The Conversation

Computers to humans: Shall we play a game?

Written by Arend Hintze, Assistant Professor of Integrative Biology & Computer Science and Engineering, Michigan State University

Artificial intelligence can bring many benefits to human gamers.Sam Jordan Belanger, CC BY-ND

Way back in the 1980s, a schoolteacher challenged me to write a computer program that played tic-tac-toe. I failed miserably. But just a couple of weeks ago, I explained to one of my computer science graduate students how to solve tic-tac-toe using the...

Why Facebook may fuel new mothers' insecurity

Written by Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan, Professor of Human Sciences and Psychology; Faculty Associate of the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy, The Ohio State University

Social media can lead to comparisons, which often can be depressing, a study finds. Africa Studios via www.shutterstock.cm

You haven’t showered in a few days, and you haven’t brushed your teeth yet this morning.

But, your baby is one month old today! You picked out the perfect outfit and made sure the lighting was just right for the...

Will Trump give working families a break?

Written by Cheryl Carleton, Assistant Professor of Economics, Villanova University

Families benefit when fathers and mothers get paid parental leave.popofatticus/flickr, CC BY-SA

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen recently summed up the economic benefits of widespread child care and paid family leave. Since 1979, she explained in a speech at Brown University, women have brought about most gains in real household income. Making...

Why big-data analysis of police activity is inherently biased

Written by William Isaac, Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science, Michigan State University

How does bad data affect predictive policing algorithms?Photosani/shutterstock.com

In early 2017, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a new initiative in the city’s ongoing battle with violent crime. The most common solutions to this sort of problem involve hiring more police officers or working more closely with community members. But...

'Moonlight' schooled Hollywood on race. Can it take on school discipline, too?

Written by Derek Black, Professor of Law, University of South Carolina

2017's winner for Best Picture casts new light on the issue of school discipline reform.A24 Films

This year’s Academy Award winner for best picture tackles a difficult topic in the education world today: school discipline. In “Moonlight,” high school boys taunt the main character, Chiron, with homophobic slurs before beating him....

Four challenges for Moon Jae-in, South Korea's new president

Written by Markus Bell, Anthropologist and Lecturer in Korean and Japanese studies, University of Sheffield

South Korea's Moon Jae-in victorious on May 9, 2017.AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

Democrat Moon Jae-in is the new president of South Korea.

Moon, a former special forces soldier turned human rights lawyer, won a snap election, following months of mass protests that ousted President Park Geun-hye last December.

The grace period for Moon will be short....

To curb climate change, we need to protect and expand US forests

Written by William Moomaw, Professor Emeritus of International Environmental Policy, Tufts University

Cypress swamp near Mandeville, Louisiana.Neal Wellons/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

Forests have been removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing carbon for more than 300 million years. When we cut down or burn trees and disturb forest soils, we release that stored carbon to the atmosphere. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, one-third...

How the refugee crisis is playing out on the German stage

Written by Emily Goodling, Ph.D. candidate in German Studies, Stanford University

Since 2015, over one million refugees have entered Germany. As a political event, the so-called refugee crisis continues to color public policy and political rhetoric in Germany and around the world.

Less well-known, however, is Germany’s artistic response to this crisis, especially on the stage.

Germany has a long history of political...

Central American gangs like MS-13 were born out of failed anti-crime policies

Written by Jose Miguel Cruz, Director of Research, Florida International University

A Salvadoran man believed to be a member of the MS-13 gang as he is arrested.AP Photo/Josh Reynolds

The street gang Mara Salvatrucha 13, commonly known as MS-13, was born in the United States.

Despite what President Donald Trump and Attorney General Sessions have claimed, lax immigration policies are not what allowed MS-13 and other Central American...

Iranian voters' economic gloom may doom President Rouhani's reelection bid

Written by Nader Habibi, Professor of the Economics of the Middle East at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University

Markets breathed a collective sigh of relief after Emmanuel Macron won the French presidency. But there’s another vote this month that’s just as consequential yet has received far less attention: Iran’s May 19 presidential election.

If the incumbent moderate Hassan Rouhani doesn’t win a second term, one of his conservative...