NIU Today

Social media is ubiquitous in society. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube, Instagram and many more are common tools – and chances are good that faculty already use one or more of these already to connect with family, friends and colleagues. Social media can also be a powerful tool to connect with other academics, help students build...

For years, humankind has thought of capable, intelligent robots as the stuff of science fiction, from the friendly droids of “Star Wars” to the mechanical overlords of “The Matrix.” In fact, smart robots are already all around us – with more coming every day. The ongoing invasion of robots into our everyday lives is the...

Recently NPR ran a rather interesting competition of man versus machine. This 21st century version of the John Henry legend pit NPR reporter Scott Horsely against Automated Insights’ Wordsmith, an algorithm designed to assemble original news stories by accessing data residing in the cloud. What this little experiment demonstrated is not what you might expect....

Virtually no field or discipline has been left untouched by technological innovation. This is especially true in the field of communication, where so many daily interactions with each other have moved to computer-mediated systems. For this reason, it is often considered necessary to teach students how to use the technology that has and will continue...

Stephen Hawking recently said in an interview that “the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Check out the NIU Newsroom to see what NIU communication professor David Gunkel, author of the book, “The Machine Question: Critical Perspectives on AI, Robots and Ethics,” says in response.

The new Apple Watch might be an exciting accessory for techies, but it’s only the tip of the technological iceberg compared to what the future has in store for consumers wanting wearable computers. So says award-winning NIU professor David Gunkel, who specializes in the study of information and communication technology and is author of the...

A book penned by Northern Illinois University professor David Gunkel provided inspiration for a new featured video on the PBS Idea Channel. Hosted by Mike Rugnetta, the Idea Channel is a weekly web series with a focus on technology. Gunkel’s book, “The Machine Question,” helped inspire the July 2 Idea Channel episode, titled “When Will...

Summer is just around the corner. What are your young Einsteins going to do to keep their minds engaged? This June, July and August, NIU STEM Outreach and other STEM departments are offering more camp experiences than ever before. Whether students want to learn how roller coasters work, design their own video games, create scientifically...

When most people hear the word “drone,” they think of covert military airstrikes, but proponents of autonomous systems see them becoming a part of everyday life. Experts have proposed their use in everything from aerial art to pizza delivery. At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, NIU STEM Outreach invites community members to learn more about...

NIU Libraries are connecting the campus with institutions across the world in a shared discussion around the Open Access movement in celebration of International Open Access Week 2013. With a variety of events and activities scheduled, from workshops and panels to receptions and mash-ups, the week of Oct. 22 promises to be interesting and informative....

by David J. Gunkel,  NIU Professor of Communication Perhaps it is just coincidence, but there is an interesting convergence of apocalyptic thinking taking place in the final month of 2012. On the one hand, we are quickly approaching the “end of the world” as predicted by the Mayan calendar – December 21, 2012 to be...

University Libraries has launched Huskie Commons, a new online repository featuring NIU student theses and dissertations and faculty members’ publications in peer-reviewed journals. While outreach to NIU faculty is just beginning, Huskie Commons already contains full text versions of more than 60 faculty publications and links to more than 4,000 theses and dissertations. In the...