Gunter Stein, control systems and theory expert, dies at 84
Longtime EECS adjunct professor and LIDS researcher was known for an influential essay on the need for engineers to “respect the unstable.”
Topic
Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS)
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Q&A: How AI came to model the “messy” human mind
Assistant Professor Benjamin Lindquist studies how engineers deliberately injected randomness into early AI, giving rise to deep-learning models that sometimes hallucinate.
Planning system ensures a robot’s flight path will remain collision-free
This new method, called “SANDO,” could help disaster-response robots navigate dangerous, unknown environments.
Computational tools for society’s most complex challenges
Associate Professor Cathy Wu uses reinforcement learning to help map out improvements to transportation and other multifaceted systems.
This game-playing AI is the new champ at Stratego
Able to defeat top-ranked human players and more efficient than other models, the new system could help decision-makers in military maneuvers or business negotiations.
The effects of an “algorithmic monoculture” depend on the details
In a study focusing on hiring decisions, MIT researchers found the use of a single algorithm by many firms could benefit job seekers in certain situations.
New method enables AI for safety-critical situations
The “HardFlow” algorithm could help generative AI models produce high-quality outputs that obey strict requirements when “pretty close” doesn’t cut it.
Mathematical framework connects biological principles to manufacturable, adaptive materials
The new framework could streamline the design process of robotic grippers or aerospace components that exhibit complex behaviors found in nature.
The benefits of medical AI assistance vary based on user expertise
Study finds non-experts deferred to LLM-based diagnostic assistance, even when it was wrong, while clinicians caught AI errors.
Alexander Rakhlin named director of the MIT Statistics and Data Science Center
An expert in machine learning, statistics, and computation, Rakhlin succeeds Professor Ankur Moitra.
Using reason, again and again
Philosopher Brian Hedden studies decision-making over time — and recently chose to return to alma mater MIT, where he is now connecting ethics and computing.
Professor Emeritus Dimitri Bertsekas, influential computer scientist and prolific author, dies at 83
Known for his clear and elegant writing style, Bertsekas shaped fields from control and optimization to large-scale computation and artificial intelligence.
Following the questions where they lead
Assistant Professor Bailey Flanigan has arrived at complex computational methods for helping democracy thrive.
Helping AI models to meet the real world
Through research and entrepreneurship, Professor Devavrat Shah is helping to design methods that can handle constant decision-making using limited computational resources.
New method aims to keep kids safe from illegal AI-generated content
Researchers developed an auditing technique to test generative AI models for malicious capabilities, without prompting them for illegal outputs.