The Conversation

Robots won't steal our jobs if we put workers at center of AI revolution

Written by Thomas Kochan, Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management

Future robots will work side by side with humans, just as they do today.AP Photo/John Minchillo

The technologies driving artificial intelligence are expanding exponentially, leading many technology experts and futurists to predict machines will soon be doing many of the jobs that humans do today. Some even predict humans could lose control over...

Why Princess Diana conspiracies refuse to die

Written by Derek Arnold, Instructor in Communication, Villanova University

The princess of Wales is pictured in Bonn, Germany in 1987. AP Photo/Herman Knippertz

August 31 is the 20th anniversary of the stunning, tragic death of Princess Diana in Paris, France, when Diana’s chauffeured Mercedes hit a pillar inside an underpass just after midnight, killing her, her boyfriend, Dodi Al Fayed, and her driver, Henri Paul....

Flooding from Hurricane Harvey causes a host of public health concerns

Written by Neil S. Grigg, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University

As many people have had to wade through floodwaters, they need to be aware of the risk of infection and disease from contaminated waters. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

The historic rainfall dumped by Hurricane Harvey has already led to deaths by drownings and the destruction of many homes.

Houston’s drinking water system is being stressed by overfl...

Una mejor idea para la frontera entre EUA y México: invertimos en el río, no en un muro

Written by Gabriel Diaz Montemayor, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Texas at Austin

El Rio Bravo (o Rio Grande, en Estados Unidos) y el Cañon Santa Elena separa los Estados Unidos (izquierda) de México (derecha).Ken Lund, CC BY-SA

Los Estados Unidos y México han compartido su actual frontera internacional por casi 170 años. Hoy ambas naciones cooperan en múltiples niveles con respecto de temas...

Choose better passwords with the help of science

Written by Lorrie Cranor, Professor of Computer Science and of Engineering & Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

Make it longer than 12 characters!selinofoto/Shutterstock.com

For years, computer users have been told they should have complicated passwords, including numbers, punctuation marks and other symbols, and upper- and lowercase letters. Despite those being hard to remember, people were told not to write their passwords down, and forced to make up new...

With better data, we can help set refugees up for success

Written by Sabi Ardalan, Assistant Clinical Professor, Harvard Law School, Harvard University

Somalian refugee Mohamoud Saed stands in his friend's clothing shop he helps out with in Clarkston, Georgia.AP Photo/David Goldman

In the next few months, Congress will consider a bill that would cut the number of refugees allowed into the country by more than half.

Supporters say this bill would help create job opportunities for U.S. workers and spu...

How corporate CEOs found their political voice

Written by Jerry Davis, Professor of Management and Sociology, University of Michigan

Today's corporate CEO has more in common with Che Guevera than meets the eye. Lena Wurm/Shutterstock.com

It may sound hard to believe, but America’s CEOs seem to increasingly resemble Che Guevera, the Marxist who became the face of the Cuban Revolution.

The latest similarities came in mid-August after President Donald Trump’s contentious...

Stretching your donation dollars: 5 tips

Written by David Campbell, Associate Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Residents pick through a makeshift aid station in Rockport, Texas after Harvey struck their city.AP Photo/Eric Gay

Many Americans want to help the people suffering from Hurricane Harvey and its unprecedented floods.

There’s no shortage of media reports listing which groups are taking donations, often with scant guidance about what kinds of...

What made the rain in Hurricane Harvey so extreme?

Written by Russ Schumacher, Associate Professor of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University

The rainfall from Harvey has now exceeded the amount from the previous record-bearer, Tropical Storm Amelia in 1978.AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Fifty inches of rain. Nine trillion gallons of water. The Gulf Coast of Texas, and especially the Houston metropolitan area, has been inundated by rain produced by Hurricane Harvey. And as of this writing, the...

Older victims of Hurricane Harvey may need special attention as Texas recovers

Written by Sue Anne Bell, Clinical Associate Professor of Nursing, University of Michigan

Brenda Bradley, 72, and her husband Jimmie, 78, survey flooding from Hurricane Harvey in their neighborhood in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, August 28, 2017. AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

News and social media reports from coastal Texas have shown many striking images of Hurricane Harvey flood victims, but few were as arresting as a photo of older...