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Sam Altman fired and now back: What CEO turmoil says about AI’s future
The ongoing struggle between techno-optimism and doomerism gets exaggerated in every period of rapid technological change, says Benjamin Breen, a historian at the University of California, Santa Cruz and author of an upcoming book on utopian science in the mid-20th century. No one knows where AI will take humanity. If history is any guide, he…
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The genes that made us truly human may also make us ill
"What's fascinating about the history of Notch2NL is that there actually was an original event that happened in our common ancestor with gorilla, where the original Notch2 gene was duplicated," says Sofie Salama, professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at the University of California Santa Cruz, who was involved in one of the research studies.
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UC Santa Cruz researchers build AI to prevent drownings
Professor of Computer Science Alex Pang's research on using AI to monitor beach conditions was featured in the Santa Cruz Sentinel and the Mercury News.
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NPR Books We Love: We're Safe When We're Alone by Nghiem Tran
NPR featured second-year Creative Writing/Critical Ph.D. candidate Nghiem Tran's novel We’re Safe When We’re Alone (Coffee House Books) in its 2023 "best of the year" list, describing this work of fiction as "hypnotic" and "richly allusive."
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The UAW ratifies a contract — and labor’s road ahead in the EV transition
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Mijin Cha told Grist that labor organizing efforts within the renewable energy transition must not be framed as obstacles to progress on climate change. “The greed of the fossil fuel industry is what’s stopping the energy transition, not the fact that people want to make a decent wage,” she said.
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India and the APEC
Nirvikar Singh, distinguished professor of economics at UC Santa Cruz, argues in an op-ed that, if India can obtain an APEC membership, it would help improve flows of knowledge, capital, and goods within the region through better coordination of policies.
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Predator protector
Environmental Studies Professor Chris Wilmers was interviewed by The Mercury News for a story about mountain lion researchers.
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Just leaving trees to grow could store a third of our carbon emissions
Environmental Studies Professor Karen Holl urged caution in interpreting the findings of a new study by other researchers. Holl says the global analysis might miss complicated social and ecological dynamics that determine whether protection or restoration of forests is possible at a local level.
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‘We’re not going to quit’: Why a California community is boycotting carrots
Professor Emeritus of Agroecology Steve Gliessman spoke with the Los Angeles Times about water management issues that have led to a boycott of carrots in the Cuyama Valley.
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Panel discussing desalination in Mexico fails to include environmental impact, Mexican voices
The State Press criticized the methods of an Arizona State University panel on desalination and pointed to UCSC Environmental Studies Professor Brent Haddad's work on the Salton Sea Long Term Planning Project as offering a better model.