BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a standardized behavioral experiment run with more than 100,000 people across 125 countries, 69 percent of participants chose to cooperate with an anonymous stranger on behalf of a shared goal, even when doing so meant taking a personal financial loss. Those same participants, when asked how many of their fellow citizens would make the same choice, guessed 47 percent. The research, led by a German team and published in Science, is the first globally representative study of human cooperation. Participants were drawn from 125 nationally representative country samples. What the experiment measured Each participant was paired with an anonymous person from their own country and given a choice. The non-cooperative option guaranteed $100. The cooperative option paid only $70, but if both parties independently chose it, $400 would be donated toward climate action. Choosing cooperation meant accepting a $30 personal loss in exchange for a $400 contribution to a common cause, contingent on a stranger making the same call without knowing the other had. On average, 69 percent of participants cooperated. That figure held consistently across the full range of countries in the sample. The gap between what people do and what they expect The same participants were asked to estimate what share of their fellow citizens would cooperate. The average guess was 47 percent. That 22-point gap between actual behavior and expected behavior appeared in 124 of 125 countries surveyed, making it nearly universal. Lead author Armin Falk at the University of Bonn put the implication directly: “If we were less pessimistic and therefore more realistic, we could live in a better world.” The researchers describe the gap as a form of cognitive self-deception, a tendency to assess others too negatively while behaving more generously than expected. “And in doing so, we weaken ourselves.” Why this matters beyond the laboratory Collective action on problems that require coordination, from climate change to public health, depends in part on what people believe others will do. If most people assume most others will not participate, the incentive to participate weakens. The pessimism becomes self-fulfilling. The researchers frame cooperation as a basic prerequisite for social well-being. Many challenges can only be overcome if people contribute to the common good beyond their immediate interests. The data suggests most people already do. They just do not know that most other people are doing the same. Source study: Science— Homo cooperans: Understanding the nature of human cooperation     Did this solution stand out? Share it with a friend or support our mission by becoming an Emissary.The post A study of 100,000 people found we cooperate more than we think first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM For the first time, gig workers have binding international labour protections. The International Labour Organization voted June 12 to adopt a convention setting enforceable employment standards for platform workers in ride-hailing and food delivery. Four hundred and six member governments, employer groups, and workers’ representatives voted yes, including China, Japan, Germany, France, and South Africa among them. Eight voted no. The U.S. was one of them. What does the convention cover? The protections apply whether a worker is classified as an employee or an independent contractor. That classification has been the target for platform companies: call someone a contractor, and the minimum wage and benefits requirements disappear. The convention sets minimum standards for occupational safety and health, minimum pay, and protection against unjustified termination or account deactivation. It also sets the first international rules on algorithmic management. Platforms must now disclose how and when automated systems control pay and access to work, something workers have been asking for since this industry came into existence. Why the stakes are this high The World Bank estimates between 154 million and 435 million people work through apps. A lot of them earn almost nothing once expenses come out. A 2025 Human Rights Watch report found U.S. platform workers surveyed earned a median of $5.12 per hour after expenses, about 30 percent below the federal minimum wage. Amanda Brown, vice chair of the ILO’s Workers’ Group, put it directly: “For the first time in the history of international law, the women and men who move our cities, who clean and care in our homes… will be named, recognised and protected by a binding international standard.” The real test: ratification and enforcement The ILO can’t enforce anything on its own. Countries have to ratify the convention and write it into domestic law. This process is notoriously slow, political, and far from automatic. The U.S. voted against it. U.S. representative Lorenzo Riboni argued that rigid rules in a fast-moving sector “hinder innovation and harm workers that they intend to help.” Britain and India sat it out. European countries have a better track record on ratification, which is part of why the vote went the way it did. What enforcement could look like Where governments do ratify and implement the convention, individual workers may be able to take platform companies to court. The ILO can also receive complaints and pressure governments, but that’s roughly the extent of its reach. Lena Simet, senior advisor on economic justice at Human Rights Watch, called the result a breakthrough and “a floor, not a ceiling.” Governments still need to act: ratify, enforce correct classification, and close gaps for workers misclassified as self-employed. The standard is set. Everything after this is implementation.     Did this solution stand out? Share it with a friend or support our mission by becoming an Emissary.The post Historic ILO vote gives gig workers labour rights for the first time first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

British startup Bactery says its battery, powered by bacteria, uses nature’s microbes to generate an unending trickle of power—and by stringing the prototypes together they can generate a stream. Bactery founder and CEO Jakub Dziegielowski says the device complements standard renewable systems like solar, especially because it draws power even when the sun isn’t shining. […] The post UK Startup is Making Electricity From Bacteria in the Soil – Maybe Your Garden Will Power Your Home Some Day appeared first on Good News Network.

A professor’s message of “frustration and sadness” went viral after he caught many of his students using AI on their papers. But this story didn’t play out in the way you might expect. Instead of punishing everyone with zeroes or taking disciplinary action, he wound up giving them all full credit. On one hand, it’s an exasperated reaction that many educators can relate to in the ChatGPT era, as grading written assignments has become more complicated. On the other hand, the response is part of a lesson about the importance of creative thinking and self-empowerment. The story blew up from a student’s post in the /mildlyinfuriating subreddit, where they claimed “three weeks of hard work on a paper” was wasted thanks to their classmates’ use of AI. (Ironically, their paper was an essay arguing “against the use of AI.”) But the professor’s message is more nuanced than a simple “I give up” sentiment. Three weeks of hard work on a paper all for nothing because of AI use byu/MortemPerPectus inmildlyinfuriating “I want to take a moment to speak candidly with all of you,” he writes. “Over the past week, as I have been reading your final papers, I have noticed a level of AI-generated writing that has left me deeply disappointed. Many of the submissions are so heavily AI-infused that they no longer reflect your voices, your thinking, or the skills this course is designed to build. It is disheartening for me as your instructor, and for what this means for your own learning.” Here’s what the professor told them He argued that, when using AI to write papers, students are “harming” themselves. “Writing is not an arbitrary hoop to jump through; it is one of the few durable intellectual skills that will serve you across professions, relationships, and civic life,” he writes. “When you outsource that work, you weaken not just your ability to write, but also your ability to reason, to communicate, and to advocate for yourselves…I am saying this not out of anger but out of frustration and sadness. I care about your development, I care about our state, and I am watching too many of you short-circuit your own growth and our collective future for the illusion of convenience.” The professor says that, in an “unusual decision,” he will give everyone a 10/10 on their final paper and cancel their final assignment, though he does also offer to give individual feedback to any student who emails him. “At this point, attempting to separate authentic work from AI-produced work has become counterproductive, and this course was never meant to be a surveillance exercise,” he continues. “I hate, absolutely hate, how AI has forced me to turn into a punitive detective, rather than, well, a teacher. I reject that completely. My goal is, and has always been, your learning.” He says that his decision wasn’t made lightly. “I need you to hear this clearly: This is not a reward. It is a warning,” he writes. “If you leave this course without having practiced your own writing, you will feel the consequences later, academically, professionally, and personally. AI cannot think for you. It cannot develop your voice. It cannot build skills you do not use. I sincerely hope you reflect on the choices you made in this course and how they align with what you want for yourselves. You deserve more than to let a machine do your thinking…I cannot want your learning more than you do.” The internet had a lot to say In the Reddit comments, people largely reacted to the teacher’s message. The responses are fascinating, with many supporting the instructor’s words of wisdom and others saluting the student for avoiding the temptation of AI, even if their classmates didn’t. “’I cannot want your learning more than you do.’ If that doesn’t sink deep for people, there’s no saving them.” “Dang that is a very bold statement and cuts to the core of what a student is supposed to be.” “The professor said you can send in your writing and he would offer feedback. I get your frustration… but why not turn it in anyway and say what you just explained here. You worked hard on this and deserve recognition. Great job at not taking the easy way out, btw… that’s super refreshing!” “These kids: ‘Gemini, summarize this email.'” “I feel bad for the instructor. The summation of their feelings of defeat and their struggle will hopefully compel a few people to try harder.” “I think the instructor’s point is that by canceling the assignment, they’re losing the opportunity to learn and develop their skills – that’s the punishment. Even though the people who cheated won’t realize it, now or possibly ever…A genuinely sad state of affairs. I get where they’re coming from, though, and I hope the students do at some point realize what they missed out on.” “Great quote recently from Ted Chiang (sci-fi author) when asked about AI use in education: ‘Your job is not to turn in completed assignments, it is to learn how to think.'” “Listen to what your teacher is trying to say. You did NOT do this assignment for nothing, because the point of the class is not to hand in a paper and get a grade. It’s what you learned, what skills you mobilized. And you did that, while your fellow students who used AI didn’t. You’re right to be proud of your work, and what others did and what the teacher decided to do in reply doesn’t take anything away from that. If you want feedback on your paper in order to improve, I would write to your teacher and explain this to him. Great job not taking the stupid way out, and good luck for your other finals.” One user did note that “a large number of the AI-detection tools are pretty inaccurate,” an argument supported by the University of San Diego Legal Research Center and Ars Technica. “As tempting as it is to rely on AI tools to detect AI-generated writing,” the latter wrote, “evidence so far has shown that they are not reliable.” This issue isn’t going away, especially with AI growing even more sophisticated in mimicking human writing. The professor’s “warning” may be even more relevant in a few years. What other teachers can learn from this So what can other educators do? MIT Sloan Teaching & Learning Technologies offer a helpful guide, breaking down how “clear guidelines, open dialogue with students, creative assignment design, and other strategies can promote academic honesty and critical thinking in an AI-enabled world.” This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated. The post Professor gives his class perfect scores after realizing most were cheating on their final papers appeared first on Upworthy.

“The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter, it isn’t just one of your holiday games…” – T.S. Eliot One of the best parts of getting a new pet is choosing a name for them. Unlike children, who have conscious feelings about their names and may object to off-the-wall choices at some point, a pet presumably couldn’t care less what the humans in their lives call them. A dog could be named Fred, Red, or Potatohead and be none the wiser. We’ve seen cats with names that go far beyond the norm even for pet names, like Parking Lot, Crunchwrap Supreme, and Missile Launcher (Missy for short) among other creative monikers. But if any animals were going to care about what we name them, surely it would be our finicky feline friends. And one man, whom we’ll call Unc (for his @UncGotThaMunchies handle), seems to have a gift for giving kitties very special (or rather, “pecial”) names. Unc has become the father of 13 kitties, and his naming of cats has become a bit of a viral phenomenon. @uncgotthakitties #cat #cats #catsoftiktok #kitten #kittensoftiktok ♬ original sound – UncGotThaKitties Meet Unc’s growing kitty family First, there’s Blackaroni and Cheese, a black and orange kitten pair that people are just gaga over. But Unc has begun a whole movement of naming kitties in a “berry pecial” way, with Hersberry leading the way. Why Hersberry? Because her’s berry pecial to Unc, of course. @uncgotthakitties #cats #cat #kitten #kittens #catsoftiktok ♬ original sound – UncGotThaKitties Among the other kittens, we have another pair named Thor and Lowkey (yes, spelled Lowkey) and another orange kitty that Unc named Midas, “because there Midas well be no other kitties on the whole planet.” @uncgotthakitties #cat #catsoftiktok #kitten #kittens #kittensoftiktok ♬ original sound – UncGotThaKitties Now strangers want his help too People have become so enamored with these cute and clever kitty names that some have started asking Unc to help them name their own kittens. One person shared a photo of their adorable orange kitten and asked if Unc could name him because they couldn’t think of a good name. Unc didn’t disappoint. “When people see dis kitty right here,” he said in a response video. “They will say, ‘Oh, dis kitty is so beautiful. Oh, dis kitty is so pecial.’ So I think his name should be O’dis.” Then he explained all the nickname benefits of the name O’dis and how special this name would make the kitty feel. @uncgotthakitties Replying to @glitterdiamondsparkles #greenscreen #cat #catsoftiktok #kitten #kittens ♬ original sound – UncGotThaKitties Someone else shared a photo of their fuzzy little tabby kitten, writing, “First I saw your Hersberry video then Midas and now the universe sent us a kitten and we can’t think of a name for her. Can you help name her??” Unc responded with a video saying that he’d had a premonition as he was laying around looking at kitties on TikTok that a beautiful little girl kitty was going to come to him needing a name, and he should have the name ready for her when he saw her. Watch how that played out: @uncgotthakitties Replying to @megan_elizabeth__ #greenscreen #cat #catsoftiktok #kitten #kittensoftiktok ♬ original sound – UncGotThaKitties Did he choose a perfect name or what? The kitten’s owner responded in the comments and said, “Won’Da it is!! Thank you!!” Unc got another orange kitten sent to him with a name request. This one got the name Nuffin: @uncgotthakitties Replying to @Raegan Schafer #greenscreen #cats #cat #kittens #kittensoftiktok ♬ original sound – UncGotThaKitties “Because there is nuffin on dis Earf more cuter than this kitty. And there is nuffin on dis Earf that I would not do for this kitty. And there is nuffin on this whole Earf that could keep me from loving this kitty,” explained Unc. Of course. People are loving watching Unc name other people’s kitties, with multiple people calling him a walking green flag. “There is nuffin on this earf as precious as you naming kitties.” wrote one commenter. “There is nuffin I love more than a man who loves his kitties as much as you do!!” “Another perfect name!!! My sister is adopting a kitty today and I’ve been telling her about your names and how you come up with them. It’s great.” It’s not just the names people love Ultimately, the way Unc interacts with his kitties is what keeps people coming back. There’s something so endearing about the mutual affection between him and the whole lot of them. Not all cats are sweet and snuggly, but Unc’s kitties seem to be quite affectionate. People with more standoffish cats may be wondering why this man’s cats and kittens are so loving. Well, here you go: @uncgotthakitties #cat #catsoftiktok #kitten #kittensoftiktok #kittens ♬ original sound – UncGotThaKitties So berry, berry pecial. You can follow Unc on TikTok. This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated. The post Man’s unique gift for naming cats has strangers asking him to name their kittens appeared first on Upworthy.