News

Since its launch last November, the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT has been an international sensation, with people using the platform to do everything from writing essays, computer code, poems and research proposals to planning vacations, flirting with Tinder matches and creating malware. According to UC Berkeley computer scientist Ken Goldberg, the computer program’s facility with natural language — particularly its ability to consistently demonstrate creativity...

On Wednesday, March 8, 2023, Hany Farid, professor in the UC Berkeley School of Information and Department of EECS testified at a hearing with the House Committee on the Judiciary and the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law entitled: “Platform Accountability: Gonzalez and Reform.” In his testimony, Farid points out how a platform such as YouTube’s recommendation system can lead to misinformation, extremism, and...

Arlyn Moreno Luna and her family immigrated from Mexico to Oregon when she was 13 years old. Learning a new educational system and English with little support from her high school, she relied on her sister and friends to find her own way to college and beyond. Her experience fueled her to study access to higher education and equity issues related to first-generation, historically underrepresented...

The Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) has selected Bin Yu for the 2023 Distinguished Achievement Award and Lectureship (DAAL). Formerly known as the R. A. Fisher Award and Lectureship, the DAAL recognizes meritorious achievement and scholarship in statistical science and recognizes the highly significant impact of statistical methods on scientific investigations. She will deliver the DAAL Lecture at JSM in 2023 on veridical...

Professor Deirdre K. Mulligan has been tapped to join the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) as Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer for Policy. Mulligan, who is on leave from UC Berkeley, will help the Office of the U.S. Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in its efforts to ensure that U.S. policy is informed by tech and data expertise, and will also act...

Prabhakar Raghavan, a senior vice president at Google, will be the keynote speaker at the spring 2023 UC Berkeley commencement ceremony for Data Science undergraduate majors, the Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society (CDSS) announced today. Raghavan leads Google’s Knowledge & Information products, including Google Search, News, Assistant, Geo, Ads, Commerce and Payments. He is a member of the CDSS advisory board, providing guidance...

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider this week whether social media companies are shielded from liability when they use algorithmic systems to recommend relevant content to users. UC Berkeley experts say this case could be a defining moment for Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally states technology companies like Google aren’t responsible for content others post on their platforms. The oral arguments...

Maura McGinnity has recently been appointed senior assistant dean for development at UC Berkeley’s Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society (CDSS). Her first day at Berkeley will be Feb. 21. McGinnity will lead CDSS development and external relations as the senior staff member responsible for engaging donors with outreach and relationship strategies in support of an innovative vision. Launched in 2018, CDSS at Berkeley...

Academia has a diversity problem, especially in STEM. There is a dearth of scientists who identify as Black, Hispanic or who are members of marginalized communities in STEM-related faculty roles at colleges and universities, studies show. These inequities can hurt students and result in harmful biases in tools and teachings of fields that affect the public. We spoke with Aaron Streets, associate professor of bioengineering...

ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-fueled chatbot released in November, is changing the ways teachers educate students, scientists trust research and journalists report the news. It passed the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam and an exam to receive a business master’s degree. UC Berkeley researchers say this isn’t a major turning point for AI technologically. Rather, they say, the release is a milestone for public awareness of current...