News: Newsclips

Machine unlearning techniques cleanse generative AI models of unwanted elements. A recent collaborative study that included University of Chicago scientists highlights a troubling trade-off: while striving to purge irrelevant data, these techniques can severely impair the AI’s basic cognitive functions.

New online safety bills aim to make online spaces friendlier for children by banning ads targeted to them and preventing personal data collection from any underage users. Marshini Chetty, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at UChicago, comments on the role of parent supervision to ensure a child is using the internet safely. 

After CrowdStrike's massive computer outage, businesses are considering how significant their technology vulnerabilities are. UChicago professor Grant Ho comments on the errors that might have led to the outage.

Bryan Dickinson, Margaret Gardel, and Vincenzo Vitelli will study topics related to inflammation and the functions of the immune system.
 

UChicago’s Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics celebrates 20 years of discovery.

A UChicago and Fermilab-led experiment reported the ability to enhance signals from dark matter waves using novel quantum techniques. This work will help advance dark matter research, allowing scientists to save both time and resources.

Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have observed new details about the boundary of a tidally locked planet—where half of the planet is always exposed to its star while the other is always shrouded in darkness. University of Chicago's Maria Steinrueck, Jacob Bean, and Diana Powell were co-authors of the paper presenting these results.

PhD student Romain Nith, research collaborator Yun Ho, and Associate Professor Pedro Lopes propose increasing the efficiency of multitasking by incorporating electrical muscle stimulation called “SplitBody.”

Under Governor Pritzker, state quantum-computing investments began at the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois, and Argonne and Fermi National Laboratories. Together, they have since secured $275 million in federal grants for quantum computing. Now, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to create a new quantum-testing facility in the Chicago area.

Some climate experts say carbon removal start-ups will limit global warming, but significant questions remain. David Keith, head of the Climate Systems Engineering initiative at the University of Chicago, comments on the rise of carbon removal strategies. 

The Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, already one of the world’s brightest lights, just became 500 times brighter. University of Chicago researcher Joanne Stubbs explains the wide range of new possibilities this upgrade will offer to Argonne scientists.

Researchers combined the characteristic parts of two well-known reagents into a versatile new compound for transplanting carbon atoms into organic molecules. Chemistry professor Guanbin Dong comments on the scientific interest behind the research. 

UChicago researchers have created Glaze and Nightshade, programs aimed at protecting artists' work from AI scraping. Artists and researchers are embracing these tools as a first step toward fighting against unregulated AI practices.

In work that has been 30 years in the making, mathematicians have proven a major part of a profound mathematical vision called the Langlands program. Justin Campbell and Kevin Lin from the University of Chicago are part of this team of researchers.

Propelled by UChicago’s Climate Systems Engineering initiative, a group of scientists has published a landmark report. It represents the first public effort by glaciologists to assess potential technological interventions that could help address catastrophic sea-level rise scenarios.