Bloomberg reporter Ashlee Vancee spotlights the work of alumnus Youyang Gu SB ’15, MEng’19, who developed a forecasting model for Covid-19 last spring that was widely considered to be one of the most accurate models of the pandemic’s trajectory. “The novel, sophisticated twist of Gu’s model came from his use of machine learning algorithms to hone his figures,” writes Vancee.
TechCrunch reporter Darrell Etherington writes that MIT researchers have developed a new “liquid” machine learning system that can learn on the job. Etherington notes that the system has “the potential to greatly expand the flexibility of AI technology after the training phase, when they’re engaged in the actual practical inference work done in the field.”
Wired reporter Will Knight spotlights how MIT researchers built a machine learning system that can help predict which patients are most likely to develop breast cancer. “What the AI tools are doing is they're extracting information that my eye and my brain can't,” says Constance Lehman, a professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School and division chief of breast imaging at MGH.
TechCrunch reporter Darrell Etherington writes that MIT researchers have developed a new system that devises hardware architecture that can speed up a robot’s operations. Etherington notes that “this research could help unlock the sci-fi future of humans and robots living in integrated harmony.”
Writing for Wired, Will Knight spotlights how MIT researchers developed a new technique to squeeze an AI vision algorithm onto a low-power computer chip that can run for months on a battery. The advance “could help bring more advanced AI capabilities, like image and voice recognition, to home appliances and wearable devices, along with medical gadgets and industrial sensors.”
Prof. James Collins speaks with Boston 25 reporter Julianne Lima about the growing issue of antibiotic resistant bacteria and his work using AI to identify new antibiotics. Collins explains that a new platform he developed with Prof. Regina Barzilay uncovered “a host of new antibiotics including one that we call halicin that has remarkable activity against multi drug-resistant pathogens.”
Fast Company reporter KC Ifeanyi writes about “Coded Bias,” which explores how graduate student Joy Buolamwini’s “groundbreaking discovery and subsequent studies on the biases in facial recognition software against darker-skinned individuals and women led to some of the biggest companies including Amazon and IBM rethinking their practices.”
New York Times reporter Devika Girish reviews “Coded Bias,” a new documentary that chronicles graduate student Joy Buolamwini’s work uncovering how many AI systems can perpetuate race and gender-based inequities. “When you think of A.I., it’s forward-looking,” says Buolamwini. “But A.I. is based on data, and data is a reflection of our history.”
Fox News reporter Kayla Rivas features Prof. Richard Larson’s work developing a new algorithm that could be used to help more accurately pinpoint sources of Covid-19 infections in sewer systems. The algorithm could be used to help “toggle between normal testing to an emergency schedule to locate asymptomatic cases fast before they infect others.”
MIT researchers have unveiled a new autonomous modular boat, called the Roboat II, which that uses lidar, GPS and other sensors to navigate its surroundings, reports Kyro Mitchell for Popular Mechanics. The Roboat II “can attach itself to other Roboat II’s to form one large vessel, which is then controlled by a main ‘leader’ boat.”
Axios reporter Erica Pandey writes that a new working paper by MIT researchers explores the potential pitfalls posed by using algorithms to aid the hiring process. "Lots of companies have taken interest in using AI tools in the recruiting process," explains Prof. Danielle Li. "In that world, algorithms stand to have a big impact."
Verge reporter Kim Lyons writes that a new analysis co-authored by graduate student Dan Calacci finds that an algorithm for a shipping delivery platform has led to reduced payment for workers. The researchers found that “the workers who reported lower wages were making 11 percent less than they did under the previous pay structure.”
Third-year student Casey Johnson speaks with Washington Post reporter Luz Lazo about his work exploring the feasibility of using GPS technology to determine when a scooter is on the sidewalk. Lazo explains that Johnson wrote a “surface categorization algorithm to detect the periodic cracks in a sidewalk. He then added an accelerator sensor — which costs less than $1 — to detect when the scooter is being used on an asphalt road versus a concrete sidewalk.”
Fox News reporter Chris Ciaccia writes that a team of astronomers, including MIT researchers, has found an exoplanet that has a 3.14-day orbit. “The ‘pi planet’ known as K2-315b is relatively close to Earth at 186 light-years away,” writes Ciaccia.
A new tool developed by MIT researchers sheds light on the operations of generative adversarial network models and allows users to edit these machine learning models to generate new images, reports Daphne Leprince-Ringuet for ZDNet. "The real challenge I'm trying to breach here," says graduate student David Bau, "is how to create models of the world based on people's imagination."