Recent News
Who gets the kidney? AI chatbots do not make the same moral choices humans do
Researchers in the College of Information Sciences and Technology found that AI models approach high-stakes ethical decisions differently than humans do and show little of the uncertainty people may express when faced with difficult choices.
Peer-led computing camps engage children, study finds
Khushi Kharuna, a high school student who creates and leads coding camps in the Philadelphia area, collaborated with Priya Kumar, PNC Technologies Career Development Professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, to explore a youth-led STEM learning model that puts children’s voices at the center of the learning experience.
Peer-led computing camps engage children, study finds
Khushi Khurana, a high school student who creates and leads coding camps in the Philadelphia area, collaborated with Priya Kumar, PNC Technologies Career Development Professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, to explore a youth-led STEM learning model that puts children’s voices at the center of the learning experience.
Center for Socially Responsible AI invites 2027 seed funding proposals
Penn State’s Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence invites short proposals for its annual seed funding program. Applications will be accepted through Nov. 2, with projects expected to start in spring 2027 and last up to two years.
Pyschology Today: The Quiet Destruction of Curiosity by AI Assistants
Patrick L. Plaisance, Don W. Davis Professor in Ethics at the Penn State Bellisario College of Communications and CSRAI Affiliate, argues that the design and use of AI assistants may be eroding our capacity for curiosity. Writing in Psychology Today, he explains how instant AI summaries can short-circuit the "knowledge gap" between asking a question and finding an answer—the very space where deep learning occurs—and calls for AI design that scaffolds exploration rather than optimizing solely for speed.
Guoray Cai named Dewey Walker Professor in Information Sciences and Technology
Guoray Cai has been appointed to the Dewey Walker Professorship in Information Sciences and Technology. The professorship supports an outstanding faculty member whose work advances interdisciplinary contributions in information systems solutions.
College of IST awards seed grants to five research projects
The College of Information Sciences and Technology recently selected five projects to receive funding from its seed grant program. The funding aims to support interdisciplinary research activities and generate preliminary results that may lead to bigger projects involving external funding.
AI and the Economy Initiative builds momentum with second workshop
Penn State’s AI and the Economy Initiative hosted nearly 350 researchers from academia and the public sector to examine the economic and societal impacts of artificial intelligence.
Dongwon Lee named Frymoyer Chair in IST
Dongwon Lee, professor in the College of IST, has been named Frymoyer Chair in Information Sciences and Technology, effective July 1. The Frymoyer Chair recognizes outstanding academic achievement and supports continued excellence in research, scholarship and graduate education.
IST researcher elected president of global intelligent systems foundation
Hadi Hosseini, associate professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, will lead the International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, a global organization focused on how intelligent software systems operate and interact.
Calling Doctor GPT: AI responses to healthcare queries are nearly 76% accurate
Large language models respond to everyday health queries with nearly 76% accuracy, raising concerns about their trustworthiness in real-world applications, according to a new study by Penn State researchers.
IST faculty member awarded fellowship to study claim-making and fact-checking
Dongwon Lee, professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, earned a fellowship to conduct misinformation research at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies in Germany this summer. He will study ways to better understand misinformation on a global scale and explore the use of AI to make it faster and easier to spot false information online.
AI and the Economy Initiative to host second workshop
Experts from across the nation will gather for a May 18-19 workshop on artificial intelligence's transformative impact on the economy and society. The workshop is the second in a series hosted by the "AI and the Economy Initiative" at Penn State.
Prompt coaching tool raises user awareness of bias in generative AI systems
An inclusive prompt coaching tool for AI text-to-image generators developed by a team led by Penn State researchers raised user awareness of bias in AI systems and helped users better prompt generative AI tools to produce more inclusive content.
Thirty-one graduate students receive awards at the 2026 Graduate Exhibition
Thirty-one Penn State graduate students earned awards at the 2026 Graduate Exhibition — the premier annual community showcase for graduate student research, scholarship and creative activity across the University — hosted by the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School on Friday, March 27, on the University Park campus.