Social Sciences (Faculty & Staff)

Artificial Intelligence is Teaching Us New, Surprising Things about the Human Mind

April 1, 2023
Christoper Mims

The world has been learning an awful lot about artificial intelligence lately, thanks to the arrival of eerily human-like chatbots.

Less noticed, but just as important: Researchers are learning a great deal about us – with the help of AI.

AI is helping scientists decode how neurons in our brains communicate, and explore the nature of cognition. This new research could one day lead to humans connecting with computers merely by thinking–as opposed to typing or voice commands. But there is a long way to go before such visions become reality. I say tomato, you say pangolin

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/artificial-intelligence-is-teaching-us-new-surprisi…

Pedro Rodriguez, UC Berkeley Student, selected as a 2022 Strauss Scholar

October 10, 2022
Chauncey Walker
In your own words, explain what the Strauss Scholarship is and what being a Strauss scholar means to you.

The Strauss scholarship allows students to create an impact by funding public service projects. Being a low-income first-generation farmworker, I could never have imagined that I would be a Strauss Scholar. I am grateful for the sacrifices and struggles that it took to be able to give back to my farm working community in the Central Valley.

What do you plan to do with this scholarship and how do you plan to utilize your sociology...

Climate Change and Its Affect on Arctic Archaeology: A Lecture from Dr. Christyann Darwent

April 4, 2023
Fragility and Resilience: Climate Change and Arctic Archaeology
Wednesday, April 5 | 12:30 pm PT | 223 Philosophy Hall | RSVP
The human history of the North American Arctic has been a cycle of expansions and contractions, of mobility and migration, and fragility and resilience. Archaeology brings a long-term perspective to the relationship between humans and the Arctic environment. More recently, however...

A generous gift establishes fund for Monetary Economics

March 30, 2023
We are excited to announce that a generous gift from Berkeley alum Brian Barish '90 will establish The BB90 Fund for Monetary Economics, helping Berkeley's students and leading economists better understand emerging strategies used by financial regulators to influence economic behavior.

“It is an exciting time to investigate this critical area of monetary economics, and the support provided by the BB90 Fund has provided a tremendous boost,” said​ ​Quantedge Presidential Professor of...

https://ls.berkeley.edu/uc-berkeley-funding-evaluation-modern-monetary-economics

Former US Senator Barbara Boxer Will Visit UC Berkeley to Give a Lecture

March 23, 2023

Monday, April 3 | 4:00 - 6:00 P.M. PST | Banatao Auditorium, Sutardja Dai Hall

Register Here

From her position on the House Ways and Means Committee and as a member of the Subcommittees on Health, Worker and Family Support, and Oversight, Congresswoman Judy Chu has distinguished herself as a champion of working families. The first Chinese American woman elected to Congress, Rep. Chu has served as Chair of the Congressional...

UC Berkeley Ethnic Studies Alum has recently been named USC’s Vice Provost for the Arts

March 23, 2023
Cori Anne Montero

Congratulations to Josh Kun, a UC Berkeley Ethnic Studies Alum, who has recently been named USC Annenberg’s Vice Provost for the Arts! Josh Kun will partner with USC’s art schools and USC Museums to create universitywide programs, new initiatives, and fundraising to activate the arts across the university and Los Angeles arts community.

“The arts are a really valuable and urgent language for creating little cracks in those armors of division. Globally, we need what artists are bringing more than ever before.” - Josh Kun

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Seven hundred 2022-23 graduates invited to join Phi Beta Kappa

March 21, 2023

The Berkeley chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society has made its first round of invitations to Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 graduates to join the liberal arts and sciences honors society founded in 1776. Over 700 seniors, almost all from the College of Letters & Science, are receiving emails notifying them of selection and detailing how to join.

If you are a Berkeley student and receive an invitation, please be sure to consider joining.

Fee waivers to cover the enrollment fee are available for those who face financial...

Berkeley Economics Professor Argues That Closing Tax Havens Is Key to Saving Democracy

March 20, 2023
Cori Anne Montero

The war in Ukraine has highlighted the danger that offshore finance poses to the rules-based global order. Western governments must seize this opportunity to combat tax avoidance and evasion while weakening the ability of autocratic regimes to foment global instability.

Read more about this article and what Berkeley Economics Professor, Yuriy Gorodnichenko, has to say on this topic...

Even in small businesses, minimum wage hikes don't cause job losses, study finds

March 14, 2023
Ed Lempinem

Restaurants, retail stores and other small businesses, long thought to be vulnerable to increases in the minimum wage, generally do not cut jobs and may actually benefit when governments raise minimum pay, according to a new study co-authored at UC Berkeley.

The prevailing wisdom among many business owners and policymakers is that when the minimum wage rises, smaller low-wage employers suffer more from higher labor costs and are more likely to cut jobs. But the...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2023/03/14/even-in-small-businesses-minimum-wage-hikes…

I say dog, you say chicken? New study explores why we disagree so often

March 17, 2023
Jason Pohl

Is a dog more similar to a chicken or an eagle? Is a penguin noisy? Is a whale friendly?

Psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley, say these absurd-sounding questions might help us better understand what’s at the heart of some of society’s most vexing arguments.

Research published online Thursday in the journal Open Mind shows that our concepts about and associations with even the most basic...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2023/03/16/new-evidence-on-why-we-talk-past-each-other…