Prof. Regina Barzilay speaks with NPR reporter Richard Harris about her work developing AI systems aimed at improving identification of breast cancer in mammograms, inspired by her experience with the disease. “At every point of my treatment, there would be some point of uncertainty, and I would say, 'Gosh, I wish we had the technology to solve it,’” says Barzilay.
Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Prof. Thomas Malone examines how AI could transform business hierarchies. “AI may create some more centralized hierarchies, and even more situations that call for flexible structures,” writes Malone. The overall goal, though, will remain “figuring out how to combine the different capabilities of people and computers into ‘superminds’ that are smarter than anything we’ve ever had before.”
Margaret Hamilton is included on National Geographic’s list of female coders “whose careful calculations led to many of the world's greatest technological advances,” writes Catherine Zuckerman. Hamilton “led the team at MIT whose software systems were critical to the success of the Apollo 11 mission.”
Alyce Johnson, Interim Institute Community Equity Officer, and Sharon Bridburg, Director of HR for the Office of the Vice Chancellor, speak with Callie Crossley on WGBH’s "Under the Radar with Callie Crossley" about the importance of cross-racial friendships and their participation in The Club, a “diverse group of friends in the MIT and Harvard human resources community.”
Prof. Albert Saiz speaks with Greg Rosalsky on NPR’s Planet Money podcast about affordable housing and rent control. “The evidence is very clear that rent control doesn't work the way it's intended to work,” says Saiz. “There are policies that look a bit like rent control but that do not necessarily distort the housing market.”
In an article for The New York Times about moral outrage, Prof. David Rand and his co-author challenge criticism of “virtue signaling.” Summarizing a forthcoming paper, they write: “What our findings show is that asking whether outrage is ‘pure’ is the wrong question. Even authentic outrage is influenced by implicit strategic calculations.”
Fortune’s Aaron Pressman writes about this year’s New Space Age Conference at MIT and how it has changed since the first iteration in 2016. SpaceX, rather than Boeing, “was the big incumbent” and “too much money may have flowed into too many startups all chasing the same few satellite opportunities,” writes Pressman.
WGBH’s Aaron Schachter explores the new MIT Schwarzman College of Computing with graduate student Marc Aidinoff, a member of the Social Implications and Responsibilities of Computing Working Group. “Our hope,” says Aidinoff, “is that we are able to integrate this into the DNA of the college in a deep and robust way.”
CNN reporter Parija Kavilanz spotlights The Groomsman Suit, a company co-founded by MIT alumna Diana Ganz. The company, which was initially created to offer well-fitting tuxedos at a discount, is developing a line of tuxedos and suits specifically for women.
In a letter to The Boston Globe, Prof. Malick Ghachem argues that Haiti’s history cannot be defined as a story of poverty. Ghachem writes that under colonial slavery, many people in Haiti “produced a great deal of riches for the rest of the world, and the single-minded pursuit of these riches is what accounts for the poverty of the many.”
Quartz reporter Eshe Nelson writes that MIT researchers have proposed redesigning GDP to incorporate free digital goods and services. Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson explains that updating GDP provides a “realistic idea of what creates value in society and what doesn’t. A lot of digital goods we’ll find are creating a ton of value.”
Bhaskar Pant, executive director of MIT Professional Educations, speaks with TecHR reporter Sudipto Ghosh about how professional development programs help professionals update their skills. “Upskilling is now a fundamental part of doing business and survival,” explains Pant. “Employers need to keep their work forces current as in-demand skills evolve, and it makes sense for them to turn to higher education for help in that regard.”
Boston Globe reporter Hiawatha Bray spotlights how MIT alumnus Josh Lessing has co-founded a company that is “developing technology to solve some of the most enduring challenges in agriculture — a sector that has long struggled with labor shortages, seasonal schedules, and compressed harvesting periods.”
Writing for The Washington Post, Prof. Ariel White examines how jail sentences can make people less likely to vote. White explains that her research suggests we should “worry about jail’s political consequences, even in the case of short jail terms. The legal system disproportionately pushes black voters out of the electorate, and the problem goes far beyond felon disenfranchisement.”
U.S. News & World Report contributor Linda Childers spotlights how the Sloan School of Management is integrating virtual reality tools into its curriculum. Prof. John Sterman explains that a climate simulation game “teaches our business students skills such as improvising, negotiating and public speaking,” adding that, “it reinforces how their decisions can have consequences that last for decades.”