China may use Tesla as a pawn in US trade negotiationsThat gives it quite a lot of leverage to use, if it wishes. (Gizmodo)9 Researchers have linked a gene to the emergence of spoken language This is cool, and could even one day potentially help people with speech problems. (ABC)10 The chances of an asteroid hitting us in 2032 just went upBetter try to really savor the next seven years, just in case. (New Scientist $)Quote of the day Well, hes wrong. A fired Federal Aviation Administration employee responds to Elon Musks claim that no one who works on safety was laid off in a recent round of job cuts, Rolling Stone reports. The big story A brief, weird history of brainwashing SHIRLEY CHONG April 2024 On a spring day in 1959, war correspondent Edward Hunter testified before a US Senate subcommittee investigating the effect of Red China Communes on the United States. Hunter discussed a new concept to the American public: a supposedly scientific system for changing peoples minds, even making them love things they once hated. Much of it was baseless, but Hunters sensational tales still became an important part of the disinformation and pseudoscience that fueled a mind-control race during the Cold War. US officials prepared themselves for a psychic war with the Soviet Union and China by spending millions of dollars on research into manipulating the human brain. But while the science never exactly panned out, residual beliefs fostered by this bizarre conflict continue to play a role in ideological and scientific debates to this day. Read the full story. Annalee Newitz We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet 'em at me.) + I guess this must be the gator equivalent of a body scrub in a spa. + You really can make anything with Lego bricks.+ The secret to sticking to any exercise routine? You have to enjoy it!+ There are few things more comforting than recipes that combine cheese and pasta.

Faciltiy was rejected by Trafford council last year due to fears over its impact on surrounding countrysideA councils rejection of a battery storage scheme near Manchester has been overturned by the planning inspectorate using the governments new grey belt rules.The 35mw facility in Carrington was rejected by Trafford council last August because it was deemed to be damaging to the visual appearance and character of the surrounding countryside.However, it has now been approved following an appeal by its developer O&G Solar after planning inspector Gareth Thomas said the 0.9 acre Wild Fowl Farm site could be classed as grey belt in one of the first planning decisions to use the new land designation.CGI showing what the facility will look like when builtThe grey belt land class was introduced by the government in December last year in a major overhaul of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as part of a drive to allow more development on the green belt.It is defined as green belt land which does not strongly contribute to three of the five green belt purposes, namely preventing urban sprawl, preventing towns merging into one another and preserving the setting of historic towns.> Also read:Frankly, whats the alternative? Turleys Stephen Bell applauds the governments planning visionThomas said in his ruling that the site is not important in preventing the unrestricted sprawl [and] does not make a strong contribution to the purposes of preventing the merging of towns.He added: I have found that the proposed development would utilise grey belt land and would not amount to inappropriate development in the green belt.Thomas also concluded that the scheme would align with Trafford councils ambitions to become a carbon neutral local authority and with the net zero targets of the wider Greater Manchester Combined Authority.Battery energy storage facilities are used to manage fluctuating power generation from renewable sources like solar and wind, storing excess energy when demand is low so it can be released back into the grid when demand rises.The government has pledged to decarbonise 95% of the UK grid by the end of this decade in a highly ambitious programme which will require significant numbers of new battery storage schemes to manage increased levels of renewable energy generation.Keir Starmer has also said the target will require the construction of new pylons across the country to link renewable energy sources with population centres.Residential schemes proposed on land accepted as grey belt are required to contain a minimum of 15% affordable housing above the local housing policy minimums, capped at 50%.

Scheme in Egypt designed for Africas most successful club1/4show captionUS practice Gensler has unveiled plans for a stadium in Egypt which will include a sunken pitch to overcome height restrictions caused by nearby flight paths and make playing conditions cooler.The firm has teamed up with local investor El Qalaa El Hamraa and engineer Buro Happold to design a new home for Al-Ahly FC which will be built near Sphinx International Airport, between Cairo and Alexandria.Gensler, which has an office in London, said: To address height restrictions imposed by the airports flight paths, the team conceptualised a partially submerged design, sinking the pitch the minimum necessary below ground level.It added: The sunken bowl also leverages cooler earth temperatures to reduce ambient heat, achieving sustainability through smart, passive design measures.The 42,000-seat ground will feature a asymmetric bowl design, with double-tiered stands on the west, north and south sides. It will also include a structural arch that supports the roof, ensuring it is instantly recognisable Gensler added.A plaza, designed to host up to 30,000 visitors, offers fans a variety of amenities including a team shop, cafes, and a club museum.Commonly known as Al-Ahly, the club plays its games at the 75,000 capacity Cairo International Stadium.Founded in 1907, it is the most successful team in Africa with 44 league titles.

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February 19, 20254 min readTrumps DEI Purge Is Hitting NASA HardSpace scientists within NASA and outside it feel betrayed by the Trump administrations changes at the agency, which was known for promoting inclusion in scienceBy Alexandra Witze & Nature magazine NASAs diverse astronaut corps was an example of the agencys support for diversity and inclusion. NASA/James BlairIn the corridors of NASA buildings across the United States, Pride flags and pictures celebrating women in science are being taken down. Scientists are adding space-mission stickers to their laptops to cover ones that displayed rainbows and other symbols of LGBT+ support. Employees are stripping pronouns from their e-mail signatures and holding darkly humorous conversations in which they try to avoid saying any pronouns at all.These and other changes are rippling through NASA, which is purging programmes involving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) throughout the agency. The directive to do so came from US President Donald Trump, who on 20 January issued an order to eliminate DEI initiatives across the federal government.I get a sinking feeling in my stomach when I have to check my [work] e-mail, says an early-career NASA scientist, who asked to remain anonymous because of concerns about their career prospects. Every time I reload it, its like, oh god, will there be some new heinous missive in there?On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Nature spoke to scientists inside and outside NASA about the impacts of its DEI changes and heard anger, fear and confusion. Although the orders affect all federal agencies, they are keenly felt at NASA, which has a long history of working towards inclusivity. In 2020, Trump appointee Jim Bridenstine, then head of NASA, added inclusion to the agencys list of core values, joining safety, integrity, teamwork and excellence. That fifth value has now been removed from many NASA websites.How do you go from something being so important that its a pillar [of the agency], to being so reviled that its off of everything? asks Julie Rathbun, a planetary scientist at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.It feels like a betrayal by NASA, says Kas Knicely, a planetary geophysicist at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. Its inefficient, its wasteful, and its also just messed up.In a statement, NASA said the agency is committed to engaging the best talent to drive innovation and achieve our mission for the benefit of all. As new guidance comes in, were working to adhere to new requirements in a timely manner.A changed agencyNASAs push towards inclusivity is one of the most visible in the US government. In the 1950s and 1960s, all of the agencys astronauts were white men. By 1978, it had bowed to internal and external pressure and had chosen several women and people of colour to fly to space. Today, NASAs astronauts, as well as its world-renowned scientific and engineering teams, are measurably diverse.But signs of NASAs efforts to make space for everyone are disappearing. These removals have been triggered both by official edicts such as the requirement to remove pronouns from employees e-mail signatures and by unofficial notices, such as verbal suggestions to remove flags or other displays from workspaces.Trumps changes have also halted projects by employee affinity organizations ― groups ranging from military veterans, to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, to Black employees. Before 20 January, NASA celebrated these groups efforts with many glowing, now-deleted web articles.The work these groups did was wholesome and good for the agency things like, discussing how do we publish data in a way that works with screen readers, so people with visual disabilities can get at our content, says a senior NASA scientist, who requested anonymity to avoid possible reprisals. Or bringing Star Trek legends in to inspire the workforce. Pausing the work of these groups promotes fear, the scientist says, because employees worry that they might be targeted for participating.Other cancellations include a programme that paired undergraduates from underrepresented groups with active planetary missions, giving the students a chance to observe scientists at work.Many NASA employees are angry about the changes to DEI, but are buckling down to work nevertheless. We believe in the mission, and we know that our work is important, says the senior scientist. We know that it matters for the nation.Grassroots protestAs federal workers, NASA employees cant push back against the changes, no matter how much they personally support DEI efforts, says Knicely, who co-chairs a community working group on best practices for DEI at NASA. But space scientists outside NASA are voicing their frustration with the agencys rejection of years of progress towards a more diverse community. Several of them wrote an open letter to NASA leadership on 6 February protesting the changes, which has garnered more than 1,000 signatures.Many of those scientists have been working with NASA for years on DEI issues. For example, researchers have been studying the DEI practices that improve science, and have been working with NASA to integrate those approaches into its funding programmes. These include a system for anonymous review of proposals to use facilities such as the Hubble Space Telescope a change that reduces gender and other biases and requiring inclusion plans in agency-funded research grants, which raises awareness of barriers to participation.For NASA to ignore what many scientists have shown for years confuses the hell out of me, says Rathbun.Alienation and determinationViewed broadly, the cuts basically say that Indigenous peoples, underrepresented peoples, even women dont really belong there at NASA, says Hilding Neilson, an astronomer at the Memorial University of Newfoundland in St Johns, Canada and a Mi'kmaw person. Thats a horrible and shameful thing that is going to set NASA back decades, if not longer.Some researchers inside and outside the agency are doubling down on their scientific and technical projects while living according to their values as best they can.You can take down the websites and you can tell people not to put their pronouns in their emails, but that doesnt mean theyre not going to use the right pronouns for their colleagues, says Sarah Hrst, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.Others are feeling alienated by the agencys actions. For the early-career scientist, the uproar is a huge distraction from their work: Can I be allowed to focus on my science, please?This article is reproduced with permission and was first published on February 14, 2025.

February 18, 2025The Air around Us Is Full of LifeJournalist Carl Zimmer chats about aerobiology and his new book Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe. Anaissa Ruiz Tejada/Scientific AmericanSUBSCRIBE TO Science Quickly[CLIP: Theme music]Rachel Feltman: For Scientific Americans Science Quickly, Im Rachel Feltman.You probably dont spend too much time thinking about the air you breatheat least relative to the amount of time you spend actually breathing it, which, unless you do a lot of free diving, should be pretty much always.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.But theres a whole lot going on in every inhalation and exhalation. Here to tell us more is science journalist Carl Zimmer. Hes the author of a new book called Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe.Thanks so much for coming on to chat today, Carl.Carl Zimmer: Thanks for having me.Feltman: Lets start with an overview of the book. Would you tell us a little bit about it?Zimmer: When I was reporting on the COVID pandemic at the New York Times, like a lot of my colleagues, one of the most puzzling things about it was that there was this long, drawn-out argument about how COVID spread ...Feltman: Hmm.Zimmer: And the consensus now is that COVIDs airborne, but at the time there was a lot of back and forth about that. And it seemed to me, like to other reporters, this shouldnt be that hard to figure out.Wondering about that and talking to scientists about just why this was such a fraught subject took me down a long history in a field thats known as aerobiologyin other words, the life of the air. And I realized that the answer to this question is actually one that goes back centuries and involves all sorts of remarkable scientists that, in a lot of cases, people have forgotten about and may have never heard of. But I think, really, to understand the COVID pandemic and future pandemics, we really need to understand this world of floating life that surrounds us.Feltman: And how has our understanding of the relationship between air and disease changed through history?Zimmer: If you go back to, say, Hippocrates, an ancient Greek doctor, he would have talked about many diseases in terms of the air, except that he would refer to miasmas.  And that carried this sense that there was something tainted in the airthere was some sort of corruption. It was almost like a religious sense to the word originally.And so, really, for centuries many doctors would claim that somehow the air would get corrupted and if you breathed in this corrupt air, you would get sick, and they would try to explain all sorts of diseases this way. And so, you know, malaria, which we know is caused by a parasite that lives in mosquitoes and they pass on to us in their bites, the very word refers to bad air.Feltman: Hmm.Zimmer: And there was a movement among some naturalists to say, Theres actually all these invisible things, these microorganisms around us. They could see them in the 1600s in their microscopes, and they started arguing that maybe these were the cause of disease. But this was very, very much a minority opinion for a very long time. Even in the late 1800s, when we think of the germ theory of disease really rising up, miasma was going strong, and lots of people would believe that, you know, a disease like cholera or, or typhoid, it was just because of the air.Feltman: Mm.Zimmer: And that thing switched very quickly around 1900. We started to recognize that, well, actually, you know, germs are causing a lot of these diseases. And a lot of public health experts were like, Well, we dont have to worry about the air. Lets keep the water clean. Lets keep food clean. Lets be careful about direct contact and people coughing at each other. But why would we worry about the air?It took a long time for people to start to recognize that, no, actually, the germs can travel remarkably long distances through the air as well. In fact, the air is remarkably full of living things, which we breathe in with every breath.Feltman: Thats so interesting. I love how much we sort of accidentally got almost right before germ theory, but I hadnt realized before checking out your book that we sort of backtracked a little bit [laughs] when it came to airborne diseases.Zimmer: We have an image of science as a march of progress forward and ...Feltman: Mm.Zimmer: Ignorance is continually being trumped by knowledgethats not really how the history of science works ...Feltman: Sure.Zimmer: In fact, people are coming up with ideas all the time, theyre fighting with each other, and you can go back in history and you can find certain people who are doing experiments and making claims that today look spot-on, but their colleagues at the time had a lot of reasons to think like, No, this doesnt seem right.Louis Pasteur, for example, he did this extraordinary thing where he took these flasks full of sterile broth and he would wander around outside to prove that there were germs floating in the air. At the time no one thought that. He would go in a courtyard in Paris, and boom, there are germs there. He would go to a, a farm; he would collect some germs there. He even went to the top of a glacier, which is a pretty amazing thing to think about: Pasteur as glacier climber. He never even liked to, really, leave his lab.When he brought all this data back to Paris and started saying, like, Folks, the air is full of invisible, floating germs, you know, there was a journalist who said, This world, you want to lead us into is just too fantastic to believe.Thats actually one of the fascinating things to me is, is, just how twisty the course of science can be and a lot of chance history can steer things off in strange directions. Even biological warfare basically stole a lot of these ideas of aerobiology and diverted the whole science in a major way for decades. I think theres a lot that we dont know because aerobiologists were too busy for years and years and years trying to build anthrax bombs.Feltman: Right, could you tell us some more about that? I thought that was such an interesting part of the book.Zimmer: It was really fascinating to see just how intimately connected biological warfare is with the science of aerobiology. You literally have some of the architects of aerobiology, the people who would take planes in the 1930s into the air and catch fungal spores, they were then asked in World War II by the U.S. government to help them think about how they could actually create weapons from those same airborne organisms. So you could imagine: Lets take these fungal spores that can wipe out a wheat field, lets pack them all into a bomb, and lets go drop them on our enemy. There were projects being developed at Camp Detrick in Maryland for destroying lots of other crops.In addition, a lot of the pioneering work on human diseases that could be spread through the air, potentially, got used as the basis to develop weapons such as anthrax bombs, weapons that would be based on very obscure diseases ...Feltman: Mm.Zimmer: Things like parrot fever, which we havent heard about, but they were testing it out at Camp Detrick. And then after World War II, in secret, a lot of this research kept carrying on on an even bigger scale. And its not like the United States was alone in this; the Soviet Union had a gigantic program, which actually got even bigger after they signed a treaty with the United States in the 1970s, supposedly to ban these things.So in a way some of the best evidence that airborne diseases are a danger come from this research into, actually, building biological weapons.Feltman: Wow. What are some other surprising things you learned when working on the book?Zimmer: At first I thought I would be learning a lot about the dangers of indoor air because that was really the issue during the pandemic. Its like, if you are in a poorly ventilated space and ...Feltman: Sure.Zimmer: People are breathing, if somebodys got COVID, that could really increase your risk of getting sick as well cause youd inhale these tiny droplets. But then, you know, I was really surprised at just how widely the aerobiome, if you will, affects our lives. We sort of take it for granted that pollen, for example, floats in the air. If you really think about it, thats a pretty extraordinary adaptation that these plants that are stuck in the ground have made. They can figure out basically how to have sex through the air. Their pollen grains are beautifully evolved, adapted, to being able to soar along and, eventually find another member of their species.When you start to think about the air this wayas this avenue for all sorts of different life to do its thingsome of them make us sick, but a lot of that life is, is just life [laughs]. And, you know, even when you look at the, the clouds, you need to understand that the clouds have bacteria in them, huge numbers of bacteria. Theyre not as dense as they are in the soil, but its still a remarkable thing that bacteria are able to survive and maybe even grow in the clouds. Its possible that they may be able to withstand the really stressful conditions inside a cloud and feed and maybe even grow very slowly. And then they get rained down on us. Sometimes they have antibiotic-resistance genes in them. So we can literally have antibiotic-resistance genes raining down out of the sky on us.Feltman: Wow.Zimmer: Its a different way of thinking about the world.Feltman: Given everything youve learned, what do you think are the most pressing questions in the field of aerobiology right now?Zimmer: Its gonna be really fascinating to see scientists really try to create a global picture of the aerobiome cause they really dont have that yet. We have these little glimpses here and there: plane goes up here; you send up a balloon over here; you, you try to catch things on the top of a building over here. Its possible that there are a number of human diseases that are being caused by, perhaps, fungal spores or other organisms that are traveling literally across oceans ...Feltman: Mm.Zimmer: Theres some tantalizing evidence of that. But until we get a global picture of the aerobiome, those are gonna stay mysterious.And Id say the other main thing that we have to do is really, actually, not just scientists, but, you know, the community at large has to really recognize what weve been through with COVID.Feltman: Mm.Zimmer: In other words, we have dealt with a pathogen that does very well spreading through the air. And there are a lot of lessons to be learned from that, and we need to learn them because we might very well encounter another pathogen that is also good at that.A number of the scientists who have been really arguing strenuously that we have to recognize airborne infection have been making a lot of proposals. Buildings, they argue, have to be mandated to be well-ventilated, to bring in fresh air, because thats one of the most important ways to reduce your risk of getting sick, not just with pandemics but with other airborne things that we deal with every day. Maybe in some places we need ultraviolet light; maybe in other places air purifiers will do the job. Basically, this has to be our priorityin the same way that we keep our water free of pathogens, we need to do the same for the air.Feltman: I wanna circle back to COVID. You mentioned earlier how fraught the discussion around COVIDs airborne transmission was. Why is it that that was such a complicated, drawn-out discussion? And it feels like even once it was very clear that COVID was airborne there was a lot of talking around it in the public health world. Why is that?Zimmer: I think that a part of it was tradition ...Feltman: Mm.Zimmer: In other words there was a long tradition in the public health world [of] considering close contact as being your kind of default explanation for how diseases spread. There were just a handful of diseases that the public health community acknowledged, Yeah, this is probably airborne. Tuberculosis, for example. But in my book, I write about how, just to get that one disease really sorted out as truly being airborne took a small group of scientists a huge amount of work.In fact, one of the heroes of my book, William Firth Wells, he tried for 15 years to try to run this experiment, and people just shrugged, like, Eh, why do we need to do this? And he actually died in the middle of the experiment. So its really quite tragic that it took all that work for just one disease ...Feltman: Mm.Zimmer: And then there were measles and so on. But really I would say the default was, for most diseases, even a respiratory disease: Keep your distance, dont let people cough on you, and youll be fine.It was just a different way of thinking about diseaselike, Well, maybe, actually, these are spreading like smoke. They can drift around invisibly, and you just dont see em, and youre inhaling them. It was going to be a big shift to acknowledge this because in order to prevent disease spreading through the air, you cant just keep your distance or wear a, a flimsy mask ...Feltman: Mm-hmm.Zimmer: You have to take some serious alternative measures.I think that clash between, you know, public health workers who had this century-long tradition of really not seeing the air as being that important meeting up with a lot of outsidersphysicists, atmospheric scientistswho looked at these public health measures and said, These dont make sense. This doesnt work with the physics. That was, you know, a real clash of cultures.Feltman: And what lessons do you think we really need to take away from COVID-19 when it comes to air?Zimmer: We have to be aware that when we are breathing we are taking a little sample of this huge living atmosphere that surrounds us. And sometimes that means that we might be at risk of an infection, maybe an infection with a pathogen weve never dealt with before, and we have to recognize that risk because weve had over 20 million people die of COVID and a lot of them probably inhaled the virus.At the same time we have to start asking some deeper questions, too. A lot of the living things that we breathe are not harmful to us. Could they even be beneficial to us? Could we have a relationship with the aerobiome? Maybe, according to some studies, this might be part of how our immune system learns to tolerate living things that arent gonna make us sick. Maybe that means that we dont simply just try to eradicate everything. How do we find that balance? Theres so much science left to be done to answer that question.[CLIP: Theme music]Feltman: Thank you so much for, for joining us to chat about the book. Im sure a lot of our listeners will enjoy it.Zimmer: I hope they do. Thanks so much for having me.Feltman: Thats all for todays episode. Dont forget to check out Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe, which comes out on February 25.Well be back on Friday to learn why human hair comes in so many different shapes and colors.Science Quickly is produced by me, Rachel Feltman, along with Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check our show. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Subscribe to Scientific American for more up-to-date and in-depth science news.For Scientific American, this is Rachel Feltman. See you next time!

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