Social conformity in pandemics: How our behaviors spread faster than the virus itself

Researchers led by Erol Akçay and former postdoc Bryce Morsky have produced a model for disease transmission that factors in the effects of social dynamics, specifically, how masking and social distancing are affected by social norms.

Biology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

Can anyone predict the future of cryptocurrency right now?

“The crypto space changes so rapidly that making predictions is always dangerous,” says Kevin Werbach, who sees the absence of an explicit legal framework in the U.S. as a key challenge. for the future of the blockchain and digital-asset industry.

Legal Studies & Business Ethics

Resilience in Networked Systems

Regulating Machine Learning

Cary Coglianese’s recent paper, “Regulating Machine Learning: The Challenge of Heterogeneity,” published by Competition Policy International, argues that because machine-learning algorithms are so dissimilar and diverse—that is, they are heterogeneous—figuring out the best way to regulate their use will be challenging.

Law
Political Science

Social Norms for Algorithms

Moore than meets the eye: The evolution of computing

Benjamin C. Lee shares five things to know about the evolution of microchips and how Gordon Moore’s scaling laws set the pace for making our devices faster, cheaper, and smaller.

Computer and Information Science
Electrical and Systems Engineering

Ubiquity of Data

Responsible AI in the generative era

Generative AI raises new challenges in defining, measuring, and mitigating concerns about fairness, toxicity, and intellectual property, among other things. But work has started on the solutions, writes Michael Kearns for Amazon Science.

Computer and Information Science

Social Norms for Algorithms

Duncan Watts elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Congratulations to Duncan Watts, who was elected to the National Academy of Sciences for his distinguished and continued contributions to original research.

Communication
Computer and Information Science
Operations Information and Decisions

Consensus and Contagion in Society

Instead of Refuting Misinformation Head-On, Try “Bypassing” It

A new study from Dolores Albarracín has found that redirecting an individual’s attention away from misinformation and toward other beliefs can be just as effective as debunking it.

Communication
Health Management
Nursing
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

Communication Networks Scholar Sandra González-Bailón Promoted to Full Professor

Congratulations to Sandra González-Bailón, who was recently promoted to Full Professor! She is also the director of a new center, the Center for Information Networks and Democracy (CIND), that explores the benefits and risks that information networks have for democracy.

Communication

Consensus and Contagion in Society

The Snowball Effect

Why do some companies become household names, while others flame out? How do certain memes go viral? And why do some social movements take off and spread, while others fizzle? Hidden Brain spoke with Damon Centola about social contagion, and how it can be harnessed to build a better world.

Communication
Sociology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

Robert Ghrist Appointed Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education

Robert Ghrist has been appointed the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education in Penn Engineering, effective July 1, 2023. Ghrist is a pioneer in teaching calculus through electronic media, and his accolades as an educator include the Lindback Award and Penn Engineering’s S. Reid Warren, Jr. Award.

Electrical and Systems Engineering
Mathematics

Ubiquity of Data

News

Social conformity in pandemics: How our behaviors spread faster than the virus itself

Can anyone predict the future of cryptocurrency right now?

Regulating Machine Learning

Moore than meets the eye: The evolution of computing

Responsible AI in the generative era

Duncan Watts elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Instead of Refuting Misinformation Head-On, Try “Bypassing” It

Communication Networks Scholar Sandra González-Bailón Promoted to Full Professor

The Snowball Effect

Robert Ghrist Appointed Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education