Prof. Carlo Ratti speaks about the “Eyes of the City” exhibition he curated in Shenzhen, China, which offers “a rare public space for reflection on increasingly pervasive surveillance by tech companies and the government,” reports David Kirton for Reuters. “This is a global issue and the best way to deal with it is to open up these technologies and put them in the hands of the public," said Ratti.
Speaking with Bloomberg’s Rafaela Lindeberg, Prof. Abhijit Banerjee suggests that the U.S. must increase taxes in order to fight poverty more effectively. “If you actually want to deal with poverty, happiness and anger in the U.S., the government will need to have more resources,” says Banerjee. “I’m quite comfortable saying that, yes, taxes have to be raised.”
A new book co-authored by Prof. Daron Acemoglu examines how countries become “prosperous, stable, well-governed, law-abiding, democratic and free societies.” “Their simple answer is: it is hard,” writes Martin Wolf for the Financial Times. “Their deep answer is: ‘Liberty originates from a delicate balance of power between state and society.’”
Reuters reporter Ann Saphir writes that Prof. Athanasios Orphanides recommended the Federal Reserve adopt a new monetary policy rule to help guide decisions concerning interest rates. “Monetary policy is most effective when it is formulated in a systematic manner, following a clearly communicated monetary policy rule,” Orphanides explains.
Research by Prof. Athanasios Orphanides examines the Federal Reserve’s efforts to improve communications, reports Nick Timiraos for The Wall Street Journal. Orphanides found “the quarterly summary of economic projections from Fed officials and its accompanying interest-rate projections, sometimes referred to as a ‘dot plot,’ would be more valuable if it expressed changes in officials’ uncertainty or confidence in their projections.”
Verge reporter Justine Calma writes that states in the Midwest and Great Lakes region could see $4.7 billion in health benefits by maintaining current renewable energy standards. “This research shows that renewables pay for themselves through health benefits alone,” explains Emil Dimanchev, senior research associate at MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.
A new study by MIT researchers examining the impact of energy policies that reduce fine particulates in the air finds that there are “substantial health benefits in Rust Belt states when utilities are required to supply escalating amounts of renewable power,” reports Ben Geman for Axios.
Writing for The New York Times, Prof. Yasheng Huang examines how the U.S.-China trade war is influencing public perceptions in China. “Maximum-pressure tactics have delivered no meaningful results — other than undermining the good will of the Chinese public and its liberals toward America,” writes Huang. “The United States should de-escalate tensions and help China come back to the negotiating table.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs is participating in a series of MIT “GrandHacks,” problem-solving sessions aimed at tackling some of the VA’s biggest health care challenges, reports Patricia Kime for Military.com. The sessions, explains Kime, “bring together teams of students, entrepreneurs, tech gurus, health providers, patients, insurers and academicians to find solutions to problems in a short amount of time.”
Prof. M. Taylor Fravel co-authored an open letter in The Washington Post in which members of the academic, military and business communities express concern about the U.S. government’s interactions with China. “Although we are very troubled by Beijing’s recent behavior, which requires a strong response, we also believe that many U.S. actions are contributing directly to the downward spiral in relations.”
President Emerita Susan Hockfield discusses her new book, “The Age of Living Machines,” her work as a neuroscientist, and the future of science and technology during a curated lunch conversation with HUBweek and Boston.com. Hockfield explains that a revolution spurred by the convergence of biology with engineering will lead to new technologies built by biology.
MIT and the U.S. Air Force “are teaming up to launch a new accelerator focused on artificial intelligence applications,” writes Danny Crichton for TechCrunch. The goal is that projects developed in the MIT-Air Force AI Accelerator would be “addressing challenges that are important to both the Air Force and society more broadly.”
Will Knight writes for MIT Technology Review about the MIT-Air Force AI Accelerator, which “will focus on uses of AI for the public good, meaning applications relevant to the humanitarian work done by the Air Force.” “These are extraordinarily important problems,” says Prof. Daniela Rus. “All of these applications have a great deal of uncertainty and complexity.”
The new MIT-Air Force AI Accelerator “will look at improving Air Force operations and addressing larger societal needs, such as responses to disasters and medical readiness,” reports Breanne Kovatch for The Boston Globe. “The AI Accelerator provides us with an opportunity to develop technologies that will be vectors for positive change in the world,” says Prof. Daniela Rus.
In an excerpt from her new book published in The Wall Street Journal, President Emerita Susan Hockfield explores how the convergence between biology and engineering is driving the development of new tools to tackle pressing human problems. Hockfield writes that for these world-changing technologies to be realized requires “not only funding and institutional support but, more fundamentally, a commitment to collaboration among unlikely partners.”