How can we understand what a society thinks without relying on traditional surveys that require large samples and significant investment? The Social Probing project, now completed and coordinated by researcher Antonio Fernández Anta at IMDEA Networks, was carried out in collaboration with UC3M, UPM, and Universitat Jaume I to achieve precisely that: develop scalable, cost-effective, and privacy-preserving tools that allow for continuous societal monitoring. Their solution: indirect surveys.

Challenging traditional meritocratic models, this research calls for redefining the purpose of education in the age of AI. It argues that systems based on ranking and standardized testing ignore deep social inequalities and are misaligned with a world shaped by artificial intelligence and complexity. Instead, the authors propose an education model rooted in human interdependence—emphasizing collaboration, empathy, and creativity as essential skills for thriving in an interconnected, uncertain, and rapidly evolving global landscape.

A new study titled “The Perception of the Meaning of Exposure to Crime in the Community Among Men from Arab Society in Israel” by Amal Khatib, conducted under the supervision of Dr. Ohad Gilbar from the School of Social Work at the Hebrew University, explores how Arab men living in violent, crime-prone environments interpret and internalize their experiences. Using a phenomenological approach, the study involved in-depth interviews with 15 men aged 25–60 from Arab communities in Israel, all of whom grew up amid persistent violence and criminal activity.

Sociologists of religion present a new edition of one of the most comprehensive empirical studies of religious trends across the world – Detlef Pollack: the importance of religion has declined dramatically across the world, even in former religious strongholds – “Even predominantly Muslim countries such as Iran and Turkey are not spared from the decline in religion” – Updated and expanded new edition of the standard work “Religion and Modernity”