Georgia Institute of Technology

On Monday, NASA held a press teleconference with four people to announce the second possible detection of water on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Britney Schmidt, assistant professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences was one of the panelists, acting as an outside expert. She played no role in the discovery.

Schmidt is one of Europa’s leading experts. Many think the moon is the best chance to find other life in the solar system, primarily because of its subsurface ocean.

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Changes to the SAT and ACT have created consternation. Why? First, simply change. Anytime you alter something, it causes skepticism and unrest. Secondly, the very nature of standardized testing inherently breeds anxiety. But as with anything new and unfamiliar, information is the best way to combat concern. Rick Clark, director of Undergraduate Admission at Georgia Tech, and Mary Tipton Woolley, the senior associate director, suggest students and families keep these points in mind:

Test Prep: One of the best results of the SAT redesign is College Board’s partnership with Khan Academy, which provides free tips, practice questions and strategies for improving scores on all sections. ACT Online Prep is found here.

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Someday artificial intelligence (AI) might be too good and too smart for humans. The worry is that the first AI machine to surpass human intelligence might be impossible to shut down. That’s one reason Google made headlines in June with its big red button that relies on a modified reinforcement-learning algorithm that, under the right circumstances, will prevent AI from learning that the big red button deprives it of reward.

Mark Riedl, associate professor in Georgia Tech’s College of Computing and director of the Entertainment Intelligence Lab, is putting forward an alternate approach to the big red button that may prove to be more reliable in stopping AI from causing harm to people or property. 

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Cyberattacks against America’s energy infrastructure put public safety and national defense at risk. In response, a proposal before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources suggests a “retro approach” to de-computerize the electrical grid. A.P. “Sakis” Meliopoulos, the Georgia Power Distinguished Professor in the School of Electrical & Computer Engineering and associate director of cyber-physical systems for the Institute for Information Security & Privacy, explains the vulnerabilities, threats and solutions underway.

While much effort has been expended to harden the cybersecurity of America’s power grid, vulnerabilities still remain, coupled with the reality that attackers are becoming more sophisticated and smarter.

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They are everywhere. People hunting on phones. Pokémon Go is what everyone is doing and/or talking about this week.

Ian Bogost is Georgia Tech's video game expert. In his latest article for The Atlantic, he explains what laid the groundwork for the game and what he expects from the latest craze.

Read the article.

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