Campus scholars' perspectives on topical issues — in conversation with you

Equity vs. Equality: What’s the Difference?

There is a clip of US Senator Bernie Sanders making the rounds from a recent episode of Bill Maher’s HBO program, in which the host asked Senator Sanders to distinguish “equality” from “equity.” Senator Sanders explained that “equality” refers to “equality of opportunity,” but admits he is not sure what “equity” means. The host says he thinks … Continue reading »

The Biggest Innovation in ChatGPT? It’s the “T”, Not the Chat

“One day every major city in America will have a telephone.”  Alexander Graham Bell Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Human beings can be forgiven for sometimes not grasping the full impact of the technologies we develop. Occasionally, we miss the forest for the trees. This explains both Alexander Graham Bell’s statement on his own … Continue reading »

Open letter to Jeffrey Sachs on the Russia-Ukraine war

Dear Dr. Sachs, We are a group of economists, including many Ukrainians, who were appalled by your statements on the Russian war against Ukraine and were compelled to write this open letter to address some of the historical misrepresentations and logical fallacies in your line of argument. Following your repeated appearances on the talk shows … Continue reading »

Is ChatGPT a False Promise?

Noam Chomsky, Ian Roberts, and Jeffrey Watumull, in “The False Promise of ChatGPT,” (New York Times, March 8, 2023), lament the sudden popularity of large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s ChapGPT, Google’s Bard, and Microsoft’s Sydney. What they do not consider is what these AIs may be able to teach us about humanity. Chomsky, et … Continue reading »

Need Quick Climate Solutions? Check Out UC Berkeley Law’s “Climate Break” Podcast

Climate change news is often quite depressing, with frequent stories on the science and ever-worsening impacts. What gets lost in this otherwise important coverage is the amazing and inspiring tales of innovation and solutions happening all around us, in every sector and walk of life. That’s why Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the … Continue reading »