Does simple guesswork lead to more cooperation than complicated calculus?

In two papers, one published in PLoS Computational Biology and the other in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, Erol Akçay and other researchers explored how reasoning strategies can be effectively modeled and applied to enhance biologists’ understanding of social dynamics.

Biology

Ubiquity of Data

Largest Quantitative Synthesis to Date Reveals What Predicts Human Behavior and How to Change It

Dolores Albarracín and her team dug through years of research on the science behind behavior change to determine the best ways to promote changes in behavior. What results is a new classification of predictors of behavior and a novel, empirical model for understanding the different ways to change behavior.

Communication
Health Management
Nursing
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

4 Ways Health Officials Can Communicate Better in the Next Pandemic

In a recent research article, with the goals of reaching the public, behavioral science experts, and policy officials, Dolores Albarracín and colleagues assessed U.S. communication efforts during COVID-19 and offered 17 recommendations for conveying health messages and science more effectively in the future.

Communication
Health Management
Nursing
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

Exploring AI in Engineering

Surbhi Goel and Chris Callison-Burch joined this episode of the Innovation & Impact podcast to discuss how AI is accelerating discovery in fields such as Bioengineering and Computing while also bringing unexpected new challenges in areas such as security.

Computer and Information Science

Ubiquity of Data

Edgar Dobriban Wins Peter Gavin Hall IMS Early Career Prize

Edgar Dobriban has received the 2024 Peter Gavin Hall IMS Early Career Prize. Dobriban receives the award “for deep, fundamental, and wide-ranging contributions to mathematical statistics and statistical machine learning."

Statistics

Social Norms for Algorithms

Dolores Albarracín elected 2024 AAAS Fellow

Dolores Albarracín is being recognized by the AAAS for her contributions to social psychology, public health, and particularly the spread of infectious diseases worldwide and for the effective communication of science to the public.

Communication
Health Management
Nursing
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

Surbhi Goel Explains How ChatGPT Actually Works

How do large language models (LLMs), which power chatbots like ChatGPT, actually work? Few are better qualified to answer this question than Surbhi Goel, who completed her doctoral dissertation on understanding how neural networks work, of which LLMs are just one prominent example.

Computer and Information Science

Ubiquity of Data

How to Improve AI Fairness in an Unfair World

Designers of artificial intelligence (AI) systems are still figuring out how to emulate — and improve on — human decision-making. One big challenge: how to support human decision-making while also maintaining fairness and objectivity. This was the topic of a recent MIT IDE seminar presented by Hamsa Bastani.

Operations Information and Decisions

Social Norms for Algorithms

Chris Callison-Burch Talks Empowering Tomorrow’s AI Engineers

Through programs like the Raj and Neera Singh Program in Artificial Intelligence, Penn Engineering is addressing the critical demand for specialized engineers and empowering students to be leaders in AI’s responsible use. Chris Callison-Burch shares his own vision of an AI-integrated future.

Computer and Information Science

Ubiquity of Data

The Science of Designing Ethical Algorithms: Michael Kearns and Aaron Roth on Ethical AI

In 2019, Michael Kearns and Aaron Roth published The Ethical Algorithm: The Science of Socially Aware Algorithm Design. Rather than rehash the social ills caused by AI-powered systems, Kearns and Roth’s book enumerates technical improvements to the algorithms that increasingly govern our lives.

Computer and Information Science

Social Norms for Algorithms

News

Does simple guesswork lead to more cooperation than complicated calculus?

Largest Quantitative Synthesis to Date Reveals What Predicts Human Behavior and How to Change It

4 Ways Health Officials Can Communicate Better in the Next Pandemic

Exploring AI in Engineering

Edgar Dobriban Wins Peter Gavin Hall IMS Early Career Prize

Dolores Albarracín elected 2024 AAAS Fellow

Surbhi Goel Explains How ChatGPT Actually Works

How to Improve AI Fairness in an Unfair World

Chris Callison-Burch Talks Empowering Tomorrow’s AI Engineers

The Science of Designing Ethical Algorithms: Michael Kearns and Aaron Roth on Ethical AI