The Economist reviews Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson and Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee’s latest book, which examines how new digital technologies will impact businesses. Brynjolfsson and McAfee, “believe that the latest phase of computers and the internet have created three shifts in how work happens.”
Randall Stross of The Wall Street Journal examines the latest book by Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson and Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee, which explores technologies shaping the future of business. Stross writes that the, “authors present a splendid tutorial on things that are too new for most civilians to have gained a good understanding of—cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, distributed ledgers, and smart contracts.”
In an article for Bloomberg, Peter Coy examines Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson and Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee’s latest book, which examines how smart machines might be integrated into the businesses of the future. Coy explains that the book is written for, “executives and entrepreneurs trying to make their way in this brave new world of driverless cars and hackathons.”
Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson and Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee speak with Tom Ashbrook of On Point about their new book, “Machine, Platform, Crowd.” Speaking about how much decision-making machines could be handling in the future, Brynjolfsson explains that “instead of having us humans try to tell the machines exactly what needs to be done, machines are learning on their own.”
Tom Buerkle of Reuters writes about “Adaptive Markets: Financial Evolution at the Speed of Thought,” a new book written by Prof. Andrew Lo, which argues that it is possible for investors to beat the market. Markets seem unpredictable because traders are human and “make decisions using short cuts” rather than weighing all options, explains Buerkle.
In an article for The Epoch Times, Emel Akpan highlights how The Engine is focused on supporting startups in fields that require time and patient capital. “We have a focus on tough tech,” explains Katie Rae, CEO and president of The Engine. “We think that’s where the resources are limited. But the opportunities can have a lot of impact.”
MIT was named the top university in the world for the sixth consecutive year in the QS World University Rankings, reports Kyle Scott Clauss for Boston Magazine.
Writing for The Wall Street Journal about businesses investing in green power, Brian Baskin highlights how MIT joined forces with two Boston-based organizations to buy power from a solar farm in North Carolina. “We saw it as an opportunity where we could set an example,” says Joe Higgins, MIT's director of infrastructure business operations.
The Sloan School of Management was honored in the Financial Times’ annual executive education rankings. Laurent Ortmans and Patricia Nilsson note that nearly half of the participants in Sloan’s executive education program “had an MBA, double the average for all ranked schools. Nearly two-thirds of students worked at partner level or higher compared with an average of 36 per cent.”
In an article for The Boston Globe’s 2017 “Game Changers” section - which highlights ideas, inventions, people and places making waves in Boston - Robert Weisman spotlights The Engine. “We hope to create world-changing companies that will grow in the Boston region,” explains Katie Rae, The Engine’s President and CEO.
Prof. Stuart Madnick writes for Forbes about the security threat posed by connecting household items to the internet. Madnick notes that it is, “great that computer-enabled internet-connect devices now bring wonderful new capabilities and conveniences. But there is also a need to take a broad view of the impact on our nation’s critical infrastructure.”
A study by Prof. Tanveet Suri shows that a mobile-money service called M-Pesa had a long-term impact on poverty in Kenya, writes Tina Rosenberg for The New York Times. The researchers found that M-Pesa “helped women graduate from subsistence agriculture to small business, perhaps because having an M-Pesa account gives a woman her own money…and a greater sense of agency.”
Prof. John Hauser writes for CBS News about his research examining how companies can rebuild customer trust. “It’s critical to actually prove, again and again, that a company and its products can indeed be trusted – and customers must be provided with tangible, observable proof that a company has changed its ways and the quality of its products.”
Senior Lecturer Neal Hartman writes for The Huffington Post about how companies are increasingly using intensive team-building exercises in an effort to improve morale and build teamwork. Hartman notes that when “considering hosting team-building exercises, companies have to determine just what they want to accomplish.”
A study co-authored by Visiting Assistant Prof. Maria Loumioti finds that male bonding between loan officers and customers often leads to poor loan outcomes, reports Suzanne Woolley for Bloomberg. This feeling of common identity creates a sense of trust simply because “you identify yourself through this bond,” says Loumioti.