With 70.8 million people displaced globally this year, ensuring the safety of these populations is a critical issue. CITRIS and the Banatao Institute have launched technological and policy innovations to help protect refugees and immigrants. Projects range from mapping refugee services and transparency technologies to a digital propaganda study on immigration hate speech on Twitter in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election.
Research Thrusts
Health, Wildfires & Climate Change in California
In Spring 2019, the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute collaborated with the California Institute for […]
How the ‘California effect’ could shape a global approach to ethical AI
World Economic Forum: Amid growing concern over the threat of AI-enabled systems to perpetuate discrimination and bias and infringe upon privacy, California has introduced several bills intended to […]
Tech meets neurodegenerative diseases at the Aging Research and Technology Summit
CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, along with other UC Berkeley campus partners, presented the second annual Aging Research and Technology Summit earlier this month, to highlight research and technology solutions being developed to disrupt the development of neurodegenerative diseases.
CITRIS Policy Lab releases two new white papers on digital identification and facial recognition
The CITRIS Policy Lab published two white papers, outlining civil and political rights protections for digital ID and facial recognition systems.
CITRIS participates in state-sponsored precision medicine initiative
The final report from the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine Projects (CIAPM) was released to the California State Legislature in July 2019.
Job Opportunity: CITRIS Health student assistants
CITRIS Health is seeking motivated students to fill two open positions. Details about the positions below: Student assistant (investor database) (~10 hours per week) CITRIS […]
Using Virtual Reality for physical rehabilitation
UCSC undergraduate Aviv Elor develops virtual reality games for physical rehabilitation
Bolinas to be case study in evacuation
Point Reyes Light: CITRIS visiting scholar Louise Comfort will join a yearlong study in Bolinas, CA along with other UC Berkeley researchers to develop the […]
Superuser-turned-entrepreneur designs novel tech to combat Alzheimer’s with light
A young scientist pursuing a career in academic research walked into the CITRIS Invention Lab wanting to build mice cages for a doctoral project. “It was like, ‘This is intimidating, I don’t know what I’m doing at all.’ But my entire career changed based on the experience I had at CITRIS.” She went on to found a company developing novel photonic technology to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
CITRIS E.D. Camille Crittenden named Chair of California Blockchain Working Group
Camille Crittenden to lead 20 blockchain tech and policy experts under Assembly Bill 2658.
Big tech firms racing to track climate refugees
“Everybody deserves to have formal identification that they can use to exert their rights,” says Brandie Nonnecke, director of the CITRIS Policy Lab, as to […]
Fifty years of surveillance law in America
Cyrus Farivar, investigative tech reporter at NBC News and Habeas Data author, discusses 10 legal cases that have had an outsized impact on surveillance and […]
Misinformation Spreading About Abortion Ban
Buzzfeed: Recent abortion bans have spurred a rash of misleading claims online consistent with research from the CITRIS Policy Lab on the role of bots […]
AI that’s fair, reliable, safe: California can lead the way
Today, automated decision systems influence who receives health insurance, parole, and job offers. The California legislature is leading the nation in establishing standards for accountability, […]
From Invention Lab to Ghana, training devices to screen for cervical cancer
In collaboration with midwives in Ghana, Visualize designs, builds and implements low-cost training devices that assist in teaching health care providers how to screen for cervical cancer.
CITRIS 2019 Seed Funding Awards Announced
Competitive teams from the campuses of CITRIS and the Banatao Institute at UC Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Merced, Davis, and Davis Health submitted proposals for collaborative […]
CITRIS to U.S. Capitol to help inform tech policy
CITRIS and the Banatao Institute are ramping up efforts to bring technology expertise to national policymakers in Washington DC. Director Costas Spanos and CITRIS Policy […]
Berkeley City Councilmembers Tour CITRIS and the Banatao Institute at UC Berkeley
Berkeley City Councilmembers Tour CITRIS and learn about ways CITRIS is advancing information technology in the interest of society. Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin and City […]
Announcing new directors for expanded programs
CITRIS and the Banatao Institute are pleased to introduce new directors coming on board to support an expanded set of programs for the multicampus institute, […]
As biotech booms, so do bacteria
by Saemmool Lee Applying new tech solutions for stubborn health care challenges is big business. At the CITRIS Foundry, in-house startup accelerator of CITRIS and […]
Indonesia tsunami’s power surprises scientists
“It’s heartbreaking when you know the technology is there,” says CITRIS Policy Lab affiliate scholar Louise Comfort, who has been working to bring new tsunami sensors […]
Job Opportunity: CITRIS Policy Lab Director
Job Title: CITRIS Policy Lab Director (0378U) Job #25789 – CITRISLocation: Main Campus-BerkeleyPart-Time or Full-Time: Full-TimeRegular/Temporary: Regular Tip: Search for “25789” in job portal keyword […]
Million Hands
Hand prosthetics have come a long way since Daniel Lim created a “super hand” in the CITRIS Invention Lab in 2015 for an eight-year-old with symbrachydactyly, thanks to CITRIS seed-funded projects led by Professors Alice Agogino and Grace McConnell and collaborators across campus and beyond.