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You note that "AIs get worse on simple questions as they get bigger" and that they have trouble adding two large numbers. Remember that Henry Ford built a great automobile company not by becoming an expert, but by drawing on experts ( 5 October, p 14 ). If AI can solve how to iteratively create …

While camellia oil might use less land than many other oil crops, can I point out that rice bran oil requires zero land, since it is made from what is often considered a waste product – and the world isn't going to stop eating rice. This oil is popular in many Asian countries, and in …

It isn't only in the Antarctic that temperatures have gone crazy. At the end of August, my wife and I visited Svalbard, well inside the Arctic circle, where temperatures would normally be 4°C to 11°C (39°F to 52°F) in the summer, and were told that it had been up to 20°C (68°F). We travelled to …

I liked James McConnachie's review of England: A natural history by John Lewis-Stempel, and feel he gave the author a fair hearing, but would add more praise ( 5 October, p 28 ). I have read several of Lewis-Stempel's offerings. He may do his work alone, as you point out, but he has the power …

Those readers discussing how to drive more efficiently, take note. The only time I have been stopped by the police and breathalysed – the result was negative – was after they observed me practising smoother driving and less braking to conserve fuel. You might call it "reducing emissions". They called it "erratic driving" ( Letters, …

Kristian Nielsen at Copenhagen Business School in Denmark was the researcher investigating perception of carbon footprints ( 28 September, p 19 ).

Laura Spinney's article proposes the use of randomly selected citizens' assemblies to harness the creativity of the crowd to generate good solutions to public problems. The idea is a return to Athenian democratic principles, using new decision-making processes and new technology to shift governing decision-making closer to the general public than it is in current, …

There is no doubt that implementing the ideal of citizen participation is very challenging, but it is a shame that the country with probably the most effective system of direct democracy wasn't examined: Switzerland. The requirements for such democracy to work as mentioned in the article can all be seen in Swiss culture and its …

There is no need for digital technology to create true democracy for the people, by the people. Money corrupts politics. Make it illegal for vested interests to give money or anything that costs money to politicians before, during or after a term in office and watch those whose only interest is to enrich themselves run …

I favour the idea of a lottocracy because it would, in effect, eliminate those career-politicians who have rarely or never had a real job outside politics and so haven't experienced what it is like to actually have to work for a living. Some may also be subservient to their rich donors. Because of this, we …