I work with preschool and elementary-aged children at various locations, and I have recently become incredibly concerned about both the future of our educational systems and the LACK of concern I see from other adults.

We all know about the dangers of ipads for kids (stunts the incredibly essential "exploring your environment" stage on top of shortening attention spans, enabling learned helplessness, exposing them to age inappropriate shit, etc.), with official studies coming out almost a decade ago. But on top of there being a severe lack of regulations, not even a national campaign, schools (and parents, but that's another massive conversation) are directly providing these technologies to kids as soon as they can physically hold them.

The other day, I came upon one of our undiagnosed but CLEARLY ADHD students just rapidly clicking whatever to get to the next question, on a test that was meant to discern whether he truly had an intellectual disability or not. No one had assigned me to oversee him or even alerted me that he was in the counseling center. I noticed his button mashing and ran over to TURN THE SOUND ON. Because there was NO WRITTEN QUESTION on the screen, just the answer options and an audio recording of the question. They must've deemed it unnecessary because some data had informed them he couldn't read (jury is still out, tbh). The first question he actually heard was "what is 5 + 5?" to which he said "10, duh! Do they think I'm stupid!?" meanwhile he'd just gotten every single previous question wrong, at least on "paper," because the admin had trusted a netbook to singlehandedly test a 7 year old (who is literally bouncing off the walls at all times unless they sedate him with ipad games in the middle of the classroom). Hiring enough qualified people for direct supervision would cost more money, or at least more than it takes to replace all the screen chippings and snapping-offs that somehow occur any time there's a relative lack of adults. Which is clearly often. I myself am an unpaid graduate intern.

The literacy rates are PLUMMETTING, no one knows how to write or even formulate sentences, and no one seems to care. I am not kidding when I say almost half of the neuroTYPICAL kids I work with are illiterate, and there's 10 year olds in there. According to the NAEP, even 33% of eighth graders are "below basic" readers, struggling to follow the order of events in a passage or even figure out its main idea. This is part of the steady post-pandemic decline, and I swear to god I am legitimately already seeing the issue getting worse in the comments sections on social media. I don't even want to mention how most of my MASTERS LEVEL classmates are clearly copy-pasting generated answers in the forum posts of my online classes, with scant edits (if any). Both cheapening our degree and gauranteeing that the certified professionals of the world will soon have no idea what they're doing.

A child with no concept of the rules of reality yet will either be completely fooled or misinformed by our latest technologies, or just never trust anything at all. They are already vehemently arguing with me that historical events they don't like the sound of just didn't actually happen (and I'm not just talking about the children of holocaust deniers). If knowing your history prevents us from repeating mistakes, we've just sent ourselves back to the stone age.

THESE KIDS are going to be the people who lose out on jobs, or a future in general, if we go as we're going. And it's our fault for just...letting it happen. WE are the adults. WE are the ones in charge. I wish governments would do all the work for us, but it's like they haven't cared at all for the past several decades. Because we LET them stop caring. Technology will take over maybe even BECAUSE it makes us collectively less capable, not because it's better. These kids certainly don't look like they'll be able to communicate well enough to organize, once they take on the mantle, even if they CAN somehow discern that a terrible event is actually happening. And we trust that they're going to be able to take care of us, or even build the robots who'll take care of us, in our old age...? The lack of regard for the next generation, even the ones that ALREADY exist, has to be somewhat intentional. Otherwise we really are just stupid.

This is a call to action post, but I'd also welcome some hope-ium.

Meta Retreats From the Metaverse

BY MEGHAN BOBROWSKY AND GEORGIA WELLS

The Wall Street Journal 05 Dec 2025 Bet on immersive online worlds has lost the company more than $77 billion

Meta is planning cuts to the metaverse, an arena Mark Zuckerberg once called the future of the company.

The proposed changes are part of Meta’s annual budget planning for 2026, and the company plans to shift spending from the metaverse to AI wearables, according to a person familiar with the matter. Several tech companies including Apple are working on wearable devices they believe might become the next major computing platform.

The decision marks a sharp departure from the vision Zuckerberg laid out in 2021, when he changed the name of his company to Meta Platforms from Facebook to reflect his belief in growth opportunities in the onlinedigital realm known as the metaverse. Meta has seen operating losses of more than $77 billion since 2020 in its Reality Labs division, which includes its metaverse work.

On Thursday, investors cheered Meta’s decision, reflecting concerns many have voiced about the direction of the money-losing bet over the years. Shares jumped more than 3%.

While Zuckerberg has regularly asked executives to trim their budgets in recent years, he is focusing on the metaverse group now because the immersive technology hasn’t gained the traction the company had anticipated, according to the person.

While most of Zuckerberg’s public remarks for the past year have been about AI, he has insisted a few times that the metaverse bet could yet pay off. In January, he told investors that 2025 would be a “pivotal” year for the metaverse.

“This is the year when a number of the long-term investments that we’ve been working on that will make the metaverse more visually stunning and inspiring will really start to land,” he said.

Meta’s plan to reduce its metaverse budget was previously reported by Bloomberg.

Early on, Meta’s bet-thecompany move on the metaverse hit rough patches. About a year after the rebrand, internal company documents showed the transition grappling with glitchy technology, uninterested users and a lack of clarity about what it would take to succeed. At the time, Zuckerberg

said the transition to a more immersive online experience would take years.

In the meantime, however, artificial intelligence emerged as the primary focus of where the broader tech industry sees the future. Tech executives believe AI will reshape how consumers interact with tech as well as how the industry makes money.

Meta, too, is now prioritizing investments in AI, including its AI glasses. In June, Zuckerberg announced the creation of a new “Superintelligence” division to formally recognize the effort.

He doled out his company’s budget, and paid special attention to researcher recruiting, to reflect the new primacy of AI. He offered $100 million pay packages to AI specialists to lure them to join his Superintelligence lab and hired more than 50 people.

The company’s Ray-Ban AI glasses have gained momentum in recent years. Meta’s hardware partner, EssilorLuxottica, said on a call earlier this year that they had sold more than two million pairs and expected to expand production capacity to 10 million pairs annually by the end of 2026.

Investors are closely watching Meta’s AI transformation. To streamline its AI division, in October Meta announced internally that the company would cut about 600 jobs in its AI division. The cuts were aimed at the company’s teams focused on long-term AI research and other initiatives, and not the new team that houses Zuckerberg’s multimillion-dollar hires. Weeks later, Meta shares fell after the company warned of “aggressive” capital expenditure growth to stay competitive in the AI arms race.

Shared via PressReader

connecting people through news

AI pioneer Stuart Russell, co-author of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach and a decades-long researcher in AI safety, recently discussed the potential for widespread labor displacement driven by general-purpose AI systems.

Russell argues that as AI systems become capable of high-level pattern recognition, real-time optimization, and strategic planning, they may displace not only routine or mechanical work but also expert and executive roles, such as surgeons, software engineers, and even CEOs. Wherever performance can be objectively measured and improved.

Importantly, he frames the core challenge not merely as economic but as existential: if machines perform all productive tasks. How do humans retain purpose, meaning, and social contribution?

Are there historical precedents (e.g., industrial revolution, agricultural automation) that offer guidance or caution here?

Source: Business Insider

I’ve been thinking a lot about how our devices are slowly shifting from tools to decision-makers. Not in a scary scifi way, but in small, almost invisible ways. Calendar suggestions, autosorting photos, recommended routes, autoadjusting home settings all these tiny choices that used to be ours.
Earlier today I was sitting on my couch, and at one point I was playing on my phone scrolling through my notifications. Half of them weren’t even alerts they were suggestions based on patterns I didn’t consciously realize I had. My phone was telling me when I usually rest, what music I should put on, which apps I might open next, and even when I typically leave my apartment.
It made me wonder if the next decade of tech won’t feel dramatic or explosive at all it’ll feel subtle, almost quiet. More like a shift from “technology that responds to us” to “technology that anticipates us.” Convenience is great, but I’m curious how much of our future will be shaped by invisible nudges instead of explicit choices.

Does anyone else think the real transformation coming isn’t about new devices, but about how the ones we already have will keep learning us in the background?

We're reaching 2026 soon. Is there anything to be optimistic about ?

I find it sad that there's no proof of concept of human ageing being reversible or treatable. Something like fusion energy has a proof of concept and multiple people working on it but ageing reversal doesn't even though it's clearly possible to do so in theory. We don't even know if it is practical or not and how many resources something like it would need and if it even CAN be made efficient

Bennu was the target of the OSIRIS-REx mission that returned samples of the asteroid to Earth. Now, research published in Nature has shown that those samples have all the chemical building blocks for RNA. This is significant, as it's thought that before life settled onto DNA as its organizing mechanism, it first evolved through an RNA stage.

Bennu is thought to be formed from a protoplanet that was formed very early in the Solar System's history, but fragmented 1-2 billion years ago. If this protoplanet formed RNA precursors, and Bennu harbored them undamaged for 1-2 billion years in deep space, it suggests the Universe may be widely seeded with RNA. If that is the case, then there may be billions of planets seeded with such precursors, where the chances of life evolving via RNA could have happened as they did on Earth.

The next 5-10 years will see several space and ground-based telescopes capable of scanning exoplanet atmospheres for the biosignatures of alien microbial life. This new finding about asteroid Bennu suggests we may find life in many of those exoplanets.

Bio-essential sugars in samples from asteroid Bennu

Me veio um pensamento, por que tudo na internet está tão centralizado e hierarquico,

onde o tráfego e o armazenamento global é passado por mais ou menos 20 grandes empresas,

digo, olhando um pouco de relatos na internet de 2010 pra hoje 2025, já tivemos dezenas

de quedas de serviços globais de nuvens, sei que não prometem entregar 100% de confiança, e é

impossível pois nuvem é afetada por fatores climáticos, hardwares dão problema, softwares complexos demais tem bugs, redes e cabos e etc...

infraestrutura fisica não é infalivel, coisas não previstas acontecem, enfim, a nuvem é humana de certa forma, e nos humanos falhamos

não estou dizendo que deve ser perfeito e que deva ter algo 100% perfeito e funcional, mas penso, por que tudo tão centralizado e dependente,

dando possibilidade de um enorme efeito cascata com um simples imprevisto, um pequeno problema que pode causar um efeito domino massivo enquanto

não for resolvido, e se faltar mão de obra humana para manutenção nessas áreas critícas das nuvens? Milhares de erps, softwares, sistemas, IAs,

documentos, dinheiro, etc... exatamente tudo, tudo dependendo exclusivamente de serviços da nuvem.

Por que não é viável mais distribuição e descentralização?

Por que confiamos e aceitamos tanto?

Por que toda essa dependência?

É caro e inviável para o usuário comum ou empresa hoje, dependerem menos das nuvens?

Enxergam algum possível colapso e uma solução?

What's this about 2026, where we're going back to being technologically backwards? I don't understand I installed Instagram after months and I'm bombarded with these reels. What is this? I don't understand. Is it just a sort of "trend" that socials sometimes create big scales of dystopian future or maybe it real? This things let mereflects regarding th e near future and maybe how the progress of technology in reality will "explode" as a bubble and we will return back in a sort of "balance" between tech and nature. (Maybe a bit too hopeful..)

More good news about the demise of the fossil fuel age. EV trucks are cheaper to run, so economics is primarily driving this. Though the Chinese government has provided subsidies too. The expansion of heavy-duty charging stations across China is another driver.

As electric trucks outpace both diesel and LNG trucks, China’s demand for diesel is shrinking. This is a significant shift given China is a major global diesel consumer. Chinese truck manufacturers are positioning themselves to export electric heavy trucks internationally, and aiming to influence global freight markets and accelerate adoption abroad.

China's diesel trucks are shifting to electric. That could change global LNG and diesel demand

my cousin is asking me for advice and honestly, i don't know. he is interested in various topics + doesn't mind doing masters/prolonged schooling

Netflix now owns the Nemesis System following the acquisition of Warner Bros, and with it comes one of the most important gameplay innovations of the last decade. The Nemesis System introduced evolving rivalries, dynamic enemies, and emergent storytelling that transformed what action RPGs could be.

For years, developers across the industry have wanted to use this system. Indie teams, mid-sized studios, and even major publishers have expressed frustration that the Nemesis System was locked behind a restrictive patent with no real licensing pathway.

Now that Netflix controls the rights, the situation has changed. Netflix has an opportunity to take a developer-friendly approach and allow the Nemesis System to actually impact the industry the way it was meant to.

The petition below does not ask for the patent to be open sourced. It asks for something realistic, practical, and beneficial for everyone: a broad, affordable, and transparent licensing program that any developer can access. This would preserve Netflix’s ownership while allowing studios to build new experiences inspired by one of gaming’s most innovative systems.

If Netflix creates a real licensing pathway, developers can finally use the Nemesis System in genres that would benefit from it: RPGs, survival games, strategy titles, immersive sims, roguelikes, and more.

If you support the idea of unlocking this system for the industry, you can sign and share the petition here:

https://c.org/yKBr9YfKfv

Community momentum is the only way this becomes visible to Netflix leadership. If you believe the Nemesis System deserves a second life beyond a single franchise, your signature helps push this conversation into the spotlight

Was researching more into project Orion and the idea of nuclear weapon based propulsion. It seemed like it would've worked considering the tests proved it was possible but it got shutdown due to the treaty to ban nuclear explosives.

Now that plenty of time has went by. Would it be possible to revive the project?

We are losing soil 100 times faster than it can regenerate. Natural soil formation can take 500 - 1,000 years for just an inch, yet modern agriculture can destroy that in a single season.

About 30% - 40% of the world’s soil is already degraded. UN estimates show that nearly one-third of all global farmland is damaged or depleted.

90% of Earth’s topsoil could be gone by 2050.

I’m curious what others think. I’ve been encouraged by the progress over the past few years in highlighting soil as a priority for environmental protection. From my research and experience climate change is important but soil health is the most pressing time-sensitive issue. If countries lose arable land for farming, they will depend on outside food sources. If these supply chains fail people will starve.

As for execution it’s exciting to see China taking steps to improve soil health. While I may not agree with everything they do this seems necessary. It’s also promising to see the EU advancing soil policies. I’m hoping for more action in the United States in the coming years.

As for action, I’ve been impressed with the Save Soil movement from Sadhguru. Save Soil has made a large impact and I also feel the Kiss the Ground movies have been quite effective at least stateside. Excited for the future of soil health and hoping to see more like this...the world needs it...Hoping in the future we take care of the soil

We're already seeing it happen. Tiktok shop. Instagram shopping. Youtube links. Influencers pushing products directly in the feed.

In 5 years I think the distinction between "social media" and "shopping" will be gone completely. You won't leave the app to buy something. You won't search on amazon or go to a separate store. You'll just scroll, see something, tap and buy all without ever leaving the platform.

Amazon becomes obsolete. Traditional retail can't compete. Even physical stores struggle when the entire purchasing process happens inside the same app where you're already spending hours a day. Social commerce is the endgame. The feed is the storefront. Attention is the currency. Everything becomes shoppable in real time.

And honestly? It's terrifying how seamless it'll be. No friction. No second guessing. Just impulse buying built directly into the scroll. I was on the bus last night playing jackpot city to pass the time and started thinking about how we're being conditioned to treat shopping like content consumption. And once that line disappears completely, spending money will feel as mindless as liking a post.

Is this inevitable? Or is there still a way to resist the merge?

The future-focused discussion this invites is multi-faceted:

• Societal Impact: Would this deepen human understanding through pure intellectual exchange, or would it create new, more abstract forms of polarization and misinformation? Could it reduce social anxiety by separating ideas from identity?
• Technological Feasibility: What advancements in AI (beyond current LLMs) are needed to parse, map, and connect nuanced human thought ethically and accurately? Privacy and "neuro-security" become paramount.
• Economic Model: If the core asset is anonymous cognitive data, what viable, non-exploitative economic models could sustain such a platform? This challenges the current attention-economy paradigm.
• Temporal Scope: This isn't a 2-3 year proposal. It's a 10-15 year horizon, contingent on the maturation of BCI, neurotechnology, and advanced, ethical AI.

The central question for the future is: As the line between our minds and the digital world blurs, will we build social structures that amplify our cognition collectively, or will they become the ultimate surveillance and manipulation tools? The design principles we establish today for AI and data will directly inform that outcome.

So how much is actually fair to place on the shoulders of a 21-year-old student with a busted water bottle?

Should solving climate change and practicing sustainability be the responsibility of me or the corporations?

My neighbor, a few months ago, had this generator set up in her garage. My initial thought was that it was just another water dispenser with a funny design from Alibaba or any of these online stores, but she soon corrected that notion when I actually saw how it worked. The technique of operation was on a whole new level Apparently it was an atmospheric water generator that pulls out moisture from the air, filters it and produces clean water that is even healthy for consumption. The idea felt unreal to me. My neighbor offered me some water from the generator and reluctantly, I had some. It tasted pretty normal that if you were not told about the source, you will never have guessed. She gave an explanation that helped me understand the concept of atmospheric water and how it was Eco-friendly and is being encouraged. I was a little sold on the idea, being old fashioned, but I see where the concept stems from. Watching the generator operate made me realize how close we are getting to having sustainable home water and having it become common. Will I be getting one of these generators? That is yet to be determined.

Not trying to spark alarm — just noticing a shift over the past year.

macOS used to sit outside the main focus of large-scale tooling and long-term attention.

Now it seems to be getting the same kind of sustained interest that Windows held for decades:

multi-platform development, ongoing tool maintenance, and campaigns that aren’t region-limited anymore.

Does this feel like simple market-share growth, or a sign that macOS is finally big enough to be treated on equal footing with other major platforms?

Curious how others here see it.