From AI to the politics of food diplomacy, 2025 in CORDIS science
Surely, AI can’t understand emotions better than us, can it? Six AIs, including ChatGPT, were given emotional intelligence tests designed to evaluate humans. How do you think they did? And how do you think ChatGPT did when it was given a series of tests to see if it makes the same decision-making mistakes as us? Unsurprisingly, it’s getting more and more difficult to tell apart AI-generated images from real ones. What’s concerning, this is also the case for images that are very familiar to us. Is AI coming for your job? It depends on how ready your country is. If you’re reading this, chances are you work somewhere in Europe, so that’s mostly good news. Speaking of work, do you use AI to write emails? Keep this hidden risk in mind before you press ‘send’. If you’re a history buff, go back in time to ancient Rome and Greece thanks to an interactive AI platform that generates true-to-real-life images. Cheer the victorious general on his chariot! Wonder if we’re prepared for the next global pandemic? AI is here to help tackle future disease outbreaks. What if AI could reliably estimate our next diagnosis, complication or even when we’ll die?
Let’s get physical and healthy
No more excuses for being inactive. You can train the brain to enjoy exercise. Does it matter if you exercise in nature or in a gym? How do the surroundings positively or negatively affect mental and physical well-being? Do we really need 10 000 steps a day to stay healthy? There’s also a major factor to living a healthier and longer life that has nothing to do with exercise, diet or genetics. Whatever troubles you, sleep on it, it’ll do wonders for your mental and physical well-being, advises science. We now have a better idea of why we react in different ways to the same foods. There’s a new device that lets us taste things without actually eating them. For all you chocolate lovers, no more guilt trips. There’s a healthier option coming that contains some unlikely ingredients. We are what we eat, the saying goes. But when we eat might predict how long we live. When reading a menu, does it ever cross your mind that one or more of the items on it may have played a key role in international relations? Here’s what 100 years of menus revealed about the political influence of food.
Battle of the sexes
Women are more talkative than men at work, at home, everywhere. How true is this stereotype? Diseases affect men and women differently. There are factors beyond genes to explain this difference. Women and men also feel romantic love differently. But how different is it while they’re in love? Happy New Year! And remember, always look on the playful side of life!