Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)

Neural networks developed by CSAIL researchers that can identify the contents of images, videos, and audio are the basis for a new system that has added background sound to Google Street View, writes Mark Wilson of Co.Design. 

Tony Dokoupil of CBS This Morning visits MIT to learn more about how researchers are working on developing robots that will improve our daily lives. Dokoupil highlights how researchers are, “perfecting the material for a new breed of robot – one that's light and flexible,” adding that the researchers hope, “we'll be able to wear the robot like Tony Stark in ‘Iron Man’."

Fortune reporter David Morris writes that MIT researchers have tricked an artificial intelligence system into thinking that a photo of a machine gun was a helicopter. Morris explains that, “the research points towards potential vulnerabilities in the systems behind technology like self-driving cars, automated security screening systems, or facial-recognition tools.”

In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Visiting Lecturer Irving Wladawsky-Berger spotlights MIT’s AI and the Future of Work Conference. Wladawsky-Berger writes that participants, “generally agreed that AI will have a major impact on jobs and the very nature of work. But, for the most part, they viewed AI as mostly augmenting rather than replacing human capabilities.”

Abigail Beall of New Scientist writes that MIT researchers have developed an algorithm that can trick an AI system, highlighting potential weaknesses in new image-recognition technologies used in everything from self-driving cars to facial recognition systems. “If a driverless car failed to spot a pedestrian or a security camera misidentified a gun the consequences could be incredibly serious.” 

CSAIL researchers have tricked a machine-learning algorithm into misidentifying an object, reports Louise Matsakis for Wired. The research, “demonstrates that attackers could potentially create adversarial examples that can trip up commercial AI systems,” explains Matsakis. 

CSAIL researchers have discovered that some traffic jams are caused by tailgating, writes Thomas Tamblyn for HuffPost. Maintaining an equal distance in front of and behind a vehicle, “could have a dramatic effect in reducing travel time and fuel consumption without having to build more roads or make other changes to infrastructure,” explains Prof. Berthold Horn. 

Forbes reporter Laurie Winkless writes that MIT researchers have found that if drivers maintained fixed distances between the cars in front of and behind them they would be able to reduce traffic jams. “We humans tend to view the world in terms of what’s ahead of us, so it might seem counter-intuitive to look backwards,” explains Prof. Berthold Horn.

CNN reporter Matt McFarland writes that CSAIL researchers have proposed that outfitting cars with cruise control systems that maintain equal distances between cars could help alleviate phantom traffic jams. The researchers’ simulations showed, “keeping the same distance between the vehicle in front and the vehicle trailing a car prevents traffic jams.”

CSAIL researchers have found that if drivers could maintain an equal distance between cars they would be able to reduce the number of traffic jams, reports Matt Burgess for Wired. The researchers found that, “by adding sensors to the back of cars that take into account the speed of following vehicles, it will be possible to better regulate traffic.”

In a Boston Globe Magazine article about bioelectronic medicine, writer Jessie Scanlon highlights research by Profs. Ed Boyden and Daniela Rus. Boyden notes that by creating light-sensitive molecules, which can be switched on and off and inserted into neurons, “groups in academia and industry are using the tool to discover patterns of neural activity.”

Merrit Kennedy reports for NPR that MIT researchers have developed robotic artificial muscles that can lift 1,000 times their own weight. Prof. Daniela Rus explains that the technology could eventually be used to bring "soft strong mobility to people who are otherwise unable to move."

HuffPost reporter Thomas Tamblyn writes that MIT and Harvard researchers have created a range of origami-inspired robotic muscles. “These ultra-flexible materials could be applied to everything from deep-sea robotics to creating tiny yet incredibly strong tools for performing surgery,” Tamblyn explains. 

Researchers from MIT and Harvard have developed a new origami-inspired artificial muscle that can lift up to a thousand times its own weight, reports Amina Khan for The Los Angeles Times. Khan explains that the robotic muscles, “offer a new way to give soft robots super-strength, which could be used everywhere from inside our bodies to outer space.”

PRI The World’s Lydia Emmanouilidou spotlights a virtual reality exhibit at the MIT Museum by photojournalist Karim Ben Khelifa that allows visitors to explore both sides of international conflicts. “What is the point of images of war if they don’t change people’s attitudes towards armed conflicts, violence and the suffering they produce?” says Khelifa of the inspiration for his work.