MIT was named to the top four of The Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings teaching pillar, reports Linda Nordling for the Times Higher Education. Nordling notes that MIT, “draws on technology to prime its offering,” and, “uses data analysis to investigate how people learn and is feeding the insights into teaching practice.”
Writing for Fortune, Prof. Nicholas Ashford explains that the U.S. should implement more stringent chemical safety measures to prevent explosions. “Government at all levels should hasten the adoption of common-sense, inherently safer rules to save lives, and to protect businesses and communities,” Ashford explains.
Joseph Coughlin, director of the AgeLab, writes for Forbes that lifelong education is a key component to job security and retirement planning, highlighting MIT’s online education offerings and MicroMasters programs. “People with the willingness and agility to learn new skills…are the most resilient players in an economy defined by sudden technological shifts and the rapid accumulation of new knowledge.”
New Scientist reporter Matt Reynolds writes that MIT researchers have developed a new system that can determine how much pain a patient is experiencing. “By examining tiny facial expressions and calibrating the system to each person, it provides a level of objectivity in an area where that’s normally hard to come by,” explains Reynolds.
In an article for HuffPost highlighting new developments in AI research, Jovan Kurbalija and Sorina Teleanu feature how MIT researchers, “are one step closer to finding a way to determine why an AI system makes one decision over another.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, President L. Rafael Reif expresses support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. “As the president of one of America’s leading technical universities — an institution built on intellectual excellence, a meritocratic openness to talent, and a long tradition of national service — I believe repealing DACA would be a mistake.”
Prof. Kerry Emanuel speaks with Miles O’Brien of the PBS NewsHour about the link between climate change and an increase in extreme storm systems. “What all the models and theories seem to agree on, at least globally, at this point is that the frequency of the very high intensity, Category 3 or 4 or 4 events, should go up,” says Emanuel.
In an article for The Los Angeles Times, Prof. Thomas Kochan examines how new technologies can be developed to complement human workers, rather than replace them. “Companies that engage their workforce when they design and implement new technologies will be best-positioned to manage the coming AI revolution,” concludes Kochan.
MIT researchers have developed a new “socially aware” robot that can follow the rules of pedestrian conduct, reports Ben Thompson for The Boston Globe. Thompson explains that the robot, “can seamlessly move with people in public spaces. The technology could eventually lead to robots that perform a variety of delivery and transportation tasks.”
Research engineer Bryan Reimer speaks with Chuck Tannert of Fast Company about the need for more investment in technology that can help make cars safer. “It is clear that safety on the nation’s roads is in question, necessitating a review of investments to double down on what is working and innovate where needed,” Reimer explains.
Prof. Max Tegmark speaks with Ariel Conn of HuffPost about his new book “Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” “I’m optimistic that we can create a great future with AI,” says Tegmark. “It’s going to require that we really think things through in advance.”
New York Times reporter Eduardo Porter speaks with Prof. Paul Osterman about his new book, which examines the need for better home health care in the U.S. Porter writes that in his book, Osterman suggests that improving home health care jobs, “could actually improve the quality and efficiency of the entire health care system.”
Wired reporter Eric Niiler writes that Prof. Kerry Emanuel has found that the probability of a storm like Hurricane Harvey hitting Texas has increased due to warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico and the lack of high-level winds that normally push such storms out to sea or towards Oklahoma.
MIT tops Class Central’s list of the “Top 50 MOOCs of all Time, ”reports Class Central reporter Dhawal Shah. Several MITx MOOCs were featured on the list, including The Analytics Edge, Circuits and Electronics 1, Introduction to Biology, and Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python.
Writing for The New York Times about educational technology, Prof. Cynthia Breazeal describes her research examining the importance of social cues in learning from technology. “If we want to use technology to help people learn, we have to provide information in the way the human mind evolved to receive it,” she explains.