Technology
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Can an Algorithm Identify Repeat Offenders?
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Assessing the likelihood that a defendant will reoffend in the future is a vital task in the criminal justice system. Judges weigh the risk of recidivism when making decisions about bail and sentencing, and their conclusions can have a significant impact on defendants’ lives. In 1998, the software company Northpointe…
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Aquaculture May Reduce Rural Poverty, Income Inequality
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Since 2014, more than half of all fish consumed by humans have been farmed rather than caught in the wild. Aquaculture — which includes the farming of not only fish, but also mollusks, shellfish, algae, seaweed and more — has grown exponentially for decades and has emerged as a major…
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Tech: The Goal, or Just Another Path to Growth?
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In 2012, the average resident of San Francisco supported about $76,000 in gross domestic —about $19,000 more than the average in Chicago. That gap has widened to more than $29,000 today. San Francisco’s economy is growing nearly three times faster on a per capita basis than Chicago’s. Meanwhile, San Jose…
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A Data-Sharing Framework To Ensure Self-Driving Cars Are Road-Ready
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Rapid advances in technology have made autonomous vehicles (AVs)—once the realm of science-fiction—into an emerging reality. Auto industry newcomers such as Waymo and Tesla now compete with incumbent car manufacturing giants in a race to be the first to produce a commercially viable AV. In their haste to beat their…
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Integrated Systems Retrofits: A Strategy for Optimizing Building Energy Use
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Approximately 40 percent of all carbon emissions in the U.S. are produced by buildings, with most coming from commercial and residential buildings. These buildings are significant contributors to total electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Retrofit projects provide opportunities for existing buildings to correct their negative environmental…
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Hackers on the Highway: Are We Prepared?
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Information and communications technology (ICT) previously enabled advancements from wireless phone calls to social networking. Recent breakthroughs have connected cars to the ICT network, allowing them to be controlled from a distance and to transmit data to remote locations. These cars contain computing and communications systems that enable them to…
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Mixed Messages Muddle Student Attitudes on Genetic Modification
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Genetically modified (GM) crops have been marketed and sold to the public since 1994. As an entire generation has grown up surrounded by genetically modified organisms (GMOs), attitudes towards modified foods have gradually trended towards a more favorable outlook. With more than 90 percent of crops such as corn and soybeans…
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Tech Employment Drives Increased Wages…Just Like Other High-Paying Jobs
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When Amazon started looking for a home for its second headquarters (“HQ2”), cities across North America vied to be selected. They offered tax breaks and other incentives, seeking the prestige of a high-profile corporate headquarters and the promise of economic stimulation. Proponents of a tech influx argued that higher tech-sector…
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Global Insect Decline Linked to Light Pollution
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Artificial light may be devastating populations of insects, including species that provide crucial support for human agricultural systems. In a recent article published in the Annals of Applied Biology, researchers examined the effects of light pollution on insects. Artificial light increases environmental pressures faced by insects, the study concluded, and…
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How the EPA is Generating Grassroots Support for its Mission
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Less than a month after the 2016 elections, a lame duck session of Congress passed the bipartisan Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing Act of 2016, granting federal agencies explicit authority to advance their missions in partnership with individuals, private and nonprofit entities, and foreign governments through crowdsourcing and citizen science. Citizen…
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The Older, the Better: Aging Nations in the Automation Era
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In 1938, Alvin Hansen—the “American Keynes”—introduced a phrase that would form the basis of worry for policymakers in developed nations the world over. In the face of plunging birth rates and ever-increasing life expectancies, OECD nations were soon to face a “secular stagnation,” with waves of retirees withdrawing from both…