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  • Why Canada’s Christmas presents may not be delivered on time this year

    Claire Thomson

    BBC News Scotland

    DWAS Two girls smiling at the camera. On the left, the girl has shoulder-length dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver necklace. The girl on the right has long dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver earrings. The photo is taken in a bar with long wooden tables in the background.
    Mary and Juliette set up the Dinner with a Stranger society to encourage students to make more friends

    Last year, Juliette Sartori decided she wanted to expand her social circle, so she went on a coffee date with three people she had never met before.

    “It went really well,” she said.

    “We ended up speaking for two hours and I still speak to them today. We all keep in touch.”

    Her friendship blind date was part of Dinner with a Stranger, the society Juliette and her flatmates started “on a whim” for fellow Glasgow University students who want to meet new people.

    Juliette, 21, had moved to Scotland from the US to study business and management and said it was harder to instantly connect with others as she found people “had a wall up” and were closed off.

    With students so plugged in and digital that they spend less time interacting with each other face-to-face, she didn’t have many opportunities to increase her circle of friends.

    And so Dinner with a Stranger was born.

    “We thought originally only 30 people would join,” Juliette says. “We just didn’t know what to expect.

    “It’s an out-there idea and the name throws people off from the start.”

    But 200 people – a mixture of undergraduate and postgraduate male, female and non-binary students – signed up in the first month and the society has continued to grow ever since.

  • Why Canada’s Christmas presents may not be delivered on time this year

    Claire Thomson

    BBC News Scotland

    DWAS Two girls smiling at the camera. On the left, the girl has shoulder-length dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver necklace. The girl on the right has long dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver earrings. The photo is taken in a bar with long wooden tables in the background.
    Mary and Juliette set up the Dinner with a Stranger society to encourage students to make more friends

    Last year, Juliette Sartori decided she wanted to expand her social circle, so she went on a coffee date with three people she had never met before.

    “It went really well,” she said.

    “We ended up speaking for two hours and I still speak to them today. We all keep in touch.”

    Her friendship blind date was part of Dinner with a Stranger, the society Juliette and her flatmates started “on a whim” for fellow Glasgow University students who want to meet new people.

    Juliette, 21, had moved to Scotland from the US to study business and management and said it was harder to instantly connect with others as she found people “had a wall up” and were closed off.

    With students so plugged in and digital that they spend less time interacting with each other face-to-face, she didn’t have many opportunities to increase her circle of friends.

    And so Dinner with a Stranger was born.

    “We thought originally only 30 people would join,” Juliette says. “We just didn’t know what to expect.

    “It’s an out-there idea and the name throws people off from the start.”

    But 200 people – a mixture of undergraduate and postgraduate male, female and non-binary students – signed up in the first month and the society has continued to grow ever since.

  • Why Canada’s Christmas presents may not be delivered on time this year

    Claire Thomson

    BBC News Scotland

    DWAS Two girls smiling at the camera. On the left, the girl has shoulder-length dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver necklace. The girl on the right has long dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver earrings. The photo is taken in a bar with long wooden tables in the background.
    Mary and Juliette set up the Dinner with a Stranger society to encourage students to make more friends

    Last year, Juliette Sartori decided she wanted to expand her social circle, so she went on a coffee date with three people she had never met before.

    “It went really well,” she said.

    “We ended up speaking for two hours and I still speak to them today. We all keep in touch.”

    Her friendship blind date was part of Dinner with a Stranger, the society Juliette and her flatmates started “on a whim” for fellow Glasgow University students who want to meet new people.

    Juliette, 21, had moved to Scotland from the US to study business and management and said it was harder to instantly connect with others as she found people “had a wall up” and were closed off.

    With students so plugged in and digital that they spend less time interacting with each other face-to-face, she didn’t have many opportunities to increase her circle of friends.

    And so Dinner with a Stranger was born.

    “We thought originally only 30 people would join,” Juliette says. “We just didn’t know what to expect.

    “It’s an out-there idea and the name throws people off from the start.”

    But 200 people – a mixture of undergraduate and postgraduate male, female and non-binary students – signed up in the first month and the society has continued to grow ever since.

  • Why Canada’s Christmas presents may not be delivered on time this year

    Claire Thomson

    BBC News Scotland

    DWAS Two girls smiling at the camera. On the left, the girl has shoulder-length dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver necklace. The girl on the right has long dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver earrings. The photo is taken in a bar with long wooden tables in the background.
    Mary and Juliette set up the Dinner with a Stranger society to encourage students to make more friends

    Last year, Juliette Sartori decided she wanted to expand her social circle, so she went on a coffee date with three people she had never met before.

    “It went really well,” she said.

    “We ended up speaking for two hours and I still speak to them today. We all keep in touch.”

    Her friendship blind date was part of Dinner with a Stranger, the society Juliette and her flatmates started “on a whim” for fellow Glasgow University students who want to meet new people.

    Juliette, 21, had moved to Scotland from the US to study business and management and said it was harder to instantly connect with others as she found people “had a wall up” and were closed off.

    With students so plugged in and digital that they spend less time interacting with each other face-to-face, she didn’t have many opportunities to increase her circle of friends.

    And so Dinner with a Stranger was born.

    “We thought originally only 30 people would join,” Juliette says. “We just didn’t know what to expect.

    “It’s an out-there idea and the name throws people off from the start.”

    But 200 people – a mixture of undergraduate and postgraduate male, female and non-binary students – signed up in the first month and the society has continued to grow ever since.

  • Our generation is lonelier so we’re friendship matchmakers’

    Claire Thomson

    BBC News Scotland

    DWAS Two girls smiling at the camera. On the left, the girl has shoulder-length dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver necklace. The girl on the right has long dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver earrings. The photo is taken in a bar with long wooden tables in the background.
    Mary and Juliette set up the Dinner with a Stranger society to encourage students to make more friends

    Last year, Juliette Sartori decided she wanted to expand her social circle, so she went on a coffee date with three people she had never met before.

    “It went really well,” she said.

    “We ended up speaking for two hours and I still speak to them today. We all keep in touch.”

    Her friendship blind date was part of Dinner with a Stranger, the society Juliette and her flatmates started “on a whim” for fellow Glasgow University students who want to meet new people.

    Juliette, 21, had moved to Scotland from the US to study business and management and said it was harder to instantly connect with others as she found people “had a wall up” and were closed off.

    With students so plugged in and digital that they spend less time interacting with each other face-to-face, she didn’t have many opportunities to increase her circle of friends.

    And so Dinner with a Stranger was born.

    “We thought originally only 30 people would join,” Juliette says. “We just didn’t know what to expect.

    “It’s an out-there idea and the name throws people off from the start.”

    But 200 people – a mixture of undergraduate and postgraduate male, female and non-binary students – signed up in the first month and the society has continued to grow ever since.

  • Our generation is lonelier so we’re friendship matchmakers’

    Claire Thomson

    BBC News Scotland

    DWAS Two girls smiling at the camera. On the left, the girl has shoulder-length dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver necklace. The girl on the right has long dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver earrings. The photo is taken in a bar with long wooden tables in the background.
    Mary and Juliette set up the Dinner with a Stranger society to encourage students to make more friends

    Last year, Juliette Sartori decided she wanted to expand her social circle, so she went on a coffee date with three people she had never met before.

    “It went really well,” she said.

    “We ended up speaking for two hours and I still speak to them today. We all keep in touch.”

    Her friendship blind date was part of Dinner with a Stranger, the society Juliette and her flatmates started “on a whim” for fellow Glasgow University students who want to meet new people.

    Juliette, 21, had moved to Scotland from the US to study business and management and said it was harder to instantly connect with others as she found people “had a wall up” and were closed off.

    With students so plugged in and digital that they spend less time interacting with each other face-to-face, she didn’t have many opportunities to increase her circle of friends.

    And so Dinner with a Stranger was born.

    “We thought originally only 30 people would join,” Juliette says. “We just didn’t know what to expect.

    “It’s an out-there idea and the name throws people off from the start.”

    But 200 people – a mixture of undergraduate and postgraduate male, female and non-binary students – signed up in the first month and the society has continued to grow ever since.

  • Our generation is lonelier so we’re friendship matchmakers’

    Claire Thomson

    BBC News Scotland

    DWAS Two girls smiling at the camera. On the left, the girl has shoulder-length dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver necklace. The girl on the right has long dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver earrings. The photo is taken in a bar with long wooden tables in the background.
    Mary and Juliette set up the Dinner with a Stranger society to encourage students to make more friends

    Last year, Juliette Sartori decided she wanted to expand her social circle, so she went on a coffee date with three people she had never met before.

    “It went really well,” she said.

    “We ended up speaking for two hours and I still speak to them today. We all keep in touch.”

    Her friendship blind date was part of Dinner with a Stranger, the society Juliette and her flatmates started “on a whim” for fellow Glasgow University students who want to meet new people.

    Juliette, 21, had moved to Scotland from the US to study business and management and said it was harder to instantly connect with others as she found people “had a wall up” and were closed off.

    With students so plugged in and digital that they spend less time interacting with each other face-to-face, she didn’t have many opportunities to increase her circle of friends.

    And so Dinner with a Stranger was born.

    “We thought originally only 30 people would join,” Juliette says. “We just didn’t know what to expect.

    “It’s an out-there idea and the name throws people off from the start.”

    But 200 people – a mixture of undergraduate and postgraduate male, female and non-binary students – signed up in the first month and the society has continued to grow ever since.

  • Our generation is lonelier so we’re friendship matchmakers’

    Claire Thomson

    BBC News Scotland

    DWAS Two girls smiling at the camera. On the left, the girl has shoulder-length dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver necklace. The girl on the right has long dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver earrings. The photo is taken in a bar with long wooden tables in the background.
    Mary and Juliette set up the Dinner with a Stranger society to encourage students to make more friends

    Last year, Juliette Sartori decided she wanted to expand her social circle, so she went on a coffee date with three people she had never met before.

    “It went really well,” she said.

    “We ended up speaking for two hours and I still speak to them today. We all keep in touch.”

    Her friendship blind date was part of Dinner with a Stranger, the society Juliette and her flatmates started “on a whim” for fellow Glasgow University students who want to meet new people.

    Juliette, 21, had moved to Scotland from the US to study business and management and said it was harder to instantly connect with others as she found people “had a wall up” and were closed off.

    With students so plugged in and digital that they spend less time interacting with each other face-to-face, she didn’t have many opportunities to increase her circle of friends.

    And so Dinner with a Stranger was born.

    “We thought originally only 30 people would join,” Juliette says. “We just didn’t know what to expect.

    “It’s an out-there idea and the name throws people off from the start.”

    But 200 people – a mixture of undergraduate and postgraduate male, female and non-binary students – signed up in the first month and the society has continued to grow ever since.

  • Our generation is lonelier so we’re friendship matchmakers’

    Claire Thomson

    BBC News Scotland

    DWAS Two girls smiling at the camera. On the left, the girl has shoulder-length dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver necklace. The girl on the right has long dark hair. She is wearing a blue denim top and silver earrings. The photo is taken in a bar with long wooden tables in the background.
    Mary and Juliette set up the Dinner with a Stranger society to encourage students to make more friends

    Last year, Juliette Sartori decided she wanted to expand her social circle, so she went on a coffee date with three people she had never met before.

    “It went really well,” she said.

    “We ended up speaking for two hours and I still speak to them today. We all keep in touch.”

    Her friendship blind date was part of Dinner with a Stranger, the society Juliette and her flatmates started “on a whim” for fellow Glasgow University students who want to meet new people.

    Juliette, 21, had moved to Scotland from the US to study business and management and said it was harder to instantly connect with others as she found people “had a wall up” and were closed off.

    With students so plugged in and digital that they spend less time interacting with each other face-to-face, she didn’t have many opportunities to increase her circle of friends.

    And so Dinner with a Stranger was born.

    “We thought originally only 30 people would join,” Juliette says. “We just didn’t know what to expect.

    “It’s an out-there idea and the name throws people off from the start.”

    But 200 people – a mixture of undergraduate and postgraduate male, female and non-binary students – signed up in the first month and the society has continued to grow ever since.

  • Dear AI: This is what happens when you ask an algorithm for relationship advice

    David Robson

    Estudio Santa Rita Illustration of a person's face illuminated by their phone (Credit: Estudio Santa Rita)

    How good is artificial intelligence at solving those knotty interpersonal problems that can strain our relationships? David Robson puts the “wise reasoning” of chatbots to the test.

    How can you help three siblings warring over the best way to honour their dead mother? What should we do when a couple tries to draw us into their arguments? How should a wife deal with her new husband’s demand that she goes to bed at the same time as him – a source of considerable friction in their life together?

    Some of these problems may seem trivial amid the challenges facing the world today, but they represent the kinds of dilemmas that we all face in our day-to-day lives. And they are far from easy to solve. Each side struggles to see the other’s perspective; we often make faulty assumptions and fail to account for our biases and prejudices. The result of our poor judgement can be a serious source of stress and unhappiness that lingers for months or even years after the event has unfolded.

    Your capacity to navigate these quandaries isn’t captured in standard intelligence tests, but recent research on “wise reasoning” suggests that it can be measured reliably – and the differences between two people can have serious consequences for their respective wellbeing.

    In the first of the BBC’s new series, AI Vs the Mind, I investigated whether artificial intelligence in the form of large language models like ChatGPT could provide some of the wisdom we lack. Having written extensively about human intelligence, decision making and social reasoning, I had suspected that the answer would be a resounding no – but I was in for a surprise.

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