MIT researchers have created an algorithm that outperforms humans when searching for patterns in data sets, reports Rachel Feltman for The Washington Post. The algorithm uses “raw datasets to make models predicting things such as when a student would be most at risk of dropping an online course.”
Seung Lee writes for Newsweek that MIT researchers have developed an algorithm that can outperform humans in finding patterns in data sets. The system takes “two to 12 hours for what a human could only do over the course of several months.”
Dan Morrell of The Boston Globe writes about Humanyze, a company founded by visiting scientist Ben Waber, that helps companies gather data about their employees and workspaces to improve efficiency. “Humanyze was founded on the idea that smart management decisions require hundreds of (data-points), if not millions,” Morrell explains.
MIT researchers have developed a new system that can help identify patterns in data sets, reports Tomas Morzon for UPI. The researchers explained that the new system could be a “crucial asset in finding what components of a data set should be analyzed in order to draw conclusions.”
In a Financial Times article, John Aglionby writes about the impact of social media in Africa, highlighting how MIT researchers have developed a comprehensive map and application for Nairobi’s bus routes. The app allows users to “plot their way across the capital easily.”
MIT researchers have developed a website that displays information on how people use their cellphones in different neighborhoods and times, reports Kevin Hartnett for The Boston Globe. Prof. Carlo Ratti explains that the data says, “a lot about how we live and how our cities work.”
Prof. Ramesh Raskar is leading the development of a new platform aimed at maintaining order and calm during the Kumbh Mela festival, the AP reports. "We want to see how we can take this amazing challenge in crowds and food and security and housing and transportation ... and see how we can make this a tech-savvy Kumbh Mela,” says Raskar.
Prof. Michael Stonebraker speaks with Randy Bean of The Wall Street Journal about big data and how companies handle data integration. “We are in the midst of an explosion of new ideas that will change the data landscape,” says Stonebraker.
In collaboration with Columbia University and the University of Nairobi, MIT researchers have created a map of Nairobi’s informal matatu (or mini-bus) transit system, writes Shara Ton for Wired. Ton explains that, “Just as New York commuters can plot their subway routes on the service, residents of Nairobi can now jack into the matatu system on their smartphones.”
This Scientific American editorial revisits an op-ed by Professor César Hidalgo in which he argued against those who are critical of big data. Critics “ignore areas where big data has made substantial progress, such as data-rich Web sites, information visualization and machine learning,” wrote Hidalgo.
CNN reporter Meera Senthilingam writes about LIVE Singapore, a project from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) that aims to use big data to improve urban living. "We can analyze the pulse of the city, moment to moment," says Professor Carlo Ratti director of MIT’s Senseable City Lab.
A team of researchers from MIT, Northeastern, and Harvard has found links between cell phone usage and unemployment, reports Janelle Nanos for BetaBoston. The researchers found that “cellphone use and mobility dropped significantly in areas which eventually reported massive unemployment spikes,” Nanos explains.
Sarah Shemkus writes for The Boston Globe about how the MIT Climate CoLab uses crowdsourcing to address climate change. Climate change “is not a problem where one person or one organization can solve the problem alone,” says Prof. Thomas Malone, founder and head of the Climate CoLab.
“MIT researchers have created an algorithm [that] can distinguish between different lymphomas in real time,” writes Melissa Malamut for Boston Magazine. Graduate student Yuan Luo and Professor Peter Szolovits developed a system that can automatically suggest cancer diagnoses based on data points from past pathology reports, Malamut explains.
In a piece for The Huffington Post, Jon Hartley writes about The Billion Prices Project, an initiative started by Profs. Roberto Rigobon and Alberto Cavallo to measure daily inflation. “The BPP daily inflation indices cover more than 70 countries and use daily price fluctuations of over five million items sold in over 300 online retailers,” Hartley explains.