Comment

State-of-the-art generative artificial intelligence (AI) can now match humans in creativity tests and is at the cusp of augmenting the creativity of every knowledge worker on Earth. We argue that enriching generative AI applications with insights from the psychological sciences may revolutionize our understanding of creativity and lead to increasing synergies in human–AI hybrid intelligent interfaces.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools have made it easy to create realistic disinformation that is hard to detect by humans and may undermine public trust. Some approaches used for assessing the reliability of online information may no longer work in the AI age. We offer suggestions for how research can help to tackle the threats of AI-generated disinformation.

If mistakes are made in clinical settings, patients suffer. Artificial intelligence (AI) generally — and large language models specifically — are increasingly used in health settings, but the way that physicians use AI tools in this high-stakes environment depends on how information is delivered. AI toolmakers have a responsibility to present information in a way that minimizes harm.

Social media data enable insights into human behaviour. Researchers can access these data via platform-provided application programming interfaces (APIs), but these come with restrictive usage terms that mean studies cannot be reproduced or replicated. Platform-owned APIs hinder access, transparency and scientific knowledge.

We need human behavioural change to decarbonize our buildings. This requirement arises from our needs, lifestyle energy choices and interactions with buildings, and is an underexploited, yet essential demand-side opportunity for rapid and sustainable decarbonization. We propose a sufficiency-oriented approach that fosters equitable building decarbonization, while maintaining planetary boundaries.

On the basis of decades of cognitive science research into the nature of lexical concepts, we argue that gender categories that reflect the reality of the experiences of transgender people are more useful and cognitively natural than sex-based category definitions.

Hopelessness and despair threaten health and longevity. We urgently need strategies to counteract these effects and improve population health. Prosociality contributes to better mental and physical health for individuals, and for the communities in which they live. We propose that prosociality should be a public health priority.

The rise of generative AI requires a research agenda grounded in the African context to determine locally relevant strategies for its development and use. With a critical mass of evidence on the risks and benefits that generative AI poses to African societies, the scaled use of this new technology might help to reduce rising global inequities.

Progress in the burgeoning field of misinformation research requires some degree of consensus about what constitutes an effective intervention to combat misinformation. We differentiate between research designs that are used to evaluate interventions and recommend one that measures how well people discern between true and false content.

Effective HIV prevention and treatment are widely available, but services are underused and underdelivered. Behavioural economics offers insights into why this is and shows us cost-effective interventions to change behaviours. We call for investment in scaling up behavioural economics approaches to aid in progress towards ending HIV.

New medications that target biological mechanisms to address obesity, diabetes and related cardiometabolic conditions are widely popular. As not everyone is eligible, willing or able to take medications, structural and behavioural solutions remain essential to treat and decrease the risk of cardiometabolic diseases.

Off-task behaviours, such as media multitasking, are frequent in social science experiments and are especially common during online data collection. Such off-task behaviour can affect the quality of research data, making it crucial to understand the nature of this behaviour and to account for its influences.

Research funding determines the course of science and thus shapes future knowledge. However, funding allocation is inherently biased, non-optimal and costly. We present a Shiny app that simulates the effects of funding scenarios on costs, diversity and quality. We advocate a lottery at the beginning to promote inclusion.

The current science system is unjust — from the systems that determine its membership to its outputs and outcomes. We advocate for contextually responsive, collective action to build a more just science system that demonstrates a relational duty of care to all its participants. To achieve this, we urge the science community to harness the powerful processes of complexity with deliberate intent.

Early-career researchers in Australia report dissatisfaction, bullying and questionable research practices. We discuss how this may contribute to the replication crisis and suggest local and international strategies to improve the industry.

Victims frequently report immobility during rape and sexual assault, often using the term ‘freezing’. Neuroscientific evidence suggests fear and threat can block cortical neural circuits for action control, leading to involuntary immobility. Defence arguments that blame victims for freezing are thus inappropriate and unjust.

The metaverse can improve the accessibility of scientific laboratories and meetings, aid in reproducibility efforts and provide new opportunities for experimental design. But researchers and research institutions must plan ahead and be ready to mitigate potential harms.

The African Union has committed to gender equity for the continent. Yet women are underrepresented in education, in the workplace and in leadership positions. We must act now to achieve gender equity and combat existing structures of discrimination. We propose actions to help women to get there, stay there and thrive as leaders.

At Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, President Erdoğan’s policies and appointments are overturning the long-held liberal values of the institution. In an ongoing struggle of resistance against these actions, the faculty protest daily in the name of academic freedom and university autonomy.

An analysis of 2,500 public-health claims reveals that organizations rarely communicate uncertainties around the benefits of behavioural change. To be ethical, public-health communication should be accurate and transparent.