Computer Science | Penn Today

drawing of a head and neck and shoulders with what looks like wheel machinery in the brain to indicate the concept of an algorithm.

Who made that decision: You or an algorithm?

Wharton’s Kartik Hosanagar’s new book, “A Human’s Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control,” examines how algorithms influence our decisions.

Two female programmers work on the ENIAC computer.

On ENIAC’s anniversary, a nod to its female ‘computers’

Six women were the original operators of Penn’s pathbreaking ENIAC, the world’s first computer. On ENIAC Day, you can see a documentary featuring some of their stories that were originally obscured from history.

How do individual decisions affect group decisions?

Postdoctoral fellow Colin Twomey looks to fish behavior to explore the dynamic between individual and group decision-making.

Google sees gold in Indian languages

The Wharton School’s Kartik Hosanagar weighed in on Nevlekha, a new platform from Google that uses AI to render PDFs in Indian languages editable, making them easier to share online. “It’s only one of a series [of moves] Google will need if it hopes to penetrate the hundreds of millions of Indians,” said Hosanagar.

Let’s retire the phrase ‘privacy policy’

Writing in The New York Times, Joseph Turow of the Annenberg School for Communication shared his findings on internet users’ misperceptions of online privacy policies.

How artificial intelligence is changing teaching

Ryan Baker of the Graduate School of Education and Valerie Ross of the School of Arts and Sciences discussed the benefits and challenges of using AI in the classroom.

An 11-year-old changed election results on a replica Florida state website in under 10 minutes

The School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Matt Blaze discussed a hacking experiment, saying it was “not surprising that these precocious, bright kids would be able to do it because the websites that are on the internet are vulnerable…. What was interesting is just how utterly quickly they were able to do it.”

The Drone From This Penn Spinout Can Fly Inside Mines Without Maps or GPS

Exyn Technologies will be sending out a drone to explore a Latin American mine using only its own onboard sensors. The startup, which originated in Penn’s GRASP lab, was cofounded by Dean Vijay Kumar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Microsoft’s Purchase of GitHub Leaves Some Scientists Uneasy

Post-doc Daniel Himmelstein of the Perelman School of Medicine discussed problematic elements of GitHub’s model. “Regardless of the Microsoft acquisition, GitHub, as a centralized and closed company, possesses a dangerous level of control over the open-source ecosystem,” said Himmelstein.

The Cybersecurity 202: We Surveyed 100 Experts. A Majority Rejected the FBI's Push for Encryption Back Doors

Matt Blaze of the School of Engineering and Applied Science spoke out against the FBI’s call to weaken encryption. “Strong encryption is absolutely critical for keeping our data safe from criminals. This is especially important for mobile devices such as cellphones, which are easily lost or stolen,” said Blaze.

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