College of Arts and Sciences

You've probably heard chatbots like ChatGPT described as "artificial intelligence." Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, wants you to call it a "text synthesis machine" or "stochastic parrot."

A 2,000-year-old collection of medical tools, recently unearthed in Hungary, offer insight into the practices of undaunted, much-maligned Roman doctors. Lawrence J. Bliquez, professor emeritus of classics and art history at the UW, is quoted.

Astronomers spotted a stellar explosion in the Pinwheel Galaxy last month. Within a week, James Davenport, research assistant professor of astronomy at the UW, and his colleagues were searching the stars for radio signals from alien civilizations who might have seen the same thing.

"The COVID-19 pandemic shined a light on the deep need that people feel for human touch and connection in hospital settings. Having relatives peering through windows at their loved ones or unable to enter hospitals altogether exacerbated the lack of human intimacy that is all too common in health care settings" writes Marlaine Gray, affiliate assistant professor of anthropology at the UW.

Brain-computer interface technology can benefit people with disabilities by restoring mobility and communication. Sara Goering, professor of philosophy at the UW, says it also allows potentially monetizable access to the center of our thoughts and feelings.

Inside Hutchinson Hall, home of the University of Washington School of Drama, students work at tables as they learn to assemble patterns based on costume designs. They’re surrounded by dress forms, bolts of cloth, sewing machines and costumes in progress. This is the Costume Shop, the domain of Val Mayse, master dressmaker for the School of Drama.

"In the fall of 2022, a German court heard an unusual case. It was a civil lawsuit that grew out of a feud on Twitter about whether transgender people were victims of the Holocaust. Though there is no longer much debate about whether gay men and lesbians were persecuted, there's been very little scholarship on trans people during this period," writes Laurie Marhoefer, professor of history at the UW.

Sapna Cheryan, professor of psychology at the UW, and her colleagues want U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to consider not telling grads to, "Follow your passions," in his commencement address on Saturday. Instead, in this interview Cheryan shares alternative advice for graduating students.

Big Tech's warnings about an AI apocalypse are distracting us from years of actual harms their products have caused. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

This week and summer, honor the 2023 Awards of Excellence recipients, visit the newly renovated Jacob Lawrence Gallery to see the works of design students, add one of College of Arts & Sciences Dean Dianne Harris’ favorite books to your summer reading list, learn about the largest animals to ever roam the earth at the...

Being a teenager is stressful, but “The Wolves” captures coming-of-age in all its nuance. Read contributing writer Anikka Stanley’s thoughts on the UW School of Drama’s newest production, running until June 4.

Two grants from the U.S. Department of Education International and Foreign Language Education office will allow the Canadian Studies Center at the University of Washington to award eight to 10 fellowships each year to students studying French or an Indigenous language spoken in Canada.

"Public understanding of science is essential for democracy. Misleading readers to score political points with an argument that scientists have exchanged merit and objectivity for progressive ideology is a disservice to science and the public alike," writes Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, in a letter to the editor.

"Does international trade undermine national security? Russia has weaponized its energy dominance to threaten European security. Might China weaponize its control over the renewable energy supply chain to pursue political objectives, such as reunification with Taiwan?" write the UW's Nives Dolsak, professor of marine and environmental affairs, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science.

"Health practitioners are increasingly concerned that because race is a social construct, and the biological mechanisms of how race affects clinical outcomes are often unknown, including race in predictive algorithms for clinical decision-making may worsen inequities," writes Anirban Basu, professor of health economics at the UW.