The Critical Loop

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Technology changes everything. We ask what follows.

Photograph of a clear cut forest in Kerala, Russia in 1995

FROM PAPER TO PIXELS: THE HIDDEN ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

The digital revolution was supposed to make the economy cleaner and lighter. Instead, many environmental costs were displaced rather than eliminated. From forests and paper mills to data centres, Ronise Nepomuceno examines the hidden physical footprint of the digital economy.

Work

Two silhouetted heads face each other, linked by circuit lines and globes. A snowflake and sun symbolise differences in language and culture.

WILL AI REPLACE TRANSLATORS?

Claret Christensen traces the translation’s journey from an ancient bridge between cultures to an AI-assisted industry where experienced linguists face falling rates, insecure work and a troubling contradiction.

Images of events and locations depicting real people and and real settings

WILL AI SAVE OR DESTROY PHOTOGRAPHY?

From film to digital, photography has always evolved with technology. But generative AI presents a different challenge: images are created without ever witnessing the world. Dylan Garcia asks if photography will drown in a flood of synthetic sameness or if human input will be even more valuable.

Computer screens in a library room

DO YOU REALLY NEED THAT AI COURSE?

As AI learning options multiply, mid-career professionals are being sold knowledge, structure, credibility and career security as though they were the same thing. While some courses offer real value, others may offer little more.

Legislation-governance

A gamer enjoys playing resident evil from their laptop.

WHAT ARE THE PROSPECTS FOR VOICE ACTING WHEN AI CAN CLONE ANY HUMAN VOICE?

Marco Nepomuceno knows that a memorable dubbed performance is built from decisions that never appear in a transcript. Drawing on his work as the Brazilian voice of the Merchant in "Resident Evil: Requiem 4", he considers what voice synthesis can reproduce, and what it cannot understand.

A person types into a Claude interface

WHAT IS THE REAL REASON FOR WATERMARKING AI-GENERATED CONTENT

Dr Fabio de Oliveira asks what AI watermarking really proves. As invisible markers become part of AI regulation, he argues that detecting AI involvement is not the same as proving AI authorship.

Culture

Images of events and locations depicting real people and and real settings

WILL AI SAVE OR DESTROY PHOTOGRAPHY?

From film to digital, photography has always evolved with technology. But generative AI presents a different challenge: images are created without ever witnessing the world. Dylan Garcia asks if photography will drown in a flood of synthetic sameness or if human input will be even more valuable.

A gamer enjoys playing resident evil from their laptop.

WHAT ARE THE PROSPECTS FOR VOICE ACTING WHEN AI CAN CLONE ANY HUMAN VOICE?

Marco Nepomuceno knows that a memorable dubbed performance is built from decisions that never appear in a transcript. Drawing on his work as the Brazilian voice of the Merchant in "Resident Evil: Requiem 4", he considers what voice synthesis can reproduce, and what it cannot understand.