Frontiers Forum Deep Dive series: Scientists on ‘urgent’ quest to explain consciousness as AI gathers pace
Meeting Announcement
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 1-Nov-2025 09:11 ET (1-Nov-2025 13:11 GMT/UTC)
A recent study published in National Science Review has introduced a policy-specific assessment framework featuring a novel Synergy Index, designed to uncover how air pollution control and carbon mitigation can move in harmony or fall out of step. Drawing on China’s on-road transportation sector as a case study, the research quantifies both the realized and untapped synergies in reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs) and improving air quality. The findings paint a compelling picture: from 2010 to 2020, China’s on-road transportation emission control policies achieved lower GHG emissions, cleaner air, and substantial public health benefits. However, behind this progress lies an unexpected finding showing that policy synergies have been weakening, highlighting the urgency of robust structural transitions to maintain long-term carbon and air-pollution co-control, to advance a sustainable pathway toward the Sustainable Development Goals, and to fullfil the newly announced NDC target.
As AI—and the ethical debate surrounding it—accelerates, scientists argue that understanding consciousness is now more urgent than ever. Researchers writing in Frontiers in Science warn that advances in AI and neurotechnology are outpacing our understanding of consciousness—with potentially serious ethical consequences.
A new study suggests screenings to identify children who struggle to learn to read may not work as intended in all schools: Many teachers did not receive adequate training to perform the tests, and about half reported they were not confident children who need extra instruction in reading end up receiving it.
Investigators at Mass General Brigham and the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Center for Outcomes Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have found that international doctors sponsored by H1-B visas in 2024 comprised nearly 1% of the entire physician workforce in the United States, with substantial variation in different counties’ reliance on H-1B-sponsored physicians and other healthcare professionals. The research, published in JAMA, comes out just weeks after a presidential proclamation that substantially increased employers’ fees for H1-B visa applications.
Wiley has set new standards for responsible and intentional AI use, delivering comprehensive guidelines specifically designed with and for research authors, journal editors, and peer reviewers. This new guidance draws from more than 40 in-depth interviews with research authors and editors across various disciplines, as well as the company’s experts in AI, research integrity, copyright and permissions.