Writing for The Guardian, Jeff Nesbit highlights Prof. Kerry Emanuel’s research showing that climate change is increasing the risk of extreme storms. Nesbit explains that Emanuel found that the risk for extreme storms in Tampa, Cairns, and the Persian Gulf increased by up to a factor of 14 over time as Earth’s climate changed.
Smithsonian reporter Emily Matchar highlights how MIT researchers have developed a new system that enables data sharing between underwater and airborne devices. Prof. Fadel Adib explains that the technology could be used to “study marine life and have access to a whole new world that is still pretty much out of our reach today.”
Fortune reporters Aaron Pressman and Adam Lashinsky highlight graduate student Joy Buolamwini’s work aimed at eliminating bias in AI and machine learning systems. Pressman and Lashinsky note that Buolamwini believes that “who codes matters,” as more diverse teams of programmers could help prevent algorithmic bias.
A Washington Post article co-written by MIT graduate student Marsin Alshamary notes that there is “no clear political authority to hold accountable” for recent protests in Basra, Iraq. “Basra’s protests are more about economic grievances than political ones. Although many of these grievances are shared by other Iraqis, they are felt most keenly by Basrawis,” Alshamary and her co-author explain.
Writing for NOVA Next, Nafisa Syed highlights how Prof. Kerry Emanuel is working on creating a new risk assessment paradigm for severe weather events like Hurricane Florence. Syed writes that Emanuel is trying to “understand what, for example, a 100-year storm is going to look like in the year 2100.”
CNBC reporter Catherine Clifford writes that MIT researchers have started a project to spotlight creative collaborations between humans and machines. Postdoctoral associate Pinar Yanardag explains that the project is aimed at showing the public that “we can work together with AI to achieve the most creative and productive outcomes.”
Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee speaks with BBC Radio’s David Grossman about the impact that artificial intelligence could have on various aspects of our lives. McAfee predicts that AI will reinvent, not replace capitalism, and that “even if things become very, very cheap because of technological progress that doesn’t strike away at the pillars of the capitalist system.”
MIT has been named the top university in the world for graduate employability by QS, reports Sean Coughlin for the BBC News. The ranking looks at how much universities are likely to boost the future careers of graduates, Coughlin explains, adding that MIT “is known for its high status in technology and innovation.”
Boston Globe reporter Martin Finucane writes that MIT researchers have developed sensors that can track dopamine levels in the brain. The sensors could eventually be used to monitor “Parkinson’s patients who receive a treatment called deep brain stimulation,” Finucane explains, adding that the sensors could “help deliver the stimulation only when it’s needed.”
Boston Globe reporter Jonathan Saltzman spotlights postdoctoral associates Matheus Victor, Jarrett Smith and Quinton Smith. They have been selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as Hanna Gray Fellows, a program that aims to encourage emerging young scientists who are underrepresented in life sciences.
BBC Click reports on an AI system developed by CSAIL researchers that simplifies image editing. “Instead of requiring the user to select the pixels very accurately, our system can just detect it and give the opacities for every object in the image automatically, which can then be used for editing the images in a realistic way,” explains visiting researcher Yagiz Aksoy.
CSAIL researchers have created a system that allows robots to see and pick up objects they have never encountered without assistance from humans, writes Jason Murdock for Newsweek. The researchers are now working on teaching the system to “move objects with a specific goal in mind, such as cleaning a desk,” reports Murdock.
QS has selected MIT as the best university in the world in their 2019 Graduate Employability Ranking, reports Rachel Hall for The Guardian. Hall explains that, “the rankings are compiled based on employer reputation, alumni outcomes, partnerships with employers per staff member, employer-student connections and the graduate employment rate.”
MIT researchers have developed a model that can help detect depression by analyzing an individual’s speech patterns, reports Kaveh Waddell for Axios. Waddell explains that the researchers, “trained an AI system using 142 recorded conversations to assess whether a person is depressed and, if so, how severely.”
New York Times reporter Ellen Rosen highlights how MIT is preparing students for the industries and jobs of the future through the AIM Photonics Academy and Manufacturing USA. “Community colleges across the country, with the help of companies and research institutions like MIT, are beginning to shape their curriculums to expose students to new theories and technology while teaching longstanding core manufacturing fundamentals,” explains Rosen.