Posts Tagged: "education"

House Subcommittees Hold Hearing on Artificial Intelligence Challenges and Opportunities

On the morning of Tuesday, June 26th, both the House Subcommittee on Research and Technology and the House Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing titled Artificial Intelligence – With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility. The day’s discussion centered on issues surrounding the nascent technological field of artificial intelligence (AI), including both the potential negative and positive impacts that improved AI technologies could pose to the U.S. workforce and society in general… The specter of increased Chinese investment into AI tech development was also discussed during the day’s hearing. During his opening remarks, Congressman Randy Weber (R-TX), chair of the House Energy Subcommittee, spoke to the concerns over increased tech investment by China into AI programs and how that threatens U.S. dominance in the field.

Bloomberg Innovation Index is Latest Sign US Innovation Economy is in Dire Straits

For the first time since the inception of the Bloomberg Innovation Index, the U.S. ranked outside the top 10, ranking 11th out of the 50 economies. This latest dip in standing for the U.S. innovation economy is simply the most recent sign that significant issues exist relative to innovation and intellectual property… Another trend pointed out by the recent Bloomberg Innovation Index is the slow rise of the innovation economy in China which has shown signs of improving just as the United States continues to be unable to address key IP issues. China climbed two rank positions in the most recent version of the Bloomberg index, up to 19th from 21st the previous year.

Google Downplays Importance of STEM Education Despite Increased Job Opportunities and Wage Prospects for Workers

Looking at the results of multi-year studies conducted by Google into its own employment practices, including hiring standards and team productivity, Davidson noted Google’s own findings that a hard skills from a STEM education were not as important as softer skills such as curiosity, empathy and emotional intelligence… On January 18th, NBC News THINK published a thought piece penned by Google CEO Sundar Pichai in which Pichai argues that the traditional stance on education, whereby students would graduate from academic institutions with the assumption that they had learned lifelong career skills, is no longer tenable given the rapid changes posed by technology. Pichai argued in favor of moving away from “code and intensive degrees” towards a more “lightweight, focused model” featuring apprenticeship and certification programs, some of which can be completed in less than one year.

Fish & Richardson Awards 33 Scholarships to U.S. Space Camp

Fish & Richardson has awarded full scholarships to 33 students and their teacher chaperones this year, marking 14 years of supporting kids and providing them with an opportunity to attend the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala. The goal of Fish’s Space Camp Scholarship program is to get middle school students excited about the fields of math, science, and technology.

Building on Rhetoric: Time to Inspire Youth in Math & Science

At one point during his remarks last night President Obama said: “Nobody rushes on the field and dumps Gatorade on them (laughter) when you win a science award. Maybe they should!” Indeed we should celebrate science and math victories every much, if not more, than we celebrate sports victories, but that is not our culture unfortunately. We need to change our culture to raise the profile of those who are succeeding on every level in the scientific fields. President Obama can play a major role in bringing about that change, and his raising the profile of those who are science fair winners is certainly encouraging.