We are drowning in numbers, and we no longer understand what they mean. Every day, headlines bombard us with figures meant to inform: billions in spending, trillions in debt, percentages signaling growth or decline. But for most of us, these numbers blur together. They register as “large” or “small,” but almost never as real. And that is more than a math problem. It is a civic one.
INFORMS has awarded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) its 2026 Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research and Management Science, for reengineering how global cloud infrastructure is planned and delivered, applying advanced analytics and AI to orchestrate complex fulfillment decisions across its rapidly expanding data center network.
In the rush to adopt artificial intelligence, many employers are now requiring that employees use AI tools. As you’re using AI, be intentional and selective. It’s critical that you know yourself. Research published in Management Science found that AI is most valuable for people who understand their own abilities and limitations. Assess yourself, so you can factor this into your process for incorporating AI into your work.
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Groundbreaking modeling detailed in new research in the INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics is being credited with helping lead to the arrest of dozens of suspects in human trafficking rings in Alabama.
Although companies often restrict speculation, they don’t go all the way to eliminate it. A recent research examines why this is the case.
“This book on men has a vital message and a model to follow,” Mitch Daniels’s Jan. 4 op-ed on the recent reissuance of the book, “Men Without Work: America’s Invisible Crisis,” was thoughtful. But he violated his own message of considering various perspectives without declaring certainty in his main example regarding the Great Barrington Declaration signers. His conclusion that “the condemnation they incurred was profoundly anti-intellectual and anti-scientific” was defensible, but his declaration that pandemic lockdown policies were unequivocally a “net negative” was not, as it was implicitly predicated on how objectives are weighted.
By imposing one of its largest penalties, the CPSC is sending 'is a loud and clear warning to companies who continue to sell dangerous products.
Returns have been growing year over year, creating millions of pounds of waste and needless emissions from shipping. Major retailers are starting to charge for returns, which could have a positive impact on the environment.
OR/MS Today is the INFORMS member magazine that shares the latest research and best practices in operations research, analytics and the management sciences.
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Analytics magazine showcases articles and research reports based on big data, AI, machine learning, data analytics and other new-age technologies.
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