A CNN story on OpenAI’s announcement that one of its AI models had solved one of seven famously difficult and unsolved questions in the field of math quoted UCLA mathematics professor Terence Tao, who expressed concern about using such models to solve complex math problems. “The indiscriminate use of AI is turning the subject into a meaningless production quota ‘game’ that ultimately is of very little benefit, either to mathematics or to the world,” he said. (Tao was also quoted in the New York Times: 1, 2.) Read more about UCLA in today’s New York Times Magazine, Inside Higher Ed and other outlets.

See our UCLA in the News daily archive. 

More highlights from UCLA in the News: September 9, 2026

Ballot seizures seemed impossible — until they didn’t | NPR’s “Morning Edition”

And UCLA’s Safeguarding Democracy Project released a guide Wednesday, shared first with NPR, to help judges navigate search warrant affidavits related to the voting process. “Lots of things that were off the table are now on the table,” said Rick Hasen, the director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project, and the guide’s lead author.

Autism diagnoses for females are on the rise | KCBS-FM

On this edition of the Bay Area All Local, KCBS’ Scott Cohn spoke with Emily Hotez, an assistant professor and autism researcher at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, about how more and more women and girls are receiving autism diagnoses.

What can California do for early learning for 5% of its homeless youth? | EdSource

“The state’s really going to have to be targeted about where this money goes, and I think a set-aside amount for identifying our youngest learners makes a ton of sense because that $116 million is not going to reach everybody,” said Joseph Bishop, executive director and co-founder of the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools.

The rise of in-house executive search in higher ed | Inside Higher Ed

(Commentary co-written by UCLA’s Bridget Hough and Caitlin Hargadon) When a college or university is seeking to fill a cabinet-level role, recruit an academic dean or hire other executive leadership candidates, the typical strategy — especially within the past few decades — has been to outsource recruiting to an executive search firm. These national firms promise established candidate networks and a level of professional recruitment experience and infrastructure that many institutions lack internally.

Some of the worst humidity ever recorded brings health worries | Los Angeles Times

“Heat stress” is the total amount of heat that a person’s body must adjust to in order to keep a stable temperature in our core and organs, said Dr. David Eisenman, a professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “Our body works best when the internal temperature is about 98.6 degrees, and our body is consistently trying to hold to that number,” Eisenman said.

The long road to reviving Lahaina | New York Times Magazine

“These two forces — a convergence of a climate crisis and a housing crisis — were at a breaking point at the same time when these fires hit,” says Kathryn Leifheit, an assistant professor at UCLA who studies the causes of homelessness, including climate disasters. “But I think it’s emblematic of trends everywhere in the U.S. and the world.”

New book looks at whether leaders actually matter at all | LAist’s “AirTalk”

What makes the actions of a leader have real, genuine impact? In his new book, “Profits, Prophets, Coaches, And Kings: (When) Do Leaders Matter?” UCLA Professor Jared Diamond attempts to answer that question. (Diamond was interviewed.)

How Chris Lake ‘made it happen’ | Los Angeles Times

Like many other “successful electronic artists,” Tiffany Naiman, UCLA’s director of music industry programs, explains how Lake has built an entire economic network rooted in live experiences, from his actual performances to his label and the artists he backs. “The show isn’t just where you hear the music; it’s where an artist builds a community, develops other artists and creates a brand that can sustain a career,” Naiman said.

The complete guide to buying frozen vegetables | Food & Wine

Yasi Ansari, a senior dietitian at UCLA Health Santa Monica Hospital, says it’s an “illusion” that fresh vegetables are always the best.