Conformity | Life & News

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

When generative AI was left to its own devices, its outputs landed on a set of generic images – what researchers called ‘visual elevator music.’ Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images

Art

AI-induced cultural stagnation is no longer speculation − it’s already happening

Staff Writer - January 22, 2026

Ahmed Elgammal, Rutgers University Generative AI was trained on centuries of art and writing produced by humans.

EXPLORING NATURE

The Dames Point Bridge spans a river in Jacksonville, Fla. Jonathan Zander/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

Everything Else

Quantum sensors could spot hidden damage in the thousands of US...

Staff Writer - June 19, 2026

Alex Krasnok, Florida International University Every bridge has parts that drivers never see: steel buried in concrete, welds tucked...

A record-tying heat wave helped spread a wildfire in Northern California’s Shasta and Trinity counties in July 2018. Terray Sylvester/Getty Images

Heat waves increase wildfire risk – a new study explains how...

June 18, 2026

Space is full of satellites and debris – data centers could one day join the mix. NicoElNino, NASA/iStock via Getty Images

Building data centers in space is an intriguing idea on paper,...

June 16, 2026

A sign on a dirt hiking trail in the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska points to naturalist John Muir’s cabin. Wanderluster/iStock/Getty Images

Paving paradise: Dismantling the US Roadless Rule threatens to disrupt wildlife,...

June 15, 2026

Companies can be analyzed as moral actors, not just profit-makers. wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Why corporate inclusion policies are moral decisions, not just business ones

June 14, 2026