MIT researchers have developed a new “window-sized device that can convert vapor from air into safe drinking water using hydrogel,” reports Matthew Burgos for designboom. “With the invention, the MIT engineers want to make it easier for people to produce clean drinking water in places where there’s no river, lake, or well,” Burgos explains, “and where the only source accessible to them that can be converted into water is air.”
Prof. Daron Acemoglu speaks with Salon reporter Russell Payne to explain how “the calculations made by the current generation of AI are fundamentally different from how humans think.” Acemoglu explains: “The more talk of artificial super intelligence we have, the more of a boost these companies get, especially in terms of being able to raise funding, in terms of being in the spotlight and high status, high ability to convince others.”
Jim Walsh, a senior research associate with MIT’s Security Studies Program, speaks with Fox News about international security risks amidst the current tensions in the Middle East.
Prof. Simon Johnson speaks with Wired reporter Paresh Dave about the financial and social cost of AI implantation in the workforce, making the case that governments should lower payroll taxes for entry-level roles to encourage hiring and help humans build careers. “The right lever to pull is one that reduces costs to employers,” says Johnson.
Prof. David Autor speaks with Wired reporter Will Knight about the anticipated impact of AI on employment. “If demand for software were like demand for colonoscopies, no improvement in speed or reduction in costs would create a mad rush for the proctologist's office,” says Autor. “But if demand for software is like demand for taxi services, then we may see an Uber effect on coding: more people writing more code at lower prices, and lower wages.”
MIT researchers have developed a power-free, water-collecting device that extracted a glass of clean water from the air in Death Valley, California, suggesting that “the device could provide the vital resource to arid regions,” reports Alex Wilkins for New Scientist.“Because the design of this device is quite a compact structure, we believe that an even larger area of the device can supply the drinking water for a household for daily consumption,” explains Prof. Xuanhe Zhao.
Nature spotlights graduate student Alex Kachkine – an engineer, art collector and art conservator – on his quest to develop a new AI-powered, art restoration method, reports Geoff Marsh for Nature. “My hope is that conservators around the planet will be able to use these techniques to restore paintings that have never been seen by the general public,” says Kachkine. “Many institutions have paintings that arrived at them a century ago, have never been shown because they are so damaged and there are no resources to restore them. And hopefully this technique means we will be able to see more of those publicly.”
Graduate student Alex Kachkine speaks with Nature reporter Amanda Heidt about his work developing a new restoration method for restoring damaged artwork. The method uses “digital tools to create a ‘mask’ of pigments that can be printed and varnished onto damaged paintings,” explains Heidt. The method “reduces both the cost and time associated with art restoration and could one day give new life to many of the paintings held in institutional collections — perhaps as many as 70% — that remain hidden from public view owing to damage.”
Guardian reporter Ian Sample highlights how graduate student Alex Kachkine has developed a new approach to restoring age-damaged artwork in hours. “The technique draws on artificial intelligence and other computer tools to create a digital reconstruction of the damaged painting,” explains Sample. “This is then printed on to a transparent polymer sheet that is carefully laid over the work.”
A study by researchers at MIT explores “worker attitudes surrounding automation,” reports Sage Lazzaro for Fortune. “A lot of factories and other industrial environments have had data around for a long time and haven’t necessarily known what to do with it,” explains Research Scientist Ben Armstrong. “Now there are new algorithms and new software that’s allowing these companies to be a lot more intelligent with using that data to make work better.”
Senior Research Scientist C. Adam Schlosser speaks with Boston Globe reporter Lindsay Crudele about how tending to personal gardens can be an effective tool in combating climate change. “We obviously have a lot of technologies that are trying to remove carbon from the air,” Schlosser explains, but “the best way of doing that, in terms of nature, is to plant new vegetation.”
Prof. Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL, and research affiliate Ramin Hasani have been named to The Boston Globe’s 2025 list of Tech Power Players working in the foundational AI sector, reports Aaron Pressman for The Boston Globe. Rus and Hasani are co-founders of Liquid AI, a startup that has developed “an AI technique with fewer software ‘neurons’ than large language models of OpenAI and others,” explains Pressman. This means “Liquid AI requires less computing power (and electricity.)”
Prof. Yet-Ming Chiang, Shreya Dave '09, SM ’12, PhD '16, Bob Mumgaard SM '15, PhD '15 and Sloan alumna Emily Reichert have been named to the 2025 Boston Globe Tech Power Players list for their efforts in the energy sector, reports Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. Chiang emphasizes the importance of federal funding in advancing scientific research. “My entire career has been supported by US taxpayers,” Chiang says. “The ability to give back and develop technologies and create jobs, that’s a big motivator for me.”
Sloan lecturer Mikey Shulman, Colin Angle '89, SM '90, Tye Brady SM '99, Laira Major SM '05, Dharmesh Shah SM '06 have been named to the 2025 Boston Globe Tech Power Players list for their work in the applied AI sector, reports Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe.
Prof. Dirk Englund, co-founder of QuEra, has been named one of the 2025 Boston Globe Tech Power Players for his work focused on quantum computing sector, reports Aaron Pressman for The Boston Globe. Pressman notes that at QuEra, “researchers are working to advance quantum computing from the theoretical to the practical.”