A new paper co-authored by Prof. Lawrence Schmidt examines why investors tend to make good purchasing decisions, but poor selections when it comes to selling stocks, reports The Economist. The researchers found that the “disparity between sales and purchases is explained by the attention given to each.”
Writing for Bloomberg, Profs. Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson argue that federal investment in scientific research can help address income inequality. “America desperately needs more hubs of growth,” they write. “It’s a problem that the government can and should address, by identifying and investing in the technologies of the future – and ensuring that the American people as a whole share in the gains.”
NESN Clubhouse visits the lab of Prof. Sangbae Kim to learn more about his work developing a robotic cheetah that can run at a speed of approximately 13 miles per hour, jump over obstacles, climb up stairs and execute tight turns. Kim explains that the cheetah could run from home plate to first base in about 15 seconds.
Writing for Wired, Prof. Joi Ito, director of the Media Lab, argues against the notion of singularity, the concept that AI will supersede humans. “Instead of thinking about machine intelligence in terms of humans vs machines, we should consider the system that integrates humans and machines – not artificial intelligence but extended intelligence,” writes Ito.
WBUR reporter Pamela Reynolds highlights graduate student Joy Buolamwini’s piece, “The Coded Gaze,” which is currently on display as part of the “Avatars//Futures” exhibit at the Nave Gallery. Reynolds writes that Buolamwini’s piece “questions the inherent bias of coding in artificial intelligence, which has resulted in facial recognition technology unable to recognize black faces.”
Research scientist Philipp Schmidt speaks with Inside Higher Ed reporter Lindsay McKenzie about the Digital Credentials Collaboration, which is creating a worldwide standard and shared infrastructure for digital academic credentials. “Universities are interested in providing their graduates with credentials that are useful and digital, but also secure,” Schmidt explains.
In an article for Fast Company, Mark Wilson highlights Modulate, an MIT startup that has developed technology that allows users to transform their voices into someone else’s. MIT alumnus and Modulate co-founder Mike Pappas explains that the technology could allow video game players to change their online personas and “give them the freedom to step inside their character entirely.”
Quartz reporter Anne Quito spotlights how graduate student Arnav Kapur has developed a wearable device that allows users to access the internet without speech or text and could help people who have lost the ability to speak vocalize their thoughts. Kapur explains that the device is aimed at augmenting ability.
WBUR reporter Pamela Reynolds spotlights the Rose Salane exhibit at the List Visual Arts Center, which examines the lost collection at the World Trade Center’s Port Authority Library. “In a suggestive display, Salane unravels a tapestry of seemingly disconnected events to trace the unfolding of history,” writes Reynolds.
The Sloan School of Management and the Ruderman Family Foundation’s LINK20 have started a new week-long program aimed at equipping social justice and inclusion advocates “with theories and strategies in the areas of digital leadership, networking and entrepreneurship to become high-impact social influencers,” reports Sarah Kim for Forbes.
Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson speaks with Wired reporter Matt Simon about the potential impact of technology and automation on everything from jobs and the labor market to climate change. “Technology is an incredibly powerful tool,” says Brynjolfsson, “and if we make the effort, we can use this tool to live lighter on the planet.”
A new study by MIT researchers provides evidence that life on Earth may have begun in shallow bodies of water, reports Martin Finucane for The Boston Globe. The researchers found that ponds “could have held high concentrations of a key ingredient, nitrogen, while that would have been less likely in the ocean,” Finucane explains.
MIT alumni and tiddlywinks champions Larry Kahn and David Lockwood are teaming up for a shot at the Tiddlywinks World Championships, reports NPR’s Emma Bowman and Scott Simon. “Tournament tiddlywinks is a fascinating combination of physical skill at a micro level and positional strategy,” explains Lockwood.
Forbes contributor Daniel D’Ambrosio writes about how MIT alumnus Renaldo Webb has founded a company called Pet Plate, which provides fresh meals for dogs. D’Ambrosio explains that, “Webb realized that pet owners wanted a fresh option. He could launch a business that would ‘make a meaningful difference in the lives of pets across the country.’”
Inside Science reporter Yuen Yiu writes that MIT researchers have developed a new AI system that can summarize scientific research papers filled with technical terms. Yiu writes that the system “is a dramatic improvement from current programs, and could help scientists or science writers sift through large numbers of papers for the ones that catch their interest.”