All articles from Aeon

Patterns without desires

The art expert is the fulcrum of all value and significance in the museum and auction world. Could AI supplant them? - by Noah Charney Read on Aeon

Travelling at the speed of light

A mind-bending trip into the cosmos aboard a speculative (yet theoretically possible) spacecraft near the speed of light - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

White-collar sweatshops

How did law firms and other professional workplaces become places of such crushing and soulless work? - by Dylan Gottlieb Read on Aeon

Your opinion, please

From poetry to politics, this radio show asked listeners to speak their minds. Decades later, their words still resonate - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

Living without my self

Our culture valorises the big, coherent self: reading Robert Musil helps me embrace the beauty of my no-self existence - by Mette Leonard Høeg Read on Aeon

Is AI already conscious?

Why it’s difficult and perhaps even morally perilous to rule out the possibility of AI consciousness - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

The antibiotic trap

Easy access to desperately needed drugs has made India the global accelerant of our antimicrobial resistance crisis - by Assa Doron & Alex Broom Read on Aeon

When trauma becomes trope

Humanitarian journalism is a moral calling to document human suffering. But in practice, it’s an ethically murky undertaking - by Cathy Otten Read on Aeon

The hidden world of plant roots

Plant roots don’t have a nervous system, yet can produce sophisticated responses. What does that say about intelligence? - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

The house is a work of art

Frank Lloyd Wright exalted the individual and made ordinary life beautiful. But his life was marked by scandal and grief - by Andrew Deming Read on Aeon

The Medici’s lost garden of wonders

The rise and fall of the Medici’s ingeniously engineered ‘Garden of Wonders’: the Pratolino ‘proto-theme park’ in Tuscany - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

Banking beyond the law

A centuries-old network of secret codes and shadowy brokers continues to outpace financial systems controlled by the state - by Miles Kellerman Read on Aeon