Interview

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are key technologies for science, business, and society – but how transparent are their decisions? Andreas Krause, the 2021 recipient of the Rössler Prize and Chair of the ETH AI Center, shares his thoughts on the opportunities and challenges with trustworthy artificial intelligence.

Niko Beerenwinkel, a Professor at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Basel, is working with colleagues from other research institutions to examine wastewater for traces of the coronavirus. He has detected the Delta variant in five out of six Swiss wastewater treatment plants examined, including ones in Zurich and Bern. Recently he spoke with ETH News.

Is natural always good and artificial always bad? We talked to psychologist Angela Bearth and biotechnologist Sven Panke about science, scepticism, misunderstandings and how language influences the way we think.

Athina Anastasaki joined ETH Zurich in 2019. Her research focuses on the next generation of polymers and recycling processes for these. She wants to recover all the starting materials and use them to produce new materials for other applications.

Under the motto “Ecosystem Restoration”, the theme of Word Environment Day on 5 June 2021 is the restoration of the planet’s ecosystem. The only way to achieve this is through climate protection – one of the most hotly debated topics of our time. It is becoming increasingly obvious that this not only requires a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but additional measures for reducing the level of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere. Unless this happens, it will be impossible to achieve the primary goal of the Paris agreement: to restrict global warming to no more than two degrees.

Renowned planetary researcher and Nobel laureate Didier Queloz is moving to ETH Zurich, where he will be joining with other professors to study the origins of life in a new centre.