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Bringing Communities In, Achieving AI for All

AI Governance

Bringing Communities In, Achieving AI for All

Mounting evidence indicates that the output of artificial intelligence models exacerbates social inequity and injustice. How can funders, universities, developers, and the government address these problems and ensure that AI tools benefit all of society? Shobita Parthasarathy and Jared Katzman argue that solutions lie in a more inclusive innovation ecosystem. Research funders, universities, and the tech industry should seek out partnerships with struggling communities, to learn what they need from AI and build it.Read More

Medical Research Funding

medical research funding

Medicine Means More Than Molecules

Sindy Escobar Alvarez and Sam Gill have recently become concerned that philanthropy has been reinforcing an existing system of recognition and prestige tied to circumscribed paths of scientific inquiry. Has medical research funding been excluding some science that may have incredible potential to improve human health?Read More

The Ongoing Transformation

A Road Map for a New Era in Biology and Medicine

On the latest episode of The Ongoing Transformation, Lydia Contreras, professor of chemical engineering at the University of Texas, Austin, discusses what RNA is and its potential for innovations in biology, medicine, agriculture, and beyond.Read More

The ISSUES Interview

Saul Perlmutter

“This Is Also a Time of Great Possibility and Great Capability.”

In an interview for the Summer 2024 Issues, astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter talks about how physics and music inform each other, how the culture of science encourages sticking with problems, and the sources of his optimism.Read More

Freedom of Information

phillips on open records requests

Preparing Researchers for an Era of Freer Information

As “entrepreneurial universities” become the norm, how can institutional leadership take a more active role in supporting and preparing researchers for public freedom of information requests?Read More

In Focus

A Justice-Led Approach to AI Innovation

The SUMMER Issue

Summer 2024 Issues in Science and Technology

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On the Front Lines of Change: Reporting From the Gulf of Mexico

In many respects, the Gulf is on the front lines. Massive disruptions brought by climate change, the need to transition to a new energy economy, and the potential collapse of vital ecosystems are on the horizon for the nation as a whole, not just the Gulf region.

Lauren Alexander Augustine

Supporting the Gulf

A skiff cleans up oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Ten Years Into the Gulf Research Program

The Gulf of Mexico is on the front lines of change. But massive disruptions brought by climate change, the need to transition to a new energy economy, and the potential collapse of vital ecosystems are on the horizon for the nation as a whole.Read More

Emergency Management

photograph of bulrushes for the roots that ward off disaster

The Roots That Ward Off Disaster

Recent disasters have strained the Gulf’s ability to respond. Building capacity for local emergency management agencies and disaster research could help the region cope—and thrive.Read More

The Loop Current

Gewin on the loop current

A Scientific “Forced Marriage” Takes on the Mysteries of the Loop Current

Decisionmakers need insights on how this powerful current shapes hurricanes, fisheries, energy supplies, and life in the Gulf of Mexico. An ambitious project to collect data and predict the current’s erratic behavior is compelling scientists to cross disciplines as well as borders.Read More

The Energy Transition

Tristan Baurick on the energy transition in Port Arthur, Texas

How Will Carbon Capture Transform Port Arthur, Texas?

Advances in engineering and financial incentives are putting a Gulf Coast city at the forefront of the energy transition. Can policies make good on promises to clean the environment and create jobs?Read More

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