Technology

An open letter signed on Wednesday by over 1,100 notable public figures, including Elon Musk and Apple co-creator Steve Wozniak, implores researchers to institute a six-month moratorium on developing artificial intelligence systems more powerful than GPT-4. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

Dianne Harris, history and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Nancy Allbritton, bioengineering and dean of the College of Engineering write that we need governments, universities and private companies to come together now to grow the number of quantum-literate professionals.

Students from the Lummi Nation School visited the University of Washington in earlh February for a real-time Q&A with astronaut Josh Cassada aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Cassada helped do space research on a plant science experiment the students sent to the ISS.

The City of Kirkland was counting on Google to be the “catalyst project” in its proposed Station Area Plan, a reimagining of the area around a planned rapid transit bus station into a higher density community of housing and businesses. But suddenly and without warning to the outside world, the plans went away last month. The City of Kirkland issued a surprising press release: Google, which on the same day announced it was cutting 12,000 jobs globally, no longer planned to be the tech centerpiece in the city’s development plan. The company’s move to back out of the project — even with $113 billion in the bank and $60 billion in profits last year — highlights the surprisingly fleeting relationship between big tech companies and the cities they’ve reshaped, and the mixed feelings and uncertainty left behind. Chuck Wolfe, affiliate associate professor of urban design and planning at the UW, and Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, are quoted.

Jeff Lin (2012), obsessed with video games as a child, now leads teams of game developers at Horizon Metaverse — with the help of his UW PhD in psychology.

Katy Pearce, an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington (UW), is dedicated to advancing research in the field of social and political uses of technology, while also supporting students and colleagues. With a focus on digital divides and inequalities and the use of information and communication technologies for marginalized people and social movements in non-democratic states, Pearce is passionate about bridging the gap between the theoretical and lived experiences of people around the world.

With a double major in computer science and gender, women & sexuality studies, Simona Liao is lifting women in STEM in the U.S. and China.

A novel algorithm developed by University of Washington researchers to discover asteroids in the solar system has proved its mettle. The first candidate asteroids identified by the algorithm — known as Tracklet-less Heliocentric Orbit Recovery, or THOR — have been confirmed by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, according to a May 31 announcement by the B612 Foundation.

Comparing Silicon Valley and Seattle has become something of a regional pastime in the Pacific Northwest. But the comparison might be more accurate if directed a few miles east, across the shores of Lake Washington to where Bellevue skyrises are multiplying. Because historically speaking, the rise of the Eastside closely mirrors the trajectory of Silicon Valley’s San Jose. Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

While studying the impact of the digital revolution on texts, students created digital editions using print publications in UW Special Collections.

Jessica Beyer, co-leader of the Cybersecurity Initiative in the UW Jackson School of International Studies, explains how Americans may feel the effect of Russian cyberattacks.

His knowledge of ancient languages led Andrew Glass (2006) to a specialized technology job at Microsoft. 

Students in the Jackson School of International Studies delve into cybersecurity policy and its societal implications. 

Industrial design professor Jason O. Germany was part of a team that designed a low-cost ventilator on short notice during the pandemic. 

As tech companies continue to delay return to offices, some service workers hope for a full return in the coming months. Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.