In the News
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March 28, 2025
“Vibe coding” promises to make website creation easy for tech novices using generative AI models like ChatGPT, but Nikola Banovic, associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering, says it’s not that simple: “People who do not have programming expertise often struggle to use these kinds of models because they don’t have the right kinds of tools or knowledge to actually evaluate the output.”
The Economic Times -
March 28, 2025
“There are many, many research grants that are funded by IES that really are important for helping us understand what seems to be working for children. … That loss just right out of the gate is just enormous,” said Elizabeth Moje, dean of the Marsal Family School of Education, about funding cuts to the Institute of Education Sciences, the U.S. Department of Education’s research arm.
Detroit Free Press -
March 28, 2025
“I suspect (Chief Justice John) Roberts has a certain measure of contempt for Trump and the way he treats judges. Roberts is an establishment Republican, but I think he’s horrified,” said Richard Friedman, professor of law. “From Trump’s point of view, it may be very perplexing because he thinks you’re going to have a judge entirely in his favor or against. But that’s not the way the world works.”
Reuters -
March 27, 2025
The dollar’s recent decline is in large part because importers have been trying to bring in extra goods ahead of the president’s tariffs, said Kathryn Dominguez, professor of public policy and economics: “We’ve actually been buying more imports, therefore needing more foreign currency, therefore driving up the value of foreign currency relative to the dollar.”
Marketplace -
March 27, 2025
“This is tickling liberals because the most dominant voices on the platform lean right and are dismissive of liberal arguments. But the larger data it trains on is likely to present a more balanced view of the world, often explicitly at odds with what its loudest voices are saying,” said Joyojeet Pal, associate professor of information, after the built in-chatbot on Elon Musk’s X stated that Musk himself is a “strong contender” for spreading the most disinformation on his social media platform.
BBC -
March 27, 2025
“Basically, global warming is turning the atmosphere into a bigger sponge so it can soak up more moisture … and then when the conditions are right for rainfall, it’s like squeezing that sponge,” said Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the School for Environment and Sustainability, about intense and destructive deluges of rain that can fall following intense droughts.
The Associated Press -
March 26, 2025
“Refusing to act on Second Look harms Michigan’s economy, its corrections system and its communities. It exacerbates staffing shortages, worsens conditions for both incarcerated individuals and prison employees and perpetuates a system that is expensive and ineffective,” co-wrote Jeffrey Morenoff, professor of sociology and of public policy, about stalled legislation in the Michigan House that would allow inmates who have served at least 20 years to petition for a sentence reduction.
Detroit Free Press -
March 26, 2025
“Essentially, they’re buying into people’s passions. What they’re trying to do is … to extract more of the financial value of that happiness from the fans,” said Stefan Szymanski, professor of sport management, about the growing trend of private equity firms buying a stake in professional sports teams — and creating a revenue opportunity.
Marketplace -
March 26, 2025
“We have a president who has made very clear that he believes he has the prerogative to pick and choose what laws passed by Congress he has to follow. And so to me, that’s the first and most fundamental challenge to our constitutional order here. All of these cases are about laws Congress has passed. … And the president just doesn’t want to follow them. That’s why he’s been brought to court,” said Samuel Bagenstos, professor of law and public policy.
The New Yorker -
March 25, 2025
“People point to, as reasons to gut the Department of Education, that children’s reading test scores have been declining for the last couple of years since COVID. How do we know that? Well, it’s because (the ed department) funded this survey to test kids every year,” said Kevin Stange, professor of public policy and education.
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