Opinion and analysis

Recent opinion and analysis pieces written by UW-affiliated experts. See The Conversation for only the analysis pieces.

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Full archive of opinion and analysis stories

• Analysis: Certain states, including Arizona, have begun scrapping court costs and fees for people unable to pay — two experts on legal punishments explain why | The Conversation4 days ago
  "In today’s American criminal legal system, courts impose fines and fees as a means to punish people and hold them accountable for legal violations," co-writes Alexes Harris, professor of sociology at the UW.
• Opinion: Time for Congress to update online protections for young people | The Spokesman-Review2 weeks ago
  "As a pediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine, my patients do not simply visit the digital public space as we once did; they live in it. Digital platforms permeate all facets of their lives, from their schoolwork and friendships, to their hobbies and interests," writes Dr. Yolanda Evans, an associate professor of pediatrics in the UW School of Medicine.
• Analysis: Why George Santos' lies are even worse than the usual political lies — a moral philosopher explains | The Conversation2 weeks ago
  "Santos may be exceptional in how many lies he has told, but politicians seeking election have incentives to tell voters what they want to hear – and there is some empirical evidence that a willingness to lie may be helpful in the process of getting elected. Voters may not appreciate candidates who are unwilling or unable to mislead others from time to time," writes Michael Blake, professor of philosophy and of public policy and governance at the UW.
• Analysis: Making better decisions about what to believe online | The Seattle Times3 weeks ago
  "On nearly every issue — climate change, food regulation, charter schools, private prisons, mass transit, minimum wage, immigration, public transportation, you name it — myriad forces work overtime to sway our minds and gain our vote," co-writes Mike Caulfield, research scientist at the UW Center for an Informed Public.
• Opinion: Our civic health in WA needs first aid | The Seattle Times3 weeks ago
  "Our civic health isn’t good. If you’re feeling that way, you’re not alone. We all know it," co-writes Jodi Sandfort, dean of the UW Evans School of Public Policy and Governance.
• Analysis: No, you're not that good at detecting fake videos — 2 misinformation experts explain why and how you can develop the power to resist these deceptions | The Conversation3 weeks ago
  "Recent headlines warn of sophisticated, AI-driven deepfakes. But it is low-tech cheap fakes like these that fuel the latest round of disinformation. Cheap fakes are the Swiss army knife in the propagandist’s tool belt. Changing a date, altering a location or even repurposing a clip from a video game and passing it off as battlefield combat require little know-how yet effectively sow confusion," co-writes Mike Caulfield, research scientist at the UW Center for an Informed Public.
• Opinion: ‘Translating’ a Times article to reach new audiences | The New York Times3 weeks ago
  "College freshmen read a New York Times Magazine piece about issues in education, then communicate what they learned by experimenting with audience and format," writes Megan Butler, a doctoral student of English at the UW.
• Analysis: Delhi air pollution and global climate policy slowdown | Forbes4 weeks ago
  "If a policy imposes costs locally to create benefits across the border, it is likely to run into local opposition. This is the story of Delhi’s air pollution as well as the global slowdown in addressing climate issues," write the UW's Nives Dolšak, professor of marine and environmental affairs, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science.
• Analysis: The new Twitter is changing rapidly — study it before it’s too late | Nature1 month ago
  "Twitter was always a mix of credible and less credible sources — but our research supports the notion that X is changing dramatically, in ways that are not fully apparent even to researchers who have followed the platform for years," writes Mike Caulfield, research scientist at the UW Center for an Informed Public.
• Opinion: Osage's critical legacy beyond ‘Killers of The Flower Moon’ | Time2 months ago
  "Killers of the Flower Moon," the Martin Scorsese movie about my people, the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, brings to life the reign of terror we lived through a century ago, as if we were back there on those busy 1920s reservation streets, rubbing elbows with our own ancestors and their murderers. It is a powerful film, vividly and heartbreakingly accurate," writes Jean Dennison, associate professor of American Indian Studies at the UW.
• Opinion: To address climate crisis, address the information crisis | The Seattle Times2 months ago
  "The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has reported that 2023 is already the most expensive year on record for weather and climate disasters in the U.S., with 23 separate disasters that have caused at least $1 billion each in estimated damages," writes Adrienne Russell, professor of communication and co-director of the UW Center for Journalism, Media and Democracy.
• Analysis: Slow solutions to fast-moving ecological crises won’t work — changing basic human behaviors must come first | The Conversation2 months ago
  "As the world grapples with multiple ecological crises, it’s clear the various responses over the past half century have largely failed. Our new research argues the priority now should be addressing the real driver of these crises – our own maladaptive behaviours," write Phoebe Barnard, affiliate professor of interdisciplinary arts and sciences at UW Bothell, and Mike Joy at Victoria University of Wellington.
• Analysis: Why the future of generative AI lies in a company’s own data | Forbes2 months ago
  "As generative AI has reached the peak of the (hype cycle), enterprises are learning that off-the-shelf LLMs can’t solve every problem — particularly not unique, high-value problems. Proprietary data can close the gap, but only when properly curated and developed," writes Alex Ratner, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the UW.
• Opinion: Seattle public schools and city government must support safe walk, bike, and bus routes for south Seattle | South Seattle Emerald2 months ago
  "For more families to access joyful, healthy, active transportation, Seattle leaders must drastically improve policies and infrastructure. These investments should center on South Seattle, where we experience a disproportionately high burden of driving-related casualties, compounding broad health inequities," co-writes Katherine Hoerster, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences in the UW School of Medicine.
• Analysis: What is a strong El Niño? Meteorologists anticipate a big impact in winter 2023, but the forecasts don't all agree | The Conversation2 months ago
  The Conversation speaks to Aaron Levine, a research scientist at the UW Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, on what a strong El Niño actually means.
• Opinion: UW misinformation researchers will not buckle under political attacks | The Seattle Times2 months ago
  "My University of Washington colleagues and I study online rumors, conspiracy theories, and disinformation. In the past year, research like ours has come under fire — often by some of the same individuals and organizations that benefit from the spread of falsehoods... At the UW, we’re not buckling and won’t be bullied," writes Kate Starbird, associate professor of human centered design and engineering at the UW.
• Opinion: We won’t solve the fentanyl crisis with failed drug war tactics | The Hill2 months ago
  "Last year saw a record of nearly 110,000 drug overdoses in the United States, more than two-thirds of which involved synthetic opioids, principally fentanyl. More people now die from overdose than from car crashes and gun shots combined," co-writes Katherine Beckett, professor of sociology and of law, societies and justice at the UW.
• Analysis: An 'Urban Innovation Lab' in Seattle could spur entrepreneurship and boost downtown revitalization | GeekWire2 months ago
  "Seattle needs a “Urban Innovation Lab”:  аn evolved makersрасe сommons located in the downtown сore   fostering сollаborаtion, exрerimentаtion, аnԁ leаrning аmong diverse stаkeholԁers. This flаgshiр рrojeсt could enhаnсe Seаttle’s leаdershiр on urbаn issues with а саrefully curated аgenԁа for downtown regenerаtion," writes Chuck Wolfe, affiliate associate professor of urban design and planning at the UW.
• Opinion: The US Supreme Court’s lack of a code of ethics undermines its legitimacy | The Seattle Times2 months ago
  "This Supreme Court has boldly flexed its judicial power, overturning established rights and precedent. While it is within the court’s authority to do so, the source of that power rests with its legitimacy; it would be wise for the court to recognize the importance of integrity as the foundation of the power it wields," writes Jessica West, lecturer of law at the UW. [Originally published in The Idaho Statesman]
• Analysis: Beware the distraction of the Twitter mob campaign | Wired3 months ago
  "A kerfuffle over 'Bayonetta' voice actor Hellena Taylor’s pay reveals the often hollow structure of social media activism," writes Katherine Cross, a doctoral student in the UW Information School.
• Analysis: The stereotype of the woke teen is 'tárring' art | Wired3 months ago
  "An archetype culled from the depths of social media seems to be short-circuiting screenwriters’ creativity," writes Katherine Cross, a doctoral student in the UW Information School.
• Analysis: The Twitter bubble let Democrats defy political gravity | Wired3 months ago
  "The midterm elections showed that the far-right's manufactured narrative about trans kids doomed the GOP when they made it policy," writes Katherine Cross, a doctoral student in the UW Information School.
• Analysis: Virality! What is it good for? | Wired3 months ago
  "It was Twitter's greatest strength and greatest weakness — and there's no hope for a fix," writes Katherine Cross, a doctoral student in the UW Information School.
• Analysis: The transparency theater of the Twitter files | Wired3 months ago
  "Far from exposing the nefarious inner workings of the platform, the files reveal an ethos of 'transparency for thee, but not for me,'" writes Katherine Cross, a doctoral student in the UW Information School.
• Analysis: Twitter’s ‘Vox Populi’ is a lie | Wired3 months ago
  "Twitter’s pseudo-democracy has failed to live up to its grand ideals, but the dream of a digital town square lives on," writes Katherine Cross, a doctoral student in the UW Information School.
• Analysis: You don’t have to be a jerk to resist the bots | Wired3 months ago
  "The next phase of tech capitalism will demand more, not less, of your humanity," writes Katherine Cross, a doctoral student in the UW Information School.
• Analysis: No, you can't ‘have this’ | Wired3 months ago
  "It's so tempting to cry 'just let me have this' when faced with a delicious story. But the easy gratification of viral lies is costing us more than it's worth," writes Katherine Cross, a doctoral student in the UW Information School.
• Analysis: When social media presents only an ‘unlivable life’ | Wired3 months ago
  "Twitter’s suppression of trans joy can kill, at the precise moment we need to be strong," writes Katherine Cross, a doctoral student in the UW Information School.
• Analysis: Remote workers of the world, unite! | Wired3 months ago
  "Zoom did not set us free. But solidarity can strengthen the porous boundary between home and workplace," writes Katherine Cross, a doctoral student in the UW Information School.
• Analysis: BlueSky ain’t it | Wired3 months ago
  "The new social platform will never be the 'next Twitter' — and that’s by design," writes Katherine Cross, a doctoral student in the UW Information School.

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