MIT researchers have developed “a robotic system that can rotate different types of fruit and vegetable using its fingers on one hand, while the other arm is made to peel,” reports Alex Wilkins for New Scientist. “These additional steps of doing rotation are something which is very straightforward to humans, we don’t even think about it,” Prof. Pulkit Agrawal. “But for a robot, this becomes challenging.”
Prof. Sherry Turkle shares the benefits of being polite when interacting with AI technologies, reports Webb Wright for Scientific American, underscoring the risks of becoming habituated to using crass, disrespectful and dictatorial language. “We have to protect ourselves,” says Turkle. “Because we’re the only ones that have to form relationships with real people.”
Penny Abeywardena of Forbes spotlights Joy Buolamwini PhD '22 and her work focused on the impacts of AI technologies on privacy. “We have to think about what we do when something goes wrong for the people I call the excoded, or in other words, those harmed by AI systems,” says Buolamwini. “We need to have pathways for redress and design with redress in mind.”
Researchers at MIT have developed a new method for “training home robots in simulation,” reports Brain Heater for TechCrunch. “Simulation has become a bedrock element of robot training in recent decades,” explains Heater. “It allows robots to try and fail at tasks thousands — or even millions — of times in the same amount of time it would take to do it once in the real world.”
Forbes reporter Rodger Dean Duncan spotlights “The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines,” a new book by Research Affiliate Matt Bean SM '14, PhD '17. Duncan “explains Beane’s take on AI tools, collaboration and remote work, who suggests traditional mentoring is at risk in the workplace. Beane says today’s successful people have ‘discovered new tactics that others can use to get skills without throwing out the benefits of hybrid working arrangements.’”
Researchers from the Data Provenance Initiative, a research group led by MIT engineers, have found that “important web sources used for training AI models have restricted the use of their data,” reports Kevin Roose for The New York Times. . “We’re seeing a rapid decline in consent to use data across the web that will have ramifications not just for A.I. companies, but for researchers, academics and noncommercial entities,” explains graduate student Shayne Longpre.
Prof. Armando Solar-Lezama speaks with The Wall Street Journal reporter Isabelle Bousquette about large language models (LLMs) in academia. Instead of building LLMs from scratch, Solar-Lezama suggests “students and researchers are focused on developing applications and even creating synthetic data that could be used to train LLMs,” writes Bousquette.
Prof. Michael Cusumano speaks with Associated Press reporters Matt O’Brien and Sarah Parvini about a new approach to AI acquisitions and the impact on smaller AI startups. “To acquire only some employees or the majority, but not all, license technology, leave the company functioning but not really competing, that’s a new twist,” says Cusumano.
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.”
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.
Prof. Sherry Turkle joins Manoush Zomorodi of NPR’s "Body Electric" to discuss her latest research on human relationships with AI chatbots, which she says can be beneficial but come with drawbacks since artificial relationships could set unrealistic expectations for real ones. "What AI can offer is a space away from the friction of companionship and friendship,” explains Turkle. “It offers the illusion of intimacy without the demands. And that is the particular challenge of this technology."
MIT scientists have created RoboGrocery, a robot prototype that can pack a bag of standard groceries, reports Mack DeGeurin for Popular Science. Using an RGB-D camera equipped with computer vision technology and grippers with pressure sensors, RoboGrocery’s “ability to assess items, determine their delicacy, and pack efficiently without causing damage sets it apart from conventional robotic packers,” explains Prof. Daniela Rus.
Using multimodal sensing and a soft robotic manipulator, MIT scientists have developed an automated system, called RoboGrocery, that can pack groceries of different sizes and weights, reports Brian Heater for TechCrunch. Heater explains that as the soft robotic gripper touches an item, “pressure sensors in the fingers determine that they are, in fact, delicate and therefore should not go at the bottom of the bag — something many of us no doubt learned the hard way. Next, it notes that the soup can is a more rigid structure and sticks it in the bottom of the bag.”
Prof. Yoon Kim speaks with Vox reporter Adam Clark Estes on how to address hallucinations and misinformation within large language models. “I don't think we'll ever be at a stage where we can guarantee that hallucinations won't exist,” says Kim. “But I think there's been a lot of advancements in reducing these hallucinations, and I think we'll get to a point where they'll become good enough to use.”
Researchers from MIT have developed RoboGrocery, a soft robotic system that “can determine how to pack a grocery item based on its weight, size and shape without causing damage to the item,” reports Jennifer Kite-Powell for Forbes. “This is more than just automation—it's a paradigm shift that enhances precision, reduces waste and adapts seamlessly to the diverse needs of modern retail logistics,” says Prof. Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL.