Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)

MIT researchers have developed a kind of creativity test for generative models to see how far they can go in visualizing objects in photos from various angles and in different colors. The tool shows how much the model's imagination depends on the variety of images it has seen.

Visualizing the world beyond the frame

Researchers test how far artificial intelligence models can go in dreaming up varied poses and colors of objects and animals in photos.

May 6, 2020

Abhijit Banerjee, Bonnie Berger, and Roger Summons (left to right) are new members of the National Academy of Sciences.

Three from MIT elected to the National Academy of Sciences for 2020

Faculty members Abhijit Banerjee, Bonnie Berger, and Roger Summons elected by peers for outstanding contributions to research.

May 1, 2020

MIT researchers have proposed a technique for shrinking deep learning models that they say is simpler and produces more accurate results than state-of-the-art methods. It works by retraining the smaller, pruned model at its faster, initial learning rate.

A foolproof way to shrink deep learning models

Researchers unveil a pruning algorithm to make artificial intelligence applications run faster.

April 30, 2020

MIT researchers used machine learning to find entirely new algorithms for encoding exploration. Their machine-designed algorithms outperformed human-designed algorithms on the wide range of simulated tasks and environments shown here.

Automating the search for entirely new “curiosity” algorithms

Researchers show that computers can “write” algorithms that adapt to radically different environments better than algorithms designed by humans.

April 28, 2020

“These are truly unprecedented times,” says MIT Professor Tom Leighton, CEO and co-founder of Akamai Technologies. “The internet is being used at a scale that the world has never experienced.”

3 Questions: Tom Leighton on the major surge in internet traffic triggered by physical distancing

Mathematician and CEO of web services company Akamai looks ahead to how the pandemic-driven shift to remote working might change society.

April 27, 2020

Lead author Joseph DelPreto controls a "Conduct-A-Bot" drone with his arm muscles.

Muscle signals can pilot a robot

CSAIL's Conduct-A-Bot system uses muscle signals to cue a drone’s movement, enabling more natural human-robot communication.

April 27, 2020

Six from MIT elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2020

Prestigious honor society announces more than 250 new members.

April 24, 2020

A new hospital status app aims to balance hospitals’ Covid-19 load. Based on crowdsourced data, the app gives patients, EMTs, and physicians tools to report and check on availability of hospital resources, from ventilators and ICU beds to average wait times.

Reporting tool aims to balance hospitals’ Covid-19 load

Based on crowdsourced data, app helps patients, EMTs, and physicians determine real-time availability of hospital resources.

April 23, 2020

Jim Collins, the Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering and Science in MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and the Department of Biological Engineering, is the recipient of funding from The Audacious Project to harness AI for drug discovery.

Jim Collins receives funding to harness AI for drug discovery

The Audacious Project commitment will support the development of new classes of antibiotics to treat the world’s deadliest bacterial pathogens.

April 22, 2020

Daniela Rus is the director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), deputy dean of research for the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, and the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT.

Professor Daniela Rus named to White House science council

CSAIL director and MIT Schwarzman College of Computing deputy dean of research will serve on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

April 21, 2020

The latest version of the MIT E-Vent team's emergency ventilator design undergoes testing in their lab.

MIT team races to fill Covid-19-related ventilator shortage

An ad hoc team of engineers and doctors has developed a low-cost, open-source alternative, now ready for rapid production.

April 20, 2020

The startup Posh has created chat bots that use conversational memory to hold more natural conversations. Posh’s chat bots are currently used by about a dozen credit unions across a variety of voice and text platforms.

Deploying more conversational chatbots

Startup Posh has created chatbots that use “conversational memory” to have more natural exchanges.

April 17, 2020

To reduce lag times and increase quality in video streaming, mobile gaming, and other web services, researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have designed a congestion-control scheme for time-varying wireless links, such as cellular networks.

Reducing delays in wireless networks

Congestion control system could help streaming video, mobile games, and other applications run more smoothly.

April 9, 2020

A new system relies on short-range Bluetooth signals emitted from people’s smartphones to trace who they've been in contact with. These signals represent random strings of numbers, likened to “chirps” that other nearby smartphones can remember hearing, offering a way to find people who may have been in contact with people who have tested positive for Covid-19.

Bluetooth signals from your smartphone could automate Covid-19 contact tracing while preserving privacy

A system that enables smartphones to transmit “chirps” to nearby devices could notify people if they have been near an infected person.

April 8, 2020

MIT postdoc Michael Wessely shows off the SprayableTech prototype.

Sprayable user interfaces

CSAIL's SprayableTech system lets users create large-scale interactive surfaces with sensors and displays using airbrushed inks.