AI & robotics

Human-sized robot taught itself to walk and balance, then strolled Berkeley’s streets

12/19/23 — SFGATE: Berkeley researchers used billions of simulations and reinforcement learning to teach the robot how to move

Photo illustration showing a collage of mathematical images, a person using a smart phone, and insurrectionists.

Disinformation nation: What can we do to crack the code?

11/20/23 — Berkeley researchers “probe the corrosive effects of algorithms, machine learning and other exotic technologies” and offer possible solutions

Researchers develop design tool to optimize quantum optics circuits in silicon

11/13/23 — New machine learning-based optimization method for nonlinear and quantum optics may open the door to large-scale communication and quantum computing applications

Illustration showing a magnifying glass on planet Earth, which is surrounded by rockets in the air, trees and scientific images. A team at UC Berkeley has created a new statistical technique that allows researchers to safely use the predictions obtained from machine learning to test scientific hypotheses. This image shows an artistic interpretation of the technique, called prediction-powered inference, which has been generated by the DALL-E AI system.

How to use AI for discovery — without leading science astray

11/09/23 — Berkeley researchers present new statistical technique for safely using predictions obtained from machine learning models to test scientific hypotheses

Put into words

11/06/23 — An implantable, AI-powered device can translate brain signals into synthesized speech and facial expressions.

Professor Gerbrand Ceder inside the fully automated A-Lab

Materially better

11/06/23 — To make next-gen batteries, professor Gerbrand Ceder is finding innovative ways to accelerate the research on key materials.

Photo of the exterior of Calvin Lab, home to the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing, UC Berkeley.

Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing receives $25M matching pledge

10/19/23 — Simons Institute: Gift from SFI will help support ongoing innovation and research into theoretical computing

Berkeley Space Center at NASA Ames to become innovation hub for new aviation, space technology

10/16/23 — UC Berkeley will develop a 36-acre site to house companies, labs and students in heart of Silicon Valley; learn more about the Berkeley Space Center

Illustration of AI microchip on a motherboard circuit with shades of purple and pink.

$15.3M awarded to CA-Pacific-Northwest AI Hardware Hub

10/13/23 — UC Berkeley to co-lead Microelectronics Commons regional innovation hub funded by the U.S. Department of Defense

Image of soundproofing material under red and blue lighting.

Researchers develop new AI-based design method for metamaterials

10/10/23 — Innovative approach can create everyday products with novel mechanical properties

Image of Grace Gu with microchip in the background, along with an image depicting AI, University of California, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Grace Gu selected as inaugural recipient of the LLNL Early Career UC Faculty Initiative

10/02/23 — LLNL: Assistant professor of mechanical engineering to receive $1M as part of LLNL, University of California partnership for AI-driven additive manufacturing research

Photo of EECS professor Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli.

Q&A: Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli on co-founding Cadence and Synopsys

09/20/23 — DIGITIMES Asia: Berkeley Engineering professor recounts establishing the world's two largest electronic design automation companies, shares innovative projects that he is pursuing

Inioluwa Deborah Raji and Stuart Russell among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI

09/13/23 — TIME Magazine: Berkeley engineers grapple with the ethical and safety issues related to AI

Cruise autonomous taxi operating on a San Francisco street.

‘Robo-taxi takeover’ hits speed bumps

09/08/23 — Scientific American: Berkeley transportation engineer Steven Shladover says a lack of safety data available to the public is one reason the reality of self-driving cars doesn’t yet match the hype

Can we talk to whales?

09/06/23 The New Yorker — The New Yorker: Berkeley engineer Shafi Goldwasser explores how artificial intelligence may allow us to speak to other species

Novel brain implant helps paralyzed woman speak using a digital avatar

08/23/23 — Berkeley engineers explain how advances in AI could help restore natural communication

Image of Berkeley Campanile in an interactive 3D graphic flyover, made with Nerfstudio.

Researchers create open-source platform for Neural Radiance Field development

07/25/23 — Plug-and-play framework makes it easier to collaborate and develop interactive 3D scenes

Image of woman with binary code superimposed on her face.

Stuart Russell: Generative AI tools are quickly ‘running out of text’ to train themselves on

07/14/23 Insider — Business Insider: UC Berkeley professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences concerned that AI's strategy behind training large language models is "starting to hit a brick wall"

Collage of stormy sky raining down zeros and ones, a weather prediction model and a satellite dish.

‘Nowcasting’ model enables forecasting of extreme precipitation

07/12/23 — AI tool for analyzing short-term weather conditions may help save lives

As Big Tech invests in virtual reality, studies highlight user privacy risks

06/13/23 — CDSS: Berkeley engineers find that AR and VR users can be identified using just minutes of their head and hand movements