The LLM Working Group is a community founded to facilitate conversations about Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI within academia. This 4-part series will provide fundamental knowledge of LLMs, and generate conversation about the promises and challenges of LLMs in different facets of academic work. Sessions will be interactive, encouraging participants to share their experiences, pose questions, and collaboratively explore the challenges and potential of these technologies in their respective fields. We encourage everyone to participate, regardless of their experience level with LLMs and GenAI. The LLM Working Group is a welcoming and supportive community for all.
In this first session, Generative AI and the Digital Humanities, Tim Tanghlerlini, Greg Niemeyer, and Lisa Wymore will share their experiences, posing questions about the future of LLMs in the context of the Digital Humanities. We will discuss the future of DH research using LLMs, as well as the role of LLMs in producing creative work—literature, video, music, and so on—and the concomitant issues of ownership, creativity, and originality that come with this production.
The UC Berkeley Digital Humanities Working Group is a research community founded to facilitate interdisciplinary conversations in the digital humanities and cultural analytics. Our gatherings are participant driven and provide a place for sharing research ideas (including brainstorming new ideas and receiving feedback from others), learning about the intersection of computational methods and humanistic inquiry, and connecting with others working in this space at Berkeley. We encourage everyone to participate, regardless of your experience level. The DH Working Group is a welcoming and supportive community for all things digital humanities.
Last Tuesday of most months!
February 27, 12:30pm-1:30pm
April 2, 12:30pm-1:30pm (rescheduled due to spring break)
Tom van Nuenen
D-Lab Data Scientist, Senior Consultant,
and Senior Instructor
Dive into the Future of AI with the LLM Working Group at D-Lab
by Tom van Nuenen
Celebrating 10 years of innovation in data-intensive social science, D-Lab in collaboration with Berkeley Graduate Division is excited to introduce the LLM Working Group, an initiative focused on the exploration and discussion of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT within academic research and teaching. This group aims to unite scholars, students, and data scientists to address crucial questions about AI's role in academia, including access, impact, creativity, and learning in the age of information automation. Through a series of interactive sessions, participants will gain insights into LLM capabilities, discuss ethical considerations, and explore innovative approaches to utilizing these tools in their work. Whether you're an AI veteran or a novice curious about the potentials of GenAI, the LLM Working Group offers a collaborative platform to learn, share, and shape the future of academic inquiry. Join us in navigating the world of LLMs together.
D-Lab is now publishing on Medium! Follow us to stay up to date on all D-Lab related written content, including our blog posts, thought pieces, and staff updates. We’ll also recommend interesting articles we find on Medium and beyond!
Linköping University in Sweden is seeking applicants for a postdoc position on using machine learning and causal inference to evaluate the impact of local development programs in Africa. The candidate will work on an interdisciplinary team towards the goals of Observatory of Poverty project, which is situated at the AI and Global Development Lab and the Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS). The AI and Global Development Lab and the Observatory of Poverty project are headed by Associate Professor Adel Daoud, and will mentor the candidate along with Assistant Professor Connor Jerzak at the University of Texas at Austin.
About 900 million people—one-third in Africa—live in extreme poverty. Operating on the assumption that life in impoverished communities is fundamentally so different that it can trap people in cycles of deprivation (‘poverty traps’), major development agencies have deployed a stream of development projects to break these cycles (‘poverty targeting’). However, scholars are currently unable to answer questions—such as in what capacity do poverty traps exist—as they are held back by a data challenges. There is a lack of geo-temporal poverty data, and thus, one of the goals of the Observatory of Poverty project is to develop new methods to produce such data. The prospective candidate will join the Lab to use these data for evaluating the effect of local development programs, using a causal-inference design.
Please email Associate Prof. Adel Daoud at adel.daoud@liu.seif you are interested for more information!
The UW Data Science for Social Good summer program brings together students, stakeholders, data scientists, and domain researchers to work on focused, collaborative projects for societal benefit. Student Fellows work with real-world data on cross-disciplinary teams led by Project Leads from academia, nonprofits, and government, along with data scientists at the eScience Institute who offer technical expertise and guidance.
This 10-week long, hands-on program emphasizes learning opportunities for all participants as they collaboratively navigate intensive teamwork in pursuit of Data Science for Social Good. Student Fellow applications are open until 11:59 PST, February 12th.
If you are a Berkeley student interested in learning about Public Health Informatics and Technology, experiencing a hands-on learning curriculum, and being considered for an internship with a public health department, please consider learning more about the California Consortium for Public Health Informatics and Technology (CCPHIT). We offer internship opportunities in the public health industry and you may apply for this opportunity once you complete a few required courses.
Through this new course, you will gain theoretical knowledge as well as understand the practical applications of these technologies, overcoming specific community barriers, and generating impactful health outcomes. The learning experience takes a case study approach, with each case focusing on a significant technological advancement in public health. The key areas of application include mental health, bio-surveillance, environmental impact, and devices for lifestyle changes. This course will equip you with the ability to drive public health forward through technological application and innovation.
The Criminal Law & Justice Center at Berkeley Law School is seeking to hire a postdoctoral researcher for a two year term. The Berkeley Criminal Law & Justice Center is a hub for research, education and advocacy. Blending a data-driven approach with zealous advocacy, the center offers empirical insights into the intricacies of the legal system and policy outcomes.
The Postdoctoral Researcher will collaborate on multiple research projects related to criminal justice reform and work under the supervision of Director Chesa Boudin and the center’s faculty advisory board. Responsibilities include securing and cleaning data, performing analyses, supervising student research assistants, and writing up and presenting results to both multidisciplinary academic and policy audiences. The primary research project is a natural language processing examination of bias in news coverage of criminal justice issues in the Bay Area in partnership with Professor David Harding (sociology).
Applicants should email a cover letter, list of references, writing sample, and CV to cljc@berkeley.edu by Feb 26th!
To kick off our series of workshops on Datahub, our first part will concentrate on introducing the essential elements and capabilities of DataHub, its possibilities, and how instructors from different departmental units across the campus are actively integrating notebooks in Python, R, and Julia as part of their pedagogy.
This workshop will provide a concise introduction to Datahub and Jupyter Notebooks, along with case studies from diverse departments and a brief demo to showcase practical applications. This workshop marks the initial session in a three-part series aimed at introducing both basic and advanced tools that support Data Science pedagogy. Additionally, it will cover practical strategies to enhance the accessibility of Jupyter notebooks.
This workshop is ideal for those interested in:
Integrating computational notebooks to improve learning outcomes
Providing hands-on data exercises to students
Utilizing cloud-based Datahub for interactive computing in classrooms and homework
Date/Time: Wed, February 7 @ 4pm-5pm PT Location: 117 Dwinelle Hall (Academic Innovation Studio)
We are excited to invite you to this month's International Computer Science Institute's informal colloquium. This colloquium is intended to enable researchers to share their work-in-progress ideas and research, to encourage discussion and feedback, and to catalyze future research collaborations on proposals.
Our first 2024 colloquium will focus on Machine Learning Security. There will be two 20 minute talks followed by questions, discussion, and snacks!
"The Impact of Uniform Inputs on Activation Sparsity and Energy-Latency Attacks in Computer Vision" - Andreas Müller
"Dos and Don’ts of Machine Learning in Computer Security" - Dr. Erwin Quiring
Snacks will be served - please RSVP so that we know how much food to provide.
Date/Time: Thurs, February 8 @ 12pm-1:30pm PT Location: International Computer Science Institute, 2150 Shattuck Ave, Suite 250, Berkeley, CA
UC Libraries and their partners are collaborating on another UC-wide “Love Data Week” from February 12-16, 2024. This will be a jam-packed week of talks, presentations, and workshops all about data! All members of the UC community are invited to attend these events to gain hands-on experience, learn about resources, and engage in discussions about data. All events are free to attend and open to any member of the UC community.
With over 20 presentations and workshops, whether you’re working on qualitative or quantitative data, there’s plenty to choose from. Topics include:
Wikipedia is among the most visited websites in the world; it is routinely cited in scholarly articles, the news, and congressional hearings. But Wikipedia openly admits its content is skewed by the gender and racial imbalance of its editors. You can be part of the solution! Join us on Zoom for a tutorial for the beginner Wikipedian, then edit some Wikipedia entries yourself.
Sign up for a free Wikipedia account in advance (optional). You may bring topic ideas or articles you’d like to edit, or we’ll help you find a way to make a difference in an area of interest to you. For more reasons to use this unique resource, check out this blog post!
At this half-day conference, researchers, instructors, and practitioners from the UC Berkeley community gather to showcase the work being done in machine learning and language/culture study and to explore questions of language, language use, and technology from three perspectives: research, industry, theory.
What questions about humanistic inquiry does AI encourage us to ask?
What kinds of research and theoretical work is being done on AI and language/culture study on campus?
How is current work being done in AI informed by a language/culture perspective?
How can AI be applied/leveraged in language-related research, industry and career settings? What possibilities are there?
What are future areas of exploration and interdisciplinary dialogues?
Date/Time: Wed, February 28 @ 1pm-5:15pm Location: 310 Sutardja Dai Hall (Banatao Auditorium)
Coming in 2024, California Research Bureau is launching CRB Nexus: Where Policy Meets Research! CRB Nexus is a community of practice for policy staff and researchers across California to initiate and build relationships, share policy needs and solutions, and find ways to move those ideas into action to benefit all Californians.
Together with co-hosts UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies and UC Irvine School of Social Ecology, CRB Nexus will host 9 virtual events in 2024 featuring partner-recommended researchers by policy area.
The mission of the California Research Bureau is to provide nonpartisan and confidential public policy research for the Governor’s Office and the State Legislature and to advance equitable access via statewide initiatives.
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