The Computing Community Consortium (CCC), like the rest of the world, continued to adapt and restructure our activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the unique issues this year brought, with the help of the computing research community, we were able to continue making an impact and provide support. Some highlights from the year are described below; please see our website for more details, as well as plans and opportunities for new activities in the coming new year. In spring of 2021, the Computing Research Association (CRA), with strong support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), announced a new Computing Innovation Fellows (CIFellows) cohort for 2021. As before, this program aids recent and […]

Artificial Intelligence (AI) development is driven by large amounts of data and information. This type of information is captured in knowledge graphs, entities that are expensive and time-consuming to create. As a result, only large corporations own the largest and most effective knowledge graphs, with few researchers having the ability to access or develop their own knowledge sets. This phenomenon leaves a need for Open Knowledge Networks (OKN), a highly distributed knowledge network with open contributions and open access. A public resource of this kind would enable new research and foster the next wave of knowledge-powered AI. In 2018, the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) partnered with the Association for the […]

On Thursday, December 16th at 4:00 PM ET, the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CEST) will be hosting a lecture “Deconstructing China’s Vision for the Future of Warfare” as a part of their Security and Technology Seminar Series. The series aims to bring together leaders from public and private sectors for discussions on the impact artificial intelligence and emerging technologies have on the national and international security landscape.  The lecture will feature two speakers, Ryan Fedasiuk (a Research Analyst at CEST), and Lieutenant General (retired) John Shanahan (the Inaugural Director at the U.S. Department of Defense Joint Artificial Intelligence Center) and seek to address the need for U.S. policymakers […]

Written by Shar Steed, originally posted on the The CRA Bulletin. The University of Washington (UW) Allen School recently shared the story behind the creation of a new professorship honoring Ed Lazowska in recognition of his incredible impact on the computing research community. The Endowed Professorship in Computer Science & Engineering in Honor of Edward D. Lazowska was the brainchild of Peter Lee of Microsoft and Jeff Dean of Google, who teamed up with Lee’s Microsoft colleagues Harry Shum and Brad Smith to provide a $1M gift. From the UW announcement: “If you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.” That maxim once graced the top of Allen […]

Bayer, the pharmaceutical company that owns big name brands such as Aspirin, Aleve, Midol, Cenesten and Iberogast, recently partnered with Ada Health, an AI-based assessment platform. This free app uses an AI chat robot to collect information on symptoms, patient history and other user targeted questions to generate data-driven suggestions for next steps and proper care. “Ada’s technology is based on a custom-built reasoning engine and a highly comprehensive medical knowledge base, covering thousands of conditions. In fact, in a recent vignettes study testing the eight most popular online symptom assessment apps, Ada was proven to have the most comprehensive condition coverage, providing a condition suggestion 99% of the time, […]

Brandeis Marshall, Professor of Computer Science at Spelman College, will present as a part of Columbia University Data Science Institute’s Race + Data Science Lecture Series. Marshall’s presentation, “Waking up to Marginalization in Data Education” will address racial marginalization as a result of computing practices and possible ways to combat bias. The presentation will be held Wednesday December 1, 2021 from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET. You can register for the event here. Brandeis Marshall Bio: Brandeis teaches, speaks and writes about the impact of data practices on technology and society. Her work contributes to the data engineering, data science, and data/computer science education fields. Through Dr. Marshall’s data […]