In the Media

Physicists at MIT have provided new insights into the world of quantum mechanics after successfully performing the double-slit experiment with “incredible atomic precision,” reports Mrigakshi Dixit for Interesting Engineering. The researchers “discovered a clear relationship: the more precisely they determined a photon’s path (confirming its particle-like behavior), the more the wave-like interference pattern faded,” explains Dixit. “The researchers observed that the wave interference pattern weakened any time an atom was nudged by a photon passing by. This confirmed that getting information about the photon’s route automatically erased its wave-like properties.”  

Prof. David Autor speaks with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria about how China moving into sectors like robotics, AI, quantum computing, fusion power, telecommunications, aviation and more could significantly impact the U.S. economy. Autor notes that by focusing on the last trade war with China, “the U.S. is distracting itself from the really formidable challenge we find ourselves facing now from China’s incredible innovative capacity and very, very intensive investment.” 

Popular Science reporter Mack DeGeurin spotlights Foodres.Ai Printer, an AI-assisted 3D printer developed by MIT researchers that is “capable of converting food scraps into coasters, cups, and other everyday kitchen items.” The researchers hope their invention “can repurpose waste before it reaches trash cans or compost bins, helping to foster ‘hyper-local circular economies.’”

Prof. Julien de Wit speaks with CNN reporter Ashley Strickland about asteroid 2024 YR4 and the importance of monitoring and studying asteroids to help keep Earth safe. 

Prof. Andrew Lo speaks with NBC Boston reporter Daniela Gonzalez about how AI tools could be used as a starting point to help people manage their monthly expenses and improve their savings strategies. Lo notes that AI tools “can tell you, given the kind of things you're looking to purchase, where the various deals might be.” He added that “once you get the feedback, you have to make sure that what you're getting is legit, versus what they call hallucinations that large language models are likely to do on occasion.”

Writing for Financial Times, Prof. Kristin Forbes explains how to approach to tariff trade-offs. “If even a fraction of the tariffs that have recently been announced are implemented, inflation will pick up and domestic activity will slow — at least over the next year or so,” explains Forbes. “The Fed will need to trade off mitigating the impact of another round of inflation with supporting employment.” 

WBUR reporter Carol Iaciofano Aucoin spotlights “You Belong Here,” a new book by Megan Miranda ‘02. “Miranda’s taut storytelling underscores how the tiniest turn of fate can transform a youthful misstep into a life-warping calamity or a danger-averted close call — a comment in a bar answered or ignored, a decision to stay at an event or leave early,” writes Aucoin. 

Prof. Andrew Lo speaks with Bloomberg reporter Lu Wang about how AI tools could be applied to the financial services industry, working alongside humans to help manage money, balance risk, tailor strategies and possibly even act in a client’s best interest. “I believe that within the next five years we’re going to see a revolution in how humans interact with AI,” says Lo. He adds that “the financial services industry has extra layers of protection that needs to be built before these tools can be useful.”

Researchers at MIT have uncovered a variety of obstacles of AI in software development, reports Rob Wile for NBC News. They have found “the main obstacles come when AI programs are asked to develop code at scale, or with more complex logic,” writes Wile. 

Writing for GBH, graduate students and alumni Jessica Chomik-Morales, Sarah Akaaboune, Mackenzie White '25, Celina Zhao '24, SM '25, spotlight the Dana-Farber mobile Mammogram Van. “The unit meets women where they live and work, offering care in the languages they speak,” they write. “By bringing screenings to neighborhoods with large Asian and other minority populations, the van shows how community-based, culturally responsive care can reduce disparities and improve access to critical health resources.” 

Prof. Haoxiang Zhu speaks with Bloomberg reporters Jayna Rohslau and Katherine Doherty about a proposal by U.S. regulators "to rework the pattern day trading rule.” “Today, trading is often commission-free, although not in all securities, and there’s less concern about excessive commission cost,” explains Zhu. “For this reason, I think a moderate reduction in the minimum margin for pattern day trading is fine, in particular if the reduction applies to securities for which trading is now commission-free.” 

Writing for Forbes, Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, explores the role of technology in the lives of retirees. “The AgeTech revolution is real. The technology that is coming is astonishing. But it risks stalling not because the tech isn’t good, but because no one is there to plug it in, literally and figuratively,” writes Coughlin. “Because in retirement living, the real innovation isn’t a gadget or form of artificial intelligence. The next big thing is trusted, human-centered service.” 

Rizwan Virk '92 speaks with Boston Globe reporter Brian Bergstein about his book “The Simulation Hypothesis: An MIT Computer Scientist Shows Why AI, Quantum Physics, and Eastern Mystics All Agree We Are in a Video Game.” Bergstein writes: “The book came out in 2019, but an updated version is being released this week to account for developments in artificial intelligence and quantum computing.”

Prof. Emeritus Donald Sadoway speaks with Forbes reporter Neil Winton about the development of solid-state batteries and the future of electric vehicles. “Yes, in 2035 the U.S. the automobile market will be roughly the same as today, but by then the massive demand for electricity from computers, AI and EVs will combine to demand more electricity than the grid can supply,” says Sadoway.

Researchers at MIT are working to advance our understanding of acute Lyme disease and long Covid, reports Brianna Abbott for The Wall Street Journal. “What we’re trying to do is measure everything,” said Principal Scientist Michal Caspi Tal. “I want to find a way to give people hope.”