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AI datasets have human values blind spots − new research

  • Written by Ike Obi, Ph.D. student in Computer and Information Technology, Purdue University
imageNot all human values come through equally in training AIs.RerF/iStock via Getty Images

My colleagues and I at Purdue University have uncovered a significant imbalance in the human values embedded in AI systems. The systems were predominantly oriented toward information and utility values and less toward prosocial, well-being and civic values.

At...

Read more: AI datasets have human values blind spots − new research

US dodged a bird flu pandemic in 1957 thanks to eggs and dumb luck – with a new strain spreading fast, will Americans get lucky again?

  • Written by Alexandra M. Lord, Chair and Curator of Medicine and Science, Smithsonian Institution
imageEggs have been crucial to vaccine production for decades.Bettmann/Getty Images

In recent months, Americans looking for eggs have faced empty shelves in their grocery stores. The escalating threat of avian flu has forced farmers to kill millions of chickens to prevent its spread.

Nearly 70 years ago, Maurice Hilleman, an expert in influenza, also...

Read more: US dodged a bird flu pandemic in 1957 thanks to eggs and dumb luck – with a new strain spreading...

Trump’s offshore wind energy freeze: What states lose if the executive order remains in place

  • Written by Barbara Kates-Garnick, Professor of Practice in Energy Policy, The Fletcher School, Tufts University
imageThe offshore wind industry brings jobs and economic development.AP Photo/Seth Wenig

A single wind turbine spinning off the U.S. Northeast coast today can power thousands of homes – without the pollution that comes from fossil fuel power plants. A dozen of those turbines together can produce enough electricity for an entire community.

The...

Read more: Trump’s offshore wind energy freeze: What states lose if the executive order remains in place

What Los Angeles-area schools can learn from other districts devastated by natural disasters

  • Written by Lee Ann Rawlins Williams, Clinical Assistant Professor of Education, Health and Behavior Studies, University of North Dakota
imageEliot Arts Magnet Middle School burned when the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena, Calif., in January 2025.JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images

As Los Angeles County students begin returning to school after wildfires devastated the region, it’s worth examining how other U.S. educational systems disrupted by natural disasters have moved forward.

M...

Read more: What Los Angeles-area schools can learn from other districts devastated by natural disasters

5 Super Bowl commercials that deserve places in the advertising hall of shame

  • Written by Matthew Pittman, Associate Professor of Advertising and Public Relations, University of Tennessee
imageA true advertising face-plant happens when a commercial is both tone-deaf and completely forgettable.spxChrome/iStock via Getty Images

What makes something a flop?

Not the kind of flop that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is prone to do, but a flop in the world of advertising?

Brands airing Super Bowl ads have a lot riding on their...

Read more: 5 Super Bowl commercials that deserve places in the advertising hall of shame

The Eagles and Chiefs have already made Philadelphia and Kansas City economic winners

  • Written by Michael Davis, Associate Professor of Economics, Missouri University of Science and Technology
imagePeople celebrate following the Philadelphia Eagles' NFC championship win on Jan. 26, 2025. Thomas Hengge/Anadolu via Getty Images

If you live in the Philadelphia or Kansas City metro areas, congratulations: The fact that your city made it to the Super Bowl translates to about $200 extra in your pocket.

That’s right – whether the...

Read more: The Eagles and Chiefs have already made Philadelphia and Kansas City economic winners

Religious freedom is routinely curbed in Central Asia – but you won’t often see it making international news

  • Written by Eric Freedman, Professor of Journalism and Chair, Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, Michigan State University
imageA majority of citizens in Central Asian countries practice Islam, but Muslims still face restrictions on religious expression. AP Photo/Theodore Kaye

Freedom of worship is tenuous around the globe. The Pew Research Center’s latest annual report found “high” or “very high” levels of government constraints on religion in...

Read more: Religious freedom is routinely curbed in Central Asia – but you won’t often see it making...

Palestinians have long resisted resettlement – Trump’s plan to ‘clean out’ Gaza won’t change that

  • Written by Maha Nassar, Associate Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies, University of Arizona
imageU.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a news conference in the White House on Feb. 4, 2025.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. should “take over” Gaza, displace its current population and turn the enclave into “the Riviera...

Read more: Palestinians have long resisted resettlement – Trump’s plan to ‘clean out’ Gaza won’t change that

After he reached the Super Bowl, Colin Kaepernick’s racial justice protests helped expose US views toward sports activism

  • Written by Betina Cutaia Wilkinson, Associate Professor & Associate Chair of Political Science, Wake Forest University
imageSan Francisco 49ers players Eric Reid, left, and Colin Kaepernick take a knee during the national anthem before a game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 12, 2016.Daniel Gluskoter/AP Images for Panini

Back in 2012, quarterback Colin Kaepernick was one of the NFL’s most popular stars. He led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl and was...

Read more: After he reached the Super Bowl, Colin Kaepernick’s racial justice protests helped expose US views...

This Valentine’s Day, try loving-kindness meditation

  • Written by Jeremy David Engels, Liberal Arts Endowed Professor of Communication, Penn State
imageLove is one of the most diverse emotions, and it can be experienced in countless ways.fizkes/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Most people love love, but not everyone loves Valentine’s Day.

When it was first invented in the 1300s in medieval Europe, this holiday was a celebration of romantic love, the coming of spring and the freedom to choose a...

Read more: This Valentine’s Day, try loving-kindness meditation

More Articles ...

  1. Friendship, a covenant, romance – no matter what you call it, David’s love for Jonathan is one of the Bible’s most beautiful
  2. Lightning strikes link weather on Earth and weather in space
  3. Why Trump’s rage defies historical and literary comparisons, according to a classics expert
  4. Trump’s administration seems chaotic, but he’s drawing directly from Project 2025 playbook
  5. Reverence for the sacred waters of the Ganga and belief in its power to wash away sins bring millions to India’s Maha Kumbh festival
  6. Water is the other US-Mexico border crisis, and the supply crunch is getting worse
  7. As Trump tries to slash US foreign aid, here are 3 common myths many Americans mistakenly believe about it
  8. Trump’s opening tariff salvo will hurt US consumers − following through on Canada, Mexico threats will increase the price pain
  9. Trump’s tariff gambit: As allies prepare to strike back, a costly trade war looms
  10. Who are immigrants to the US, where do they come from and where do they live?
  11. What the ‘moral distress’ of doctors tells us about eroding trust in health care
  12. Some viruses prefer mosquitoes to humans, but people get sick anyway − a virologist and entomologist explain why
  13. Smart brands rein in ad spending when a rival faces a setback − here’s why
  14. Hunger rises as food aid falls – and those living under autocratic systems bear the brunt
  15. Why are rubies red and emeralds green? Their colors come from the same metal in their atomic structure
  16. I’m a sports psychologist and diehard Eagles fan – here’s the behavioral science behind a Super Bowl LIX win
  17. I’m a sports psychologist and diehard Eagles fan - here’s the behavioral science behind a Super Bowl LIX win
  18. Musk’s inauguration salute is not the only apparent fascist signal from Trump’s administration
  19. President Trump may think he is President Jackson reincarnated − but there are lessons in Old Hickory’s resistance to sycophants
  20. 3 ways the Trump administration could reinvest in rural America’s future
  21. 3 ways the Trump administration could reinvest in rural America’s future, starting with health care
  22. Trump’s Project 2025 agenda caps decades-long resistance to 20th century progressive reform
  23. Trump’s tariff threats fit a growing global phenomenon: hardball migration diplomacy
  24. Drought can hit almost anywhere: How 5 cities that nearly ran dry got water use under control
  25. Fossil shark teeth are abundant and can date the past in a unique way
  26. Rare portraits reveal the humanity of the slaves who revolted on the Amistad
  27. Your environment affects how well your medications work − identifying exactly how could make medicine better
  28. Where does black fall on the color spectrum? A color scientist explains
  29. The Black librarian who rewrote the rules of power, gender and passing as white
  30. Bogus scientific papers are enriching fraudsters and slowing lifesaving medical research
  31. Property and sovereignty in space − as countries and companies take to the stars, they could run into disputes
  32. Can a charter school be religious? The Supreme Court decision about St. Isidore, a Catholic school in Oklahoma, could redraw lines around church and state in education
  33. AI gives nonprogrammers a boost in writing computer code
  34. Teens on social media: Red, blue and purple states are all passing laws to restrict and protect adolescents
  35. Nonprofits that provide shelter for homeless people, disaster recovery help, and food for low-income Americans rely heavily on federal funding – they would be reeling if Trump froze that money
  36. From breakbeats to the dance floor: How hip-hop and house revolutionized music and culture
  37. How nonprofits abroad can fill gaps when the US government cuts off foreign aid
  38. Biden targeted the online right-wing terrorism threat − now it’s up to Trump
  39. A federal policy expert weighs in on Trump’s efforts to stifle gender-affirming care for Americans under 19
  40. How satellites and AI help fight wildfires today
  41. Why Trump’s meme coin is a cash grab
  42. Stricter abortion laws may cause increased infant deaths − 2 maternal and child health researchers explain the data
  43. ‘We painted our fear, hope and dreams’ − examining the art and artists of Guantánamo Bay
  44. Gen Z seeks safety above all else as the generation grows up amid constant crisis and existential threat
  45. Philly Whole Foods store becomes first to unionize – a labor expert explains what’s next and how Trump could stall workers’ efforts
  46. Bennu asteroid reveals its contents to scientists − and clues to how the building blocks of life on Earth may have been seeded
  47. Problematic Paper Screener: Trawling for fraud in the scientific literature
  48. Why building big AIs costs billions – and how Chinese startup DeepSeek dramatically changed the calculus
  49. Fake papers are contaminating the world’s scientific literature, fueling a corrupt industry and slowing legitimate lifesaving medical research
  50. Rest, reorientation and hope – the pillars of 2025’s Catholic Jubilee year