When I was in graduate school, I remember standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, watching a toddler get her mom’s phone from her purse, type in her password and start playing games. Her mom was in a business suit, and two minutes earlier, I’d heard her discussing a business deal on…

When we think of the robots in practical use today, the most common are stationary robots that help assemble parts in automotive factories or can assist in performing delicate medical surgeries.

As digital assistants like Siri and Alexa become more common in our lives, people increasingly see them as companions that accompany them throughout their day. Young children, especially, are more apt to see these devices as real people or friends.

Interdisciplinarity runs in my blood. I have degrees in computer science, anthropology, and science and technology studies along with a faculty appointment as a professor in the School of Information. However, I never imagined having the opportunity to be involved in interdisciplinary research at…

On Aug. 26, students will return to the UT campus to put some semblance of their lives back together amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The university is one of many across the country and the world that will rely on technology to help that process.

Some activities are so common we barely take notice of them. They recede into the background of everyday life. Consider the greeting. In Texas, it’s not strange to hear a casual howdy from strangers. A nod of recognition is usually taken as a basic sign of civility. We greet one another at work and…

Former White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove said in November that Republicans and Democrats are in an arms race for data that will determine the course of American elections.

Texas is no stranger to drought seasons.

The landscape along the U.S.-Mexico border has changed drastically over the past 150 years — from fencing to surveillance infrastructure to damming and hydraulic projects.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to have extremely beneficial but also detrimental effects on society as we know it. From helpful home robots run amok to artificial intelligence that widens the gap between rich and poor, there are many ways the increasingly present AI in our lives can go…