Machine learning

Prof. Daron Acemoglu, a recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in economic sciences, speaks with CNBC about the challenges facing the American economy. Acemoglu notes that in his view the coming economic storm is really “both a challenge and an opportunity,” explains Acemoglu. “I talk about AI, I talk about aging, I talk about the remaking of globalization. All of these things are threats because they are big changes, but they’re also opportunities that we could use in order to make ourselves more productive, workers more productive, workers earn more. In fact, even reduce inequality, but the problem is that we’re not prepared for it.” 

Graduate student Nouran Soliman speaks with NBC Boston about the use of “personhood credentials,” a new technique that can be used to verify online users as human beings to help combat issues such as fraud and misinformation. “We are trying to also think about ways of implementing a system that incorporates personal credentials in a decentralized way,” explains Soliman. “It's also important not to have the power in one place because that compromises democracy.” 

Prof. Evelina Fedorenko speaks with Scientific American reporter Gary Stix about her research demonstrating that “language and thought are, in fact, distinct entities that the brain processes separately.” Speaking about how large language models could be used to help scientists better understand the neuroscience of how language works, Fedorenko explains that "there are many, many questions that we can now ask that had been totally out of reach: for example, questions about [language] development.”

Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have developed “Future You” – an AI platform that uses generative AI to allow users to talk with an AI-generated simulation of a potential future you, reports Sammi Caramela for Vice. The research team hopes “talking to a relatable, virtual version of your future self about your current stressors, future goals, and your beliefs can improve anxiety, quell any obsessive thoughts, and help you make better decisions,” writes Caramela. 

Writing for Fast Company, Senior Lecturer Guadalupe Hayes-Mota SB '08, MS '16, MBA '16, explores new approaches to improve the drug development process and more effectively connect scientific discoveries and treatment. “Transforming scientific discoveries into better treatments is a complex challenge, but it is also an opportunity to rethink our approach to healthcare innovation,” writes Hayes-Mota. “Through cross-disciplinary collaboration, leveraging AI, focusing on patient-centered innovation, and rethinking R&D, we can create a future where scientific breakthroughs translate into meaningful, accessible treatments for all.”

Researchers at MIT have found that commercially available AI models, “were more likely to recommend calling police when shown Ring videos captured in minority communities,” reports Kyle Wiggers for TechCrunch. “The study also found that, when analyzing footage from majority-white neighborhoods, the models were less likely to describe scenes using terms like ‘casing the property’ or ‘burglary tools,’” writes Wiggers. 

Researchers at MIT have developed GenSQL, a new generative AI system that can be used “to ease answering data science questions,” reports Allison Proffitt for Bio-It World. “Look how much better data science could be if it was easier to use,” says Research Scientist Mathieu Huot. “It’s not perfect yet, but we believe it’s quite an improvement over other options.” 

Researchers at MIT have found large language models “often struggle to handle more complex problems that require true understanding,” reports Kirimgeray Kirimli for Forbes. “This underscores the need for future versions of LLMs to go beyond just these basic, shared capabilities,” writes Kirimli. 

Researchers at MIT have developed “Future You,” a generative AI chatbot that enables users to speak with potential older versions of themselves, reports Sharon Goldman for Fortune. The tool “uses a large language model and information provided by the user to help young people ‘improve their sense of future self-continuity, a psychological concept that describes how connected a person feels with their future self,’” writes Goldman. “The researchers explained that the tool cautions users that its results are only one potential version of their future self, and they can still change their lives,” writes Goldman. 

MIT researchers have found that more workers without college degrees are optimistic about AI and automation initiatives in the workplace, than those workers with a college diploma, reports Rebecca Klar for Bloomberg Law. The study found “27.4% of workers without a college degree estimated that automation will be beneficial for their job security, compared to 23.7% of workers with a college degree,” explains Klar. 

Researchers at MIT have found that “60% of workers who work with robotics and AI think they’ll see positive career impacts as a result in terms of productivity, satisfaction, and job safety,” reports Sam Becker for Fast Company.

Researchers at MIT have developed a new method that “enables robots to intuitively identify relevant areas of a scene based on specific tasks,” reports Baba Tamim for Interesting Engineering. “The tech adopts a distinctive strategy to make robots effective and efficient at sorting a cluttered environment, such as finding a specific brand of mustard on a messy kitchen counter,” explains Tamim. 

Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have found that “human memories can be distorted by photos and videos edited by artificial intelligence,” reports Matthew Sparkes for New Scientist. “I think the worst part here, that we need to be aware or concerned about, is when the user isn’t aware of it,” says postdoctoral fellow Samantha Chan. “We definitely have to be aware and work together with these companies, or have a way to mitigate these effects. Maybe have sort of a structure where users can still control and say ‘I want to remember this as it was’, or at least have a tag that says ‘this was a doctored photo, this was a changed photo, this was not a real one’.”

Prof. Regina Barzilay has received the WebMD Health Heros award for her work developing a new system that uses AI to detect breast cancer up to 5 years earlier, reports WHDH. “We do have a right to know our risk and then we, together with our healthcare providers, need to manage them,” says Barzilay. 

Writing for Forbes, Senior Lecturer Guadalupe Hayes-Mota '08 MS '16, MBA '16 explores the challenges, opportunities and future of AI-driven drug development. “I see the opportunities for AI in drug development as vast and transformative,”  writes Hayes-Mota. “AI can help potentially uncover new drug candidates that would have been impossible to find through traditional methods.”