The virtual assistant The virtual assistant Artificial intelligence has permeated many corners of life, from consumer purchasing and media consumption to health care—sometimes in ways we don’t even know.
The human driver The human driver As the ability to harness the power of artificial intelligence grows, so does the need to consider the difficult decisions and trade-offs humans make all the time about privacy, bias, ethics, and safety.
The programming ethos Aaron Roth, left, and Michael Kearns, right, discuss their new book “The Ethical Algorithm.” The programming ethos In a podcast conversation, Penn professors Michael Kearns, Aaron Roth, and Lisa Miracchi discuss the ethics of artificial intelligence.
Around the world in 1,082 days Q&A Around the world in 1,082 days A Q&A with historian Antonio Feros reflecting on the 500th anniversary of Ferdinand Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe, and how the voyage shaped both the 16th century and today.
In memory of lives lost crossing the border “Hostile Terrain 94” (Photo: Hostile Terrain) In memory of lives lost crossing the border “Hostile Terrain,” a global project political art project, will surface at the Penn Museum, in collaboration with the Wolf Humanities Center, on Sept. 25-27.
Minds in the wild Brannon lab manager Nuwar Ahmed (in red) plays the cup game with a young participant. The object is to “feed” the dino a fish hidden under a different cup each round. The researchers then watch to see how many tries it takes the children to find the fish. (Photo: Brooke Sietinsons) Minds in the wild As part of a MindCORE effort to bring research into the community, behavioral psychologist Elizabeth Brannon and her team spent the summer conducting two studies at the Academy of Natural Sciences to better understand how children learn.
Researchers discover new topological phases in a class of optical materials Researchers discover new topological phases in a class of optical materials These unique topological phases, which imbue materials with new properties, provide a pathway for future optical-electronic applications such as telecommunications devices and quantum computers.
Fruit flies’ microbiomes shape their evolution An ambitious outdoor experiment in fruit flies at Pennovation Works revealed that an altered microbiome can drive evolutionary change. (Photo: Seth Rudman) Fruit flies’ microbiomes shape their evolution In just five generations, an altered microbiome can lead to genome-wide evolution in fruit flies, according to new research led by Paul Schmidt and postdoc Seth Rudman of the School of Arts and Sciences.
Dissecting the Green New Deal Billy Fleming (left), Wilks Family Director for the Ian L. McHarg Center at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design and Daniel Aldana Cohen, who runs the Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative (SC)2 at Penn, organized the day-long event. (Photo: Lou Caltabiano) Dissecting the Green New Deal During what’s likely the largest climate event ever held at Penn, leaders in a range of fields discussed the practicalities and implications of the resolution introduced into Congress in February aimed at stemming climate change.
Black boys, grief, and guns in urban schools Black boys, grief, and guns in urban schools Nora Gross, a joint doctoral candidate in sociology and education, examines how students grieve and recover after gun violence kills peers.