Public Affairs (Audio)

Joan Donovan, a leading disinformation researcher specializing in media manipulation, explains how social media platforms have become the new battleground for public persuasion. Co-author of “Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America,” Donovan uncovers the ways memes and social media enable fringe groups to lure in new recruits and spread their ideologies. In this episode, Donovan provides expert guidance on technical and policy strategies necessary to mitigate the weaponization of social media. Series: "Public Policy and Society" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 39286]

The relationship between the United States and China is the most important, difficult and vital bilateral relationship in the world today. So how does the U.S. make its China policy? How do different administrations address the China policy? And how has it changed over the past two decades? In this discussion, Susan Shirk, professor emeritus at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy and founding chair of the 21st Century China Center, talks with Stephen Hadley, former national security advisor to President George W. Bush, about the evolution of U.S.-China relations in recent years. Also joining the discussion is Paul Haenle, who served as the White House China director on the National Security Council staffs of former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Series: "Public Policy and Society" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 39227]

TecHype is a groundbreaking series that cuts through the hype around emerging technologies. Each episode debunks misunderstandings around emerging tech, provides insight into benefits and risks, and identifies technical and policy strategies to harness the benefits while mitigating the risks.

This episode of TecHype features Prof. Stuart Russell from UC Berkeley, a world-renowned expert in artificial intelligence and co-author (with Peter Norvig) of the standard text in the field. We debunk misunderstandings around what “AI” actually is and break down the benefits and risks of this transformative technology. Prof. Russell provides an expert perspective on the real impacts AI will have in our world, including its potential to provide greater efficiency and effectiveness in a variety of domains and the serious safety, security, and discrimination risks it poses. Series: "Public Policy and Society" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 39284]

Sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities across the country have been subjected to increased hate incidents, including verbal harassment, civil rights violations, and physical assaults. Since its founding in March 2020, thousands of incidents have been reported to the Stop AAPI Hate coalition. Manjusha Kulkarni will discuss how Stop AAPI Hate is addressing anti-Asian hate through civil rights enforcement, education equity, community-based safety, and building a movement against systemic racism. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 39081]

Asian/Pacific Islander American communities have a long history of activism in the United States, particularly in response to anti-Asian racism and exclusion. In their struggle for equality and liberation from oppression, AAPI activists have developed social and political movements for immigrant rights, labor rights, educational equity, affordable housing, religious freedom, environmental justice, and more. This panel features several AAPI activists who will discuss how they became activists, their work on the leading edges of activism, and how more people can get involved. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 39080]

Big cities create big opportunities for innovation in design and planning that transform daily life and shapes the future. Their complexity and scale also create unique challenges for integrating design and planning, both in terms of processes and outcomes. In this program, three urbanists - Gil Kelley, Peter Park and John Rahaim - explore what is good public design and how it impacts our neighborhoods.

The Big City Design + Planning Symposium is co-sponsored by the UC San Diego Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the Design Lab. Series: "Design at Large" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 39157]

UC Santa Cruz developed a computational tool known as UShER that enables real-time SARS-CoV-2 tracking and helps researchers identify new lineages of the virus. The easy-to-use tool and online server creates an evolutionary tree that helps scientists understand genomic mutations by creating new branches, showing the relationships between virus samples and the order in which mutations happened along various lineages as the virus evolves. Series: "UC Santa Cruz News" [Public Affairs] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 39241]

TecHype is a groundbreaking series that cuts through the hype around emerging technologies to get to what matters. Each episode debunks misunderstandings around emerging tech, provides insight into benefits and risks, and identifies technical and policy strategies to harness the benefits while mitigating the risks of emerging technologies. This episode of TecHype features Prof. Hany Farid from UC Berkeley, a world-renowned expert in the analysis of digitally manipulated images. We take a deep dive into determining what a 'deepfake’ is and explore how these AI-generated images, videos, and audio can be used for both amusing and alarming purposes.

Farid highlights the increasing prevalence of deepfakes and their impact on society. From revolutionizing the entertainment industry, bolstering creativity, and championing advocacy campaigns to their use in impersonating public figures in ways that manipulate elections or personal contacts to commit fraud. The episode concludes with a discussion of targeted strategies that can be pursued to keep you safe from harmful deepfakes, such as digital watermarking and detection tools. Series: "Public Policy and Society" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 39244]

Researchers deployed a fleet of 100 semi-autonomous vehicles to test whether a new AI-powered cruise control system can help smooth the flow of traffic and improve fuel economy.

In a massive traffic experiment, scientists tested whether introducing just a few AI-equipped vehicles to the road can help ease “phantom” jams caused by human behavior and reduce fuel consumption for everyone.

(Video: Roxanne Makasdjian, Alan Toth, and CIRCLES Consortium

Music: Dyalla - Organic Guitar House)

Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 39225]

The Visualizing Abolition Initiative seeks to change the narrative linking prisons to justice, contributing instead to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. The initiative is a collaborative effort with artists, scholars, poets, lawyers and activists, and through public exhibitions and educational genres. Series: "UC Santa Cruz News" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 39242]