Prof. Thomas Malone speaks with Nicolás Rivero at Quartz about Minglr, a new videoconferencing platform he co-created that replicates the type of chance meetings that happen at in-person conferences. “The most important part of conferences by far is what happens in the hallways,” said Malone, “not what happens in the meeting rooms.”
Writing for New Scientist, Vijaysree Venkatraman spotlights “Coded Bias,” a new documentary that chronicles graduate student Joy Buolamwini’s “journey to uncover racial and sexist bias in face-recognition software and other artificial intelligence systems.”
MIT researchers have developed an AI algorithm called MosAIc that “can spot connections between works from different cultures, artists and mediums,” writes Theresa Machemer for Smithsonian Magazine. “We hope this approach can be used as a tool to help art historians find new patterns in history and gather evidence to support their hypotheses,” says PhD student Mark Hamilton.
In his new book “Money for Nothing,” Prof. Thomas Levenson “interweaves the story of the rise of mathematics and astronomy with the rise of bankers and actuaries and stock promoters,” writes James Grant in a review for the Wall Street Journal.
Researchers at MIT have determined why shaving causes everyday razors made of Martensitic stainless steel to wear down so quickly. “Now that researchers know why razors fail so quickly, they can start to develop steel without the same weaknesses,” notes Theresa Machemer for Smithsonian Magazine.
Researchers at MIT and Northeastern are “testing a new video chat service called Minglr that lets online conference-goers bump into each other virtually,” writes Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. The service is intended to replicate the traditional conference experience where “casual meetings with total strangers…often produce new ideas and business opportunities.”
Researchers at MIT’s Center for Advanced Virtuality have created a deepfake video of President Richard Nixon discussing a failed moon landing. “[The video is] meant to serve as a warning of the coming wave of impressively realistic deepfake false videos about to hit us that use A.I. to convincingly reproduce the appearance and sound of real people,” write Aaron Pressman and David Z. Morris for Fortune.
In an Op-Ed for the Los Angeles Times, Prof. Sinan Aral writes about the need for a coordinated response to the pandemic across state lines. “When a state reopens while its peer state remains closed, travel spikes from the closed state into the open state,” notes Aral. “Only when both states adopt similar shelter-in-place policies does travel between the states diminish.”
Using a scanning electron microscope, MIT researchers observed how hair produces tiny chips in steel razor blades, reports Nell Greenfieldboyce for NPR. "For me, personally, it was both a scientific curiosity, of 'What's going on?' and also aiming to solve an important engineering problem," says Prof. C. Cem Tasan.
By observing and recording the cutting process, MIT researchers have found that human hairs chip razor blades during the shaving process, reports Leah Crane for New Scientist. “We expected that the failure of these materials should just be wear,” says Prof. C. Cem Tasan. “But this is not the case: the process of chipping is much faster.”
Wired reporter Eric Niiler writes that a new study by MIT researchers sheds light on why razor blades get dull so quickly. “We want to design new materials that are better and go longer,” says Prof. C. Cem Tasan. “This problem of the blade is an excellent example. We are so used to it, you don’t think about it. You use the razor for a few weeks and then move on.”
Forbes contributor Elizabeth Fernandez writes that a study co-authored by MIT researchers shows quantum entanglement could give blackjack players a slight edge. Fernandez adds that the research shows how, “entangled systems can show up in our macroscopic, everyday lives.”
WHDH spotlights MIT startup E25Bio, which is developing a new rapid test to diagnose Covid-19. The test being developed by E25Bio is a paper strip that can deliver test results in 15 minutes, WHDH explains.
A new study by MIT researchers finds that the inferior temporal cortex region of the brain was repurposed to recognize letters and words, providing humans the ability to read, reports Brooks Hays for UPI.
Newsweek reporter Meghan Roos writes that a study co-authored by Prof. Victor Chernozhukov finds a nationwide mask mandate in the U.S. could have reduced Covid-19 deaths by 40% among workers who regularly interact with the public. The researchers found “a national mask mandate for workers could have prevented between 17,000 and 55,000 deaths between the start of April and the start of June.”