Known Unknowns and Machine Learning
Kevin Hartnett has written a very interesting piece about the mistakes that AI makes when evaluating the content of a computer screen image. This matters for many different scenarios such as automated vehicles.
Nuance and Communicating Academic Economics Ideas to the General Public
This piece in The Chronicle is worth reading. The physicist argues that academics have weak incentives to interact with the public. Academics respond to these incentives by writing esoteric pieces that few can read and understand.
Why Haven't Linkedin and Facebook Merged?
The New Yorker magazine has a very interesting new profile of Mark Z of Facebook. This piece reminds me of my interest in the issue that Linkedin has been able to avoid all of the recent controversy that Facebook faces. There are "firewalls" between these firms.
Riding the Bird Without a Helmet Offers a New Test of the Peltzman Effect
In West Los Angeles, young people zoom around on "the Bird". This electric scooter travels at about 10 to 15 miles per hour and is a substitute for walking, the bus or UberX.
An Economist Appears on the JumboTron at the USC vs. UNLV Football Game
Since August 2017, I have been working hard as the Chairman of USC Economics. While certain anonymous websites like to beat up on USC, the department is hiring a new cohort of really good young faculty and we are now ranked #18 on REPEC.
