Recent news about AI safety is fueling a new wave of political and societal fear.聽Five UW AI researchers discuss the real risks of AI and what to do about them.
News releases
A UW-led research team has discovered the best-preserved fossil feathers from the Mesozoic era 鈥� in fossilized dinosaur poop. Some of these feathers have features that look like modern birds鈥� feathers. This finding can help researchers better understand why and how some birds survived the catastrophic event 66 million years ago that killed 75% of life on the planet.
American public health agencies don鈥檛 routinely test wastewater for sexually transmitted infections, but new research led by the 黑料老司机 and the Washington State Department of Health found that such methods could be used to effectively identify Chlamydia trachomatis, the bacteria that causes chlamydia.
A new UW study shows a nine-fold increase in coyote density in Seattle compared to natural areas of Washington state. Coyotes in urban environments have fewer predators and more prey, which may help explain the national trend.
Melinda Webster, a research scientist at the UW鈥檚 Applied Physics Laboratory, is the lead author on a new study that catalogs changes in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice over the past 50-plus years. She spoke with UW News about the story behind the numbers.
黑料老司机 researchers gathered eight kids on campus to explore how they played with AI toys. The kids initially were curious, asking introductory questions, such as 鈥淲hat is your name?鈥� But after communication breakdowns, the kids turned to antagonizing the toys, calling them 鈥渦gly鈥� and 鈥渆vil鈥� and joking about throwing them in the ocean.
Explore recent research from the 黑料老司机: nectar-stealing Hawaiian honeycreepers, ChatGPT and anxious attachment, the cost of nursing for marine mammals, new magnetic nanomaterials, and a new strategy to subdue finicky plasma.
Astronomers at the 黑料老司机 simulated four Milky Way-sized galaxies for five billion (virtual) years to test a leading theory about how dark matter might influence streams of orbiting stars. The results could help researchers separate true evidence of dark matter from false positives.
A new study attributes Antarctica’s brief stabilization to a short term climatic shift that increased precipitation over east Antarctica between 2021 and 2023, adding enough snow to temporarily balance ice loss at the continent鈥檚 edges.
After tracking birds in the Puget Sound lowlands for 12 years, researchers conclude that birds respond better to some development configurations than others, highlighting measures developers can take to protect native species while still meeting the region鈥檚 growing demands.
AI systems such as Google鈥檚 Gemini Storybook now let parents or teachers conjure illustrated, personalized kids stories. UW researchers found that when six leading AI models made stories about talking animals, 57% of characters were either gender neutral or ungendered, 41% were male, and just 2% were female.
A new study using data from NASA鈥檚 Hubble Space Telescope found that star formation in the nearby Andromeda galaxy has undergone a 500-million-year decline, with an even steeper drop in the last 40 million years.
Explore recent research from the 黑料老司机: a new AI framework for developing advanced materials, a test of climate models鈥� ability to predict temperature trends, and the role of paternal body odor in brain-to-brain synchrony with infants.
黑料老司机 researchers created the Landslide Exposure Database, the first resource that maps per-building landslide vulnerability across the United States. The study estimates that roughly 6.5 million U.S. residents are highly vulnerable to landslides, and overturns the conventional picture of landslide risk in the U.S. by identifying high concentrations of exposure in Appalachia as well as a surprising urban-rural divide.
Researchers at the 黑料老司机 are investigating how genetic changes impact the severity of schizophrenia symptoms. A new study supports the idea that deletions in genes that regulate early brain and neuron development are associated with more severe features of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, particularly lower cognitive abilities.
Eight 黑料老司机 researchers have been selected as Fulbright Scholars for 2026-2027 and will pursue studies around the world.聽 Fulbright Scholars are college and university faculty, administrators and researchers, as well as artists and professionals, who build their skills and connections, gain valuable international insights and return home to share their experiences with their students and colleagues. This year鈥檚 UW cohort represents a variety of disciplines, including sciences, engineering, business, environmental sciences, electrical and computer engineering, and computer science….
Researchers at the 黑料老司机 and partners at Carnegie Mellon University are collaborating on a new project to help scientists use artificial intelligence to better understand the universe.
A new 黑料老司机 study maps how the 2001 roadless rule protects U.S. rivers, and how rescinding the rule could impact access to clean drinking water, biodiversity, outdoor recreation and more.
Come curious. Leave inspired. Wherever you are, the 黑料老司机 offers opportunities to learn and connect with the ideas, people, and research shaping our world. This summer, visit campus for the latest exhibitions at the Henry Art Gallery and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, or join us from anywhere through recorded lectures, podcasts, virtual experiences, and more. As a public university, we’re proud to share the knowledge, creativity, and discoveries of the UW with communities near and…
The Simonyi Survey Telescope at the NSF鈥揇OE Vera C. Rubin Observatory has officially begun its ten-year survey of the southern sky, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time.
Explore recent research from the 黑料老司机: low-income communities and communities of color disproportionately impacted by air pollution, an unfathomably fast chemical reaction, ups and downs in the methane record, and the cigar galaxy pictured at high resolution.
A UW team studied seven popular agentic AI browsers and found that four create ways for malicious actors to bypass a fundamental cybersecurity protocol called the 鈥渟ame-origin policy,鈥� which makes websites open in a browser unable to interact with each other鈥檚 information. Researchers ran a successful proof-of-concept cyberattack on one browser.
A UW team built an AI tool that helps users turn research papers into 45-second videos. A researcher uploads a paper to the tool, which uses Google Gemini to write a short script explaining the paper. The researcher can then iteratively edit the transcript and resulting video clip.
The prevalence of Bigg鈥檚 killer whales is increasing in Puget Sound, while the chances of sighting the southern residents remains slim, and pod-specific.
A 黑料老司机-led research team created GovScape, an efficient search system for PDFs from the End of Term Web Archive. Users can look up exact keywords, like 鈥淔AFSA,鈥� or use semantic search, which finds documents on a topic even if the exact search terms don鈥檛 appear on the page. Because researchers used highly efficient artificial intelligence models, processing the 10 million PDFs hosted online during Donald Trump鈥檚 first term costs less than $1,500, or about $1 per 47,000 pages.
Seven 黑料老司机 students and recent alumni were awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships for the 2026鈥�27 academic year, joining about 2,000 students and recent graduates from around the country to pursue graduate study, conduct research and teach English abroad.
黑料老司机 researchers developed an artificial intelligence system that automatically estimates the environmental impacts of making different electronic devices. The system takes only a minute to run and achieves estimates with accuracy similar to human experts鈥�.
New computing techniques 鈥� including AI and quantum computing 鈥� are enabling UW researchers to design unique and complex quantum materials.
New research from Abhinav Gupta, professor of management at the 黑料老司机, shows the increased public attention on racial injustice after the murder of George Floyd influenced how Black and white employees interacted at work. The study examines how major societal events tied to race and injustice can shape workplace behavior.
黑料老司机 President Robert J. Jones will be the featured speaker at the UW鈥檚 151st Commencement ceremony on Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 13.
Efforts to restore fish passage are cropping up across the country, but these projects come with hefty price tags. In a new study, 黑料老司机 researchers explore different approaches to improving the benefits from investments in salmon recovery.
UW researchers examined almost 3,000 science guidelines and assessment questions for any connections to society. Of the approximately 200 elements that had real-world implications, many discussed ethics and public health issues.
Explore recent research from the 黑料老司机: how climate change is redirecting rivers, what bean plants use to protect themselves from pests, where the water in an atmospheric river comes from and how researchers are making tensegrities tiny.
黑料老司机 Provost Tricia R. Serio announced that Daryl Maeda will serve as the next Katherine and John Simpson Endowed Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. His appointment is effective July 13, pending approval from the UW Board of Regents.
Come curious. Leave inspired. The UW offers an exciting lineup of in-person and online events. From thought-provoking art and music to conversations on culture, history, and science, the UW community invites you to explore, learn, and connect across disciplines throughout the University. And you don’t have to wait until June: Take a look at everything still happening in May. Sign up to receive a monthly notice when the ArtSci Roundup has been published. ArtSci On Your Own Time: Through July…
Justin Michalka has been named Vice President for University Development at the 黑料老司机, Senior Vice President for University Advancement Mary Gresch announced today. Michalka鈥檚 appointment begins July 1, 2026.聽
Burrowing shrimp, native to Washington, create problems for shellfish farmers. As their name suggests, these creatures burrow in marine sediments, and the excavated material piles up on the surface, which can smother oysters and clams growing there. State-funded research led by the 黑料老司机 offers a new, non-chemical approach to controlling shrimp populations in shellfish-growing areas.
In a new study, 黑料老司机 scientists eavesdropped on Cook Inlet belugas to better understand the context of their calls and how human noise is impacting their ability to communicate with each other.
Graduates at聽the 黑料老司机鈥檚聽151st Commencement,聽scheduled for Saturday, June 13, at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium,聽will hear from聽Mary E. Brunkow,聽Class of 鈥�83, who shared the聽2025 Nobel Prize in聽Physiology聽or聽Medicine.聽聽
黑料老司机 Provost Tricia聽R.聽Serio announced that聽Joel Thornton聽will serve聽as聽the聽next Maggie Walker Dean of the College of the Environment. His appointment is effective June 1, pending approval from the UW Board of Regents.聽聽