In the Media

Writing for Bloomberg, David Zipper, a senior fellow at the MIT Mobility Initiative, argues that New York’s halted congestion pricing plan will deprive the state’s MTA of much needed revenue, underfunding maintenance and visible enhancement projects. “New York’s congestion pricing plan would have covered more than half the MTA’s $28 billion capital budget,” he explains. “For the moment, the MTA’s board must strike a precarious balance between politicians’ desire for splashy construction projects and the urgent but hidden needs for system upgrades.”

Institute Prof. Daron Acemoglu speaks with CNBC Last Call host Brian Sullivan about what he describes as exaggerated claims about the macroeconomic effects of AI. “I am completely convinced that there are some impressive changes and there are some things that AI can really help us with, but it's not going to suddenly revolutionize everything we do,” Acemoglu says. “And if it's going to do it, it's going to take a while.”

Prof. of the practice Donald Sull speaks with Fortune reporter Lindsey Leake about the common misconceptions found in corporate company culture. “People often think that high performance is an excuse for abusive behavior—they confuse disrespectful and bullying behavior for maintaining high standards,” say Sull. “But it’s possible to set the bar for performance high without berating or bullying people. And to the extent these toxic managerial behaviors drive high performers out of the organization, the abusive behavior undermines performance.”

Prof. David Rand speaks with New York Times reporters Tiffany Hsu and Stuart A. Thompson about the challenges of stopping the spread of misinformation. “It seems like an easy enough problem: there’s the true stuff and there’s the false stuff, and if the platforms cared about it, they would just get rid of the false stuff,” says Rand. “Then we started working on it and it was like, ‘Oh God.’ It’s actually way more complicated.”

Prof. Desirée Plata and her research team have designed “a kind of clay that mimics the behavior of underwater microorganisms to break down methane into water and carbon dioxide,” reports Ivy Scott for The Boston Globe. “The estimates are that you could save a half a degree of warming by 2100 if you cut human-made methane emissions in half, so that’s a pretty big deal,” says Plata. “It’s the only greenhouse gas that can do that. It’s just a question of whether or not we’ll start to see people doing that ... [regionally] and in Massachusetts.”

Prof. Kerry Emanuel speaks with New York Times reporter Christopher Kuo about the expectations for the upcoming hurricane season. When discussing Hurricane Beryl, Emanuel says “usually the June and July storms are relatively benign. They don’t get up to full strength, so it’s very rare to have this.” 

Under the direction of CEO Noubar Afeyan PhD '87, a member of the MIT Corporation, Flagship Pioneering is using its resources to back life sciences companies, seeking to vertically integrate the processes of scientific discovery, reports Scott Kirsner for The Boston Globe. “Afeyan’s latest vision involves artificial intelligence and how it will change the way science and drug development are done,” he writes. “Afeyan says that AI could eventually become a tool that does much of the work of scientific discovery.”

MIT spinout, Cogito, uses “advanced voice analytics to scrutinize voice tons and speech patterns, not just during customer interactions but also within internal team communications,” reports Andre Shojaie for Forbes. “By providing real-time feedback to representatives, Cogito helps them adjust their emotional tone and empathy levels accordingly,” explains Shojaie. “This application significantly reduces stress and cultivates a supportive work environment by enhancing interpersonal interactions among team members.”

Prof. Richard Binzel speaks with Popular Science reporter Briley Lewis about how frequently asteroids come close to Earth. "I would be worried if we weren’t taking the asteroid survey challenge seriously,” says Binzel. "NASA and its funding sources are stepping up to the adult responsibility of doing the necessary searching to make sure our asteroid future is secure.” 

Prof. Larry Gurth and University of Oxford Prof. James Maynard have uncovered a new finding “about how certain polynomials are formed and how they reach out into the number line,” reports Caroline Delbert for Popular Mechanics. Gurth and Maynard “claim they’ve proven [Dirichlet] polynomials have a certain number of large values, or solutions, within a tighter ranger than before.” 

Prof. of the Practice Elisabeth Reynolds speaks with Washington Post reporter David Lynch about the Biden administration’s efforts to reduce dependance on Chinese equipment such as ship-to-shore cranes.  "In the face of China as an economic and political and national security threat, we have to rethink some strategies,” says Reynolds. “And regardless of the product and regardless of the country, we don't want to be beholden to a monopoly supplier. That's a bad strategy.”

Explaining China’s increasing advantage over the U.S. in fusion technology, Prof. Dennis Whyte is interviewed for a Wall Street Journal article by Jennifer Hiller and Sha Hua. Noting China took just 10 years to build world-class fusion research facilities, Whyte says “it was almost like a flash that they were able to get there. Don’t underestimate their capabilities about coming up to speed.”

Writing for Scientific American, graduate student Jerry Lu and his colleagues explore the mathematics, physics, and sensor technology that have revolutionized competitive swimming. “Today the advent of sensor technology has turned this idea into a reality in which mathematics and physics produce useful information so that coaches can ‘precision-train’ 2024 Olympic hopefuls,” writes Lu. “The results have been enormously successful.”

Prof. Kerry Emanuel speaks with Scientific American reporter Chelsea Harvey about the future of hurricane forecasting and preparations. “I can’t predict the future, but I’m optimistic that things will get better,” says Emanuel. “And you’ll see people moving away from risky places, which is already beginning to happen. And those who elect to stay [will be] paying a lot of insurance or retrofitting houses to be built stronger.”

Forbes reporter Ulrich Boser spotlights Prof. Rosalind Picard and her work toward advancing “the capability of computers to recognize human emotions.” “AI can enhance learning, and chatbots can supplement many aspects of teaching and tutoring but true success lies in establishing better tutoring platforms to support – not replace – teachers,” writes Boser.