Media Lab

Researchers from MIT and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston have developed a theoretical, high-performance transaction processor for a Central Bank Digital Currency using open-source software, reports Jason Brett for Forbes. "What is clear is that open-source software provides an important way to collaborate, experiment, and implement,” says Neha Narula, director of MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative. “In addition to supporting collaboration, monetary systems benefit from transparency and verifiability, which open-source offers."

Boston Business Journal executive editor Doug Banks highlights new research from MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in developing two sets of computing source code for a hypothetical Central Bank Digital Currency. The researchers “selected concepts from cryptography, distributed systems, and blockchain technology to build and test platforms that would give policymakers substantial flexibility in the potential creation of a CBDC,” writes Banks.

Reuters reporter Jonnelle Marte writes that researchers from MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston have developed two different approaches to processing transactions in a hypothetical digital currency. “The first phase of the multi-year project, dubbed ‘Project Hamilton,’ resulted in code that is capable of handling 1.7 million transactions per second,” writes Marte. “Researchers also found the ‘vast majority’ of transactions settled in under two seconds.”

Bloomberg reporter Allyson Versprille spotlights how researchers from MIT and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston have released a new paper and open-source code, called OpenCBDC, aimed at furthering understanding of how a hypothetical central bank digital currency might be developed. Of the importance of making the software open-source, Neha Narula, director of the MIT Digital Currency Initiative, explains that “we believe that this is the best way to ensure that OpenCBDC is vetted by a large number of people--all of whom will bring unique knowledge, skills, and ideas for improvement.”

Researchers from MIT and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston have released a new paper and open-source code to help further understanding of how a hypothetical central bank digital currency might be developed, writes Tory Newmyer for The Washington Post. Neha Narula, director of the Digital Currency Initiative, explains that they aimed to “create a flexible system that can work with a variety of models.”

Boston Globe reporter Jim Puzzanghera writes that researchers from MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston have developed experimental open-source software, called OpenCBDC, to help further examine a potential Central Bank Digital Currency.  Neha Narula, director of the Digital Currency Initiative, said she was optimistic that they could develop a system that “can help preserve strong privacy for users.”

Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini writes for The Atlantic about the dangers posed by government agencies adopting the use of facial recognition technology. “No biometric technologies should be adopted by the government to police access to services or benefits,” writes Buolamwini, “certainly not without cautious consideration of the dangers they pose, due diligence in outside testing, and the consent of those exposed to potential abuse, data exploitation, and other harms that affect us all.”

In an article for The Washington Post, Visiting Professor Susan Blumenthal and Emily Stark of New America make the case for creating a “government-backed program that would evaluate and label masks for consumers like the Food and Drug Administration does for sunscreens.”

A new study by MIT researchers finds people are more likely to interact with a smart device if it demonstrates more humanlike attributes, reports Brian Heater for TechCrunch. The researchers found “users are more likely to engage with both the device — and each other — more when it exhibits some form of social cues,” writes Heater. “That can mean something as simple as the face/screen of the device rotating to meet the speaker’s gaze.”

National Geographic reporter Sadie Dingfelder writes that MIT scientists are using piezoelectric materials to develop a battery-free, underwater navigation system. “There are a lot of potential applications,” says Prof. Fadel Adib. “For instance, a scuba diver could use these sensors to figure out the exact place they took a particular picture.”

An international team of scholars, including MIT researchers, has published a new study exploring the history and use of letterlocking, reports William J. Broad for The New York Times. The researchers note that they hope their work prompts “novel kinds of archival research, and allows even very well-known artefacts to be examined anew.”

MIT startup Formlabs has announced a new pair of 3D printers featuring an exposure and printing speed increase that is up to 40% faster than previous models, reports Brian Heater for TechCrunch. “The Form 3+ is the next iteration designed to help users go from idea to part in hand as quickly and easily as possible,” says CEO Max Lobovsky MS ’11.

Gramophone contributor Laurence Vittes spotlights Prof. Tod Machover’s “Death and the Powers,” an opera about robots and humans that has recently been released as an “electrifying surround-sound thriller.” Vittes writes that “Machover’s arsenal of music stands triumphantly on its own, fusing and defusing technoflash from the composer’s MIT Media Lab with rich writing for Gil Rose’s Boston Modern Orchestra ensemble.”

In a letter to the Financial Times, graduate student Daniel Aronoff makes the case that the demise of local banks in the U.S. should be examined and regulatory changes should be made to enable them to operate more profitably. “A system that can make small loans to small entrepreneurs not only helps the borrowers, but also promotes a more efficient allocation of resources in the economy," Aronoff writes. 

Forbes contributor Stephanie MacConnell spotlights the work of research affiliate Shriya Srinivasan PhD '20 in a roundup of women under the age of 30 who are transforming U.S. healthcare. Srinivasan is “working on technology that will enable patients to control and even ‘feel’ sensation through their prosthetic limb,” notes MacConnell.