UW In The News

Can a Machine Learn Morality?

Joseph Austerweil, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, tested the technology using a few simple scenarios. When he asked if he should kill one person to save another, Delphi said he shouldn’t. When he asked if it was right to kill one person to save 100 others, it said he should. Then he asked if he should kill one person to save 101 others. This time, Delphi said he should not.

Darrell E. Brooks’s low bail in case before Wisconsin parade attack draws backlash

Michele LaVigne, a former director of the Public Defender Project at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, told The Post that setting Brooks’s cash bail at $1,000 is not necessarily unusual and that bail amounts can vary between jurisdictions and courtrooms. When Brooks was arrested earlier this month, she said, officials weighing what bail to request probably considered the seriousness of the charges and the fact that he was already out on bail in the earlier case and had continued showing up for court appearances.

One Historic Black Neighborhood’s Stake in the Infrastructure Bill

“There’s the recognition that driving these highways through the communities in the first place was wrong,” said Chris McCahill, managing director of State Smart Transportation Initiative, a transportation think tank based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “And so now the question becomes, what to do about it now?”

How Roundabouts Help Lower Carbon Emissions

Andrea Bill, associate director of the Traffic Operations and Safety Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said roundabouts sometimes led to more fender-benders and sideswipes, but saved people from paying a greater price.

Ion Meyn: Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty verdict reveals the true value of life in Wisconsin

By Ion Meyn, assistant professor of law at the University of Wisconsin

On Friday, Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all five counts, including reckless homicide, attempted intentional homicide and recklessly endangering safety.

Kyle Rittenhouse Acquitted in Bombshell End to Vigilante Murder Trial

“There is a significant risk that there is going to be unrest regardless of the outcome. Simply because the case is so politicized and whichever side prevails, the folks who support the other side are going to feel a grave injustice has occurred,” Keith A. Findley, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin, told The Daily Beast ahead of the verdict.

Fact check: Sneezing doesn’t cause temporary death

“While the heart rate may slow down, the heart continues beating and does not really stop,” Dr. Nizar Jarjour, a professor of medicine and radiology at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health, said in an email. “Right after the sneeze is over, the heart rate goes back to normal. You really do not die for a second when you sneeze!”

Rittenhouse acquittal and Arbery killing raise questions on ‘vigilante justice’

The flood of more gun owners could prove a dangerous mix in certain situations and furthermore, Rittenhouse’s acquittal can be taken as a win for gun owners and advocates, said Ion Meyn, an assistant law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madiso

Why the Kyle Rittenhouse ‘not guilty’ verdict is not a surprise to legal experts

The defense had a “very disciplined message” throughout the trial, said Steven Wright, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin. They consistently emphasized Rittenhouse’s stated intentions that night — acting as a medic and protecting private property — and the threats to his safety, Wright said.

Could Kyle Rittenhouse face civil penalties despite acquittals in Kenosha deaths?

“He’s a public figure now, and money might come in,” said Ion Meyn, who teaches law at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I’m not convinced there’s nothing there.”

The Kyle Rittenhouse Verdict Exposes America’s Divide Over Who Gets to Carry a Gun

“There’s no way to get around … the intimidating factor of white men dressed in paramilitary garb with automatic weapons,” said Steven Wright, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

After Rittenhouse: Will deadly clashes multiply as the right to self-defense expands?

To win their claim of self-defense, Rittenhouse’s lawyers had to convince jurors only that the teen had a reasonable fear that he might be killed or seriously injured, said Keith Findley, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin.

America’s Decline Started at Home

One thing is becoming quite clear, however. The environmental destruction in our future will be so profound that anything less than the emergence of a new form of global governance—one capable of protecting the planet and the human rights of all its inhabitants—will mean that wars over water, land, and people are likely to erupt across the planet amid climate chaos. Absent some truly fundamental change in our global governance and in energy use, by mid-century humanity will begin to face disasters of an almost unimaginable kind that will make imperial orders of any sort something for the history books.

-Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A TomDispatch regular, he is the author of In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power and Policing America’s Empire: The United States, the Philippines, and the Rise of the Surveillance State.

How COVID shots for kids help prevent dangerous new variants

David O’Connor, a virology expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, likens infections to “lottery tickets that we’re giving the virus.” The jackpot? A variant even more dangerous than the contagious delta currently circulating.

Jury in Kyle Rittenhouse Trial Has Deliberated for 23 Hours With No Verdict

“You can’t read anything into it in terms of the length of the deliberations other than it’s so intensely stressful for the parties,” said Ion Meyn, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Rittenhouse Jury Enters 24 Hours of Deliberation, Likely to Worry Defense, Experts Say

“Like the Chauvin and Zimmerman cases, this case raises tough issues of self-defense,” Ion Meyn, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, told Newsweek. “Unlike those cases, this case involves four separate incidents, each requiring a complex set of considerations. Given how many people were shot or shot at, I think this case is even more complicated.”

Kyle Rittenhouse jury returns for second day of deliberations as Kenosha braces for verdict

Keith Findley, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, called the lack of decision “odd.”

“The only reason I can think of for waiting is perhaps he wants to give the jury a chance to acquit so he doesn’t have to, but that’s speculation on my part,” Findley, co-founder of the Wisconsin Innocence Project, said.

EU seeks to block import of commodities that drive deforestation

The proposal is “very promising,” said Holly Gibbs, a professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and an expert on deforestation.

Welcome To A True American Bloodsport: Redistricting

“It’s something the average member of the public thinks about, and is often unhappy about, in a way you wouldn’t have seen 10 years ago, and not at all 20 years ago,” says Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Kyle Rittenhouse Trial Drone Footage Could Prove ‘Ugly’ for Prosecution

Speaking to the Associated Press, Ion Meyn, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, said the judge could grant a mistrial even if he finds the prosecution merely made an honest mistake.However, he said that this is unlikely as there must be proof that the prosecution’s actions influenced the jur

Tips for talking to your elderly parents about money, long-term care

As a parent, Cliff Robb, a professor of consumer science at the University of Wisconsin, tries to talk about basic finances like budgeting to his kids on a normal basis.

The COVID Cancer Effect

There is little doubt that the chaos ushered in by the pandemic will lead to more cancer deaths. But determining how many has been difficult: many cancers are slow-growing, their development can be complex, and factors such as treatment decisions play a big role in outcomes. To assess how missed screenings might affect cancer mortality rates, the National Cancer Institute turned to Oguzhan Alagoz, a professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison whose research involves modeling both cancer epidemiology and infectious diseases.

How Leather Seats in Luxury SUVs Fuel Amazon Deforestation

Holly Gibbs, a University of Wisconsin-Madison geographer who has been researching agribusiness in the Amazon for a decade, said that though legitimate middlemen often buy and sell cattle on the same day, the fact that the transactions aren’t closely tracked “is a huge loophole.”

The Rittenhouse trial is all about race

“So much of the prosecution’s argument is rooted in the idea that the jury needs to stop vigilantism,” Steven Wright, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School told The Recast.

Kyle Rittenhouse trial: Who is Judge Bruce Schroeder?

“This is a case that brings to the fore a lot of matters of public concern – gun rights, the use of force by police officers – and it makes sense that people are paying attention, then, to what’s happening in the courtroom and the manner in which conversations are occurring,” said Cecelia Klingele, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

‘Piece of theater’: Legal experts weigh in on Kyle Rittenhouse’s seating jurors deciding his fate by lottery

John P. Gross, the director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Public Defender Project, said he has seen only judges do the picking, but he didn’t object to Rittenhouse’s having the heavy hand of selection.

“It’s completely random, and whoever is picking is picking,” Gross said. “It was an interesting piece of theater having the judge inviting the defendant to make the draw.”

Let’s plan for human ingenuity in our fight against climate change

Solar has had a six-fold decrease in costs since 2010, “below where even the most optimistic experts expected they would be in 2030,” according to Greg Nemet of University of Wisconsin. The cost of batteries for electric vehicles have fallen 88 percent in 10 years, below what 37 separate estimates put it in 2020, 2030 or even 2050.

Video shows deer break window, jump into church on opening day of Michigan’s hunting season

Roman Catholic leaders believed a consecrated church was “protected space,” Karl Shoemaker, a professor of history and law at the University of Wisconsin and author of “Sanctuary and Crime in the Middle Ages, 400-1500,” told History.com in 2019. “It would be inappropriate in the extreme to carry weapons into the church or to arrest someone or to exercise force within the church.”

Kyle Rittenhouse jury deliberations continue as trial nears verdict

Schroeder said he has allowed defendants to perform such a move for the last 20 years. While not illegal or unethical, the task is usually reserved for the clerk of courts, said Ion Meyn, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Hank Paulson Calls On U.S. and China to Ease Tensions

Why did this emerge so late in the process? Did someone at TIAA change their mind? Sometimes a late-stage reversal occurs because a previous employer learns of the move only when it’s announced, said Martin Ganco, a professor of management and human resources at the University of Wisconsin. Some people also think a prior employer won’t enforce a noncompete clause or legal agreement on conflicts.