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AI chatbots perpetuate biases when performing empathy, study finds

A new study explores how GPT-4o, the latest model from OpenAI, evaluates and performs empathy compared to humans, and finds major gaps exist.

Researchers run high-performing large language model on the energy needed to power a lightbulb

UC Santa Cruz researchers show that it is possible to eliminate the most computationally expensive element of running large language models, called matrix multiplication, while maintaining performance.

Brain-inspired AI code library passes major milestone, new paper offers perspective on future of field

UCSC Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Jason Eshraghian’s open source code library for brain-inspired deep learning, called “snnTorch,” has surpassed 100,000 downloads and is used in a wide variety of projects. A new paper details the code and offers a perspective on the future of the field.

Researchers’ tool finds bias in state-of-the-art generative AI model

UCSC researchers introduce a new tool to measure bias in text-to-image AI generation models, which they have used to quantify bias in the state-of-the-art model Stable Diffusion.

UCSC team wins third place in first-ever Amazon SimBot challenge

A team of UC Santa Cruz computer science and engineering (CSE) Ph.D. students won third place in the first-ever Amazon Alexa Prize SimBot Challenge, a university competition focused on advancing virtual assistant technology.

SpikeGPT: researcher releases code for largest-ever spiking neural network for language generation

Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Jason Eshraghian and two students recently released the open-sourced code for the largest language-generating spiking neural network ever, named SpikeGPT.

New algae exhibit in Madrid: a collaboration that inspires

UCSC Arts and Digital Arts & New Media professor Jennifer Parker is the founding director of the OpenLab Collaborative Research Center at UC Santa Cruz, and co-founder of The Algae Society. Parker along with the Algae Society opened a new exhibit in Madrid titled MIKROS: Un Mundo Oculto.

Zimmer to develop Responsible AI course

Zimmer will join colleagues from around the U.S. to plan classes that better explore the impact of artificial intelligence on our world.

UC Santa Cruz receives National Endowment for the Humanities grant to connect studies of humanities, engineering

UC Santa Cruz will create a new Certificate in the Humanities introducing students enrolled in the Baskin School of Engineering to humanities disciplines aimed to help them better understand the social and cultural impacts of technological change.

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Headshot of Magy Seif El-Nasr

Exploring Generative AI possibilities with Magy Seif El-Nasr, UC Santa Cruz Computational Media Chair

Many conversations about generative artificial intelligence in higher education are about academic integrity and threats to learning. Those issues are serious and challenging.

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When humanists meet technologists met

When humanists meet technologists

UC Santa Cruz’s new Humanizing Technology Certificate Program is helping students confront the moral and social implications of technology, harnessing the power of the humanities to envision a more just and responsible future.

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Last modified: Aug 14, 2025