In the News
-
November 7, 2019
Associate professor Kevin Fu, assistant professor Daniel Genkin and colleagues in computer science and engineering, including research investigator Sara Rampazzi and graduate student Benjamin Cyr, showed that Smart speakers like Alexa, Siri and Google Home can be hacked from hundreds of feet away by attackers shining laser pointers at the devices’ microphones to unlock a smart lock-protected front door, open a connected garage door, shop on e-commerce websites, and unlock and start a connected vehicle. “This opens up an entirely new class of vulnerabilities,” Fu said. “It’s difficult to know how many products are affected, because this is so basic.”
The New York Times -
November 7, 2019
Environmental nonprofits need to be more transparent about the demographics of their employees and leaders “if we are ever going to increase the diversity of the environmental movement,” said Dorceta Taylor, professor of environmental sociology, whose research shows that less than 4 percent of environmental nonprofits disclose data about the gender of their staff and less than 3 percent share data on racial demographics.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy -
November 6, 2019
John Cheney-Lippold, associate professor of American culture, says the massive algorithms that drive Google, Amazon and Facebook try to predict, or even influence, behavior in ways that give value to them. This may be at odds with how we actually are. But they help narrow down the myriad choices faced when people are deciding on a product to buy, or even a place to eat, which is not necessarily a bad thing, he says.
CBC Radio -
November 6, 2019
Barbara McQuade, professor from practice at the Law School, says there is no standard for impeachment: “There can be some crimes that are not impeachable, like littering or jaywalking, and then there are some that are impeachable but not criminal, such as abusing one’s power for personal purposes as opposed to acting in the best interests of the country.”
The Washington Post -
November 6, 2019
Soo-Eun Chang, associate professor of psychiatry, explains what happens in the brain when humans stutter. With hundreds of muscles and many parts of the brain involved, speaking is one of the most complex tasks that humans perform, she says.
BBC -
November 5, 2019
“Parents need to feel empowered to get rid of the terribly designed tech that wants their children’s eyeballs — basically, I want them to know that if they see an app or video streaming service with tons of ads, pop-ups, data trackers or prompts to keep making purchases, they should uninstall it. Remove it from the child’s media diet,” said Jenny Radesky, assistant professor of pediatrics and communicable diseases.
Contemporary Pediatrics -
November 5, 2019
The popularity of longer-term auto loans — as many as seven years — is encouraging many Americans to overspend and helping dealers pack in more pricey extras, says Donald Grimes, an economist with the U-M Economic Growth Institute: “People have substantially upgraded the vehicles they are buying. They are now much more likely to buy an SUV, pickup truck or crossover SUV.”
National Public Radio -
November 5, 2019
Research led by MaryCarol Hunter, associate professor of environment and sustainability, suggests that to efficiently reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol, a person should spend 20 to 30 minutes sitting or walking outdoors in a place that provides a sense of nature.
Forbes -
November 4, 2019
Howard Markel, director of the Center for the History of Medicine and the George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine, was interviewed about cereal pioneer John Harvey Kellogg, whose lifelong mission was to improve the dietary health of patients at his Battle Creek Sanitarium, a once world-famous health and wellness center.
BBC -
November 4, 2019
Ian Hiskens, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, was quoted in a story about whether fires ravaging Northern California may have been sparked by Pacific Gas & Electric equipment, deepening skepticism around the utility’s controversial plan to prevent fires in the region by shutting off power to millions of residents — and raising panic among the bankrupt company’s investors.
The Washington Post
