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Guardrails versus leashes: Finding a better way to regulate AI technology

Image: Just_Super via Getty Images

Guardrails versus leashes: Finding a better way to regulate AI technology

With artificial intelligence evolving faster than human imagination, traditional avenues of regulation may not work as well as they have for other business sectors.To safely and efficiently oversee AI, governments need to turn to a more flexible system, not immovable guardrails but more adjustable “leashes,” Penn Carey Law professor Cary Coglianese writes in a new article.

3 min. read

Wharton’s deep dive into wellness at work
A splayed hand of a person doing breathing exercises at work.

Image: Hinterhaus Productions via Getty Images

Wharton’s deep dive into wellness at work

The latest installments of The Wharton School’s faculty research podcast, “Ripple Effect,” explores whether workplace wellness programs have the desired effect, social media connections and boundaries, and work/life balance over the years.

From Knowledge at Wharton

3 min. read

New class of materials passively harvest water from air
A water droplet reflecting the color spectrum.

Image: MamiGibbs via Getty Images

New class of materials passively harvest water from air

Researchers at Penn Engineering have discovered a new class of nanostructured materials that can pull water from the air, which could enable new ways to collect water in arid regions and devices that cool electronics or buildings using the power of evaporation.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read

Modupe Coker named Fellow of Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine

Modupe Coker named Fellow of Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine

Coker, an associate professor in the Department of Basic and Translational Sciences at Penn Dental Medicine, is among 100 fellows from across the country selected for the 2025-2026 Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) program. Hosted by Drexel University College of Medicine, ELAM is dedicated to preparing women for senior leadership roles in schools of medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy.

Unlocking the mechanics of protein misfolding
Artist's interpretation of prion mechanics.

Mathieu Ouellet

Unlocking the mechanics of protein misfolding

An interdisciplinary team led by School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Lee C. Bassett and Dani Bassett, also of the School of Arts & Sciences, have studied the mechanical properties of prions, the mysterious shape-shifting proteins that are infamous for mad cow disease yet essential for yeast survival

5 min. read

Determining the cause of cryopreservation fertility failures
Spermatogenesis at a microscopic level

Image: Ed Reschke via Getty Images

Determining the cause of cryopreservation fertility failures

A new study from Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine on germ cell gene regulatory networks offers a holistic understanding of complex male germ cell differentiation in meiosis and spermatogenesis.

Martin Hackett

2 min. read

Penn Global Grants awarded to 16 new faculty-led projects

Penn Global Grants awarded to 16 new faculty-led projects

The Penn Global Research and Engagement Grant Program supports new or established projects that leverage Penn research and expertise to advance knowledge in and of communities around the world. Much of this year’s projects address urgent global challenges—including climate and public health.

Delivering a one-two punch to superbugs to fight infections
Rakesh Krishnan sits at a computer staring at a 3D rendering of a protein.

Researchers led by César de la Fuente of the Perelman School of Medicine have created new peptides that fight hard-to-treat “superbug” infections by punching holes in bacterial cells and stimulating immune cells to signal for more defenders.

(Image: Courtesy of Jianing Bai) 

Delivering a one-two punch to superbugs to fight infections

Penn researchers create mirror-image molecules that both kill pathogens outright and rally the immune system—an advance aimed at the growing crisis of antimicrobial resistance.

3 min. read

Penn students innovate in the time of AI
Helen Jin, Davis Brown

Helen Jin and Davis Brown.

nocred

Penn students innovate in the time of AI

Students from schools across the University are putting knowledge into practice, asking deep questions and finding innovative uses for AI tools.

5 min. read