How AI can play a role in NCAA basketball tournament brackets
University of Illinois computer science professor Sheldon Jacobson shares his thoughts on AI beating the odds and making a better bracket than humans for the annual NCAA March Madness.
University of Illinois computer science professor Sheldon Jacobson shares his thoughts on AI beating the odds and making a better bracket than humans for the annual NCAA March Madness.
Sunderesh Heragu with OSU’s Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers tells Brownfield U.S. ag exports are north of 175 billion dollars but margins are tight and farmers are hesitating to invest in their operations. “Farmers are not willing to put a lot of capital in at this point because they want to adopt a wait-and-see approach, of course, they’ve been doing this for the past year, almost.”
There is much uncertainty with respect to global trade. While geopolitical factors, war, weather, and demographic shifts have an impact, the factor with the largest near-term and possibly long-term impact is the uncertainty caused by unilateral trade conditions imposed by the US since April 2025. Since then, trade policy has shifted rapidly. Most recently – on February 20, 2206 – the U.S. Supreme Court struck down most of the Trump administration’s tariffs. The administration swiftly announced a new set of tariffs under a new law provision and set it at 10% across the board with all countries. A day or so later, the administration raised it from 10% to 15%.
Detroit automakers are monitoring the conflict in Iran for potential impacts on Middle East operations and U.S. vehicle sales. Analysts predict a prolonged conflict could disrupt oil supplies and cause gasoline prices to soar, potentially increasing demand for electric vehicles. The primary threat to automakers is not direct sales in Iran, but potential supply chain disruptions and rising oil prices. INFORMS member Sunderesh Heragu lends his voice to the article.
The artificial intelligence race between China and the United States has reached a critical stage. However, regardless of who wins the race, the more crucial question globally is: How will AI-driven boosts in productivity affect labor markets as companies automate key business tasks on a large scale?
Jeff Cohen
Chief Strategy Officer
INFORMS
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With seemingly no limit to the demand for artificial intelligence, everyone in the energy, AI, and climate fields is justifiably worried. Will there be enough clean electricity to power AI and enough water to cool the data centers that support this technology? These are important questions with serious implications for communities, the economy, and the environment.
It’s college graduation season, which means over 4 million seniors will graduate in the next few weeks, flooding the job market with new candidates. One area that has shown high potential for the right candidates is artificial intelligence and machine learning. Both disciplines are part of the larger data and analytics career path.
Drugs being explicitly developed to treat rare diseases are getting more expensive.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as the new secretary of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s de facto healthcare czar. He will have influence over numerous highly visible agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, among others. Given that healthcare is something that touches everyone’s life, his footprint of influence will be expansive.
The recent US-China agreement to temporarily reduce tariffs is a major step for global trade, with tariffs on US goods entering China dropping from 125% to 10% and on Chinese goods entering the US decreasing from 145% to 30% starting May 14. While this has boosted markets and created optimism, key industries like autos and steel remain affected, leaving businesses waiting for clearer long-term trade policies.
With sweeping new tariffs on Chinese-made products set to take effect this summer, Americans are being urged to prepare for price hikes on everyday goods. President Donald Trump's reinstated trade policies are expected to affect a wide swath of consumer imports, including electronics, furniture, appliances, and baby gear. Retail experts are advising shoppers to act before the tariffs hit and prices rise.
Twenty years ago, few people would have been able to imagine the energy landscape of today. In 2005, US oil production, after a long decline, had fallen to its lowest levels in decades, and few experts thought that would change.
In the case of upgrading electrical and broadband infrastructure, new analysis from the University of Massachusetts Amherst reveals {that a} “dig once” strategy is almost 40% more economical than changing them individually.