As tech company layoffs continue, Berkeley advisors share advice with students

Thousands of UC Berkeley data science and computing students are preparing to graduate in May amidst a slew of technology company layoffs. Some are worried about finding a job. Berkeley advisors are urging expected graduates to take a beat and embrace a more nuanced job market view. They’re reminding students of what they have control over in their search and what they’ve already accomplished. And...

Look for ‘who’s not at the table’ and other advice from female data scientists

When Joyce Shen began teaching data science at UC Berkeley nearly a decade ago, she noticed a problem she’d also seen in industry. There were barely any women. The nascent data science field that would forever change how we live was being primarily developed by men, creating products that would shape society for decades. Today, due to intensive Berkeley recruitment efforts, she has seen the...

AI lectures at Berkeley to explore possibilities, implications of ChatGPT

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...

Hany Farid testifies on Section 230 for ‘Platform Accountability: Gonzalez and Reform’

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...

‘Eye-opening’: Education student sees the possibilities of data science

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...

Yu wins 2023 COPSS Distinguished Achievement Award and Lectureship

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...

UC Berkeley I School professor joins White House as Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Policy

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...

Google senior vice president to address Data Science commencement in May

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...

What to watch in a U.S. Supreme Court hearing on Section 230

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 joins UC Berkeley as Senior Assistant Dean for Development at CDSS

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...