Technology and society

AP reporter Seth Borenstein writes about how President-elect Joe Biden is nominating Prof. Eric Lander of the Broad Institute to serve as his chief science officer and lead the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and has selected Maria Zuber, vice president for research at MIT, to co-chair the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Francis Collins, director of the NIH, called Lander, “brilliant, visionary, exceptionally creative and highly effective in aspiring others. I predict he will have a profound transformational effect on American science.”

New York Times reporter Carl Zimmer writes that Prof. Eric Lander, president and founding director of the Broad Institute, has been nominated to serve as director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and to serve as a presidential science advisor. MIT Vice President for Research Maria Zuber will co-chair the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Prof. Eric Lander, president and founding director of the Broad Institute, has been nominated by President-elect Joe Biden to lead the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which Biden will make a Cabinet-level position, reports Sarah Kaplan for The Washington Post. Maria Zuber, MIT’s vice president for research, will co-chair the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Forbes contributor Adi Gaskell spotlights how the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future recently released a comprehensive report examining the future of work. Gaskell writes that the Task Force's report emphasizes the “pressing issues of our time as one of improving the quality of jobs to ensure that prosperity is shared across the economy.”

Writing for Fast Company, Prof. Ramesh Raskar explores how to help improve distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine. Raskar and his co-author write that, “We must apply modern techniques like data analytics, user research, and usability testing to learn about the vaccine and immunization process from the perspective of different Americans, all while preserving privacy and people’s right to remain anonymous.” 

New York Times reporter Steve Lohr spotlights Inrupt, an MIT startup founded by Prof. Tim Berners-Lee, which is aimed at providing people more control over their personal data. “Tim has become increasingly concerned as power in the digital world is weighted against the individual,” explains Daniel Weitzner, a principal research scientist at CSAIL. 

Prof. Sinan Aral speaks with Fortune reporter Danielle Abril about how social media companies can more effectively respond to misinformation and hate speech, following the attack on the U.S. Capitol. “This has been a steady momentum build of reaction by social media platforms,” says Aral. “This is a culmination of an understanding of social media companies that they need to do more [and] that the laissez-faire attitude isn’t going to cut it.”

Professor Sinan Aral discusses the role of social media during the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Aral notes that social media companies “have a responsibility to make sure that any information that is advocating violence, supporting violence, advocating the violent overthrow of the government, and so on, be stemmed," says Aral. "This is a content moderation decision.” 

In an article for The Boston Globe, Scott Kirsner spotlights Inrupt, an MIT startup that has developed new technology that “proposes a major change in how personal data are stored that would give you much more control.”

Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Ramesh Raskar underscores the importance of ensuring that every American has the opportunity to receive the Covid-19 vaccine without cost or without giving up their privacy. “By effectively communicating the privacy benefits of decentralized data collection and anonymized data reporting, mobile apps might diminish barriers to vaccination that exist due to privacy concerns,” writes Raskar.

New York Times reporter David Leonhardt spotlights Prof. Jonathan Gruber and Prof. Simon Johnson’s book, “Jump-Starting America,” which explores how collaboration between the federal government and private companies has led to some of the biggest scientific breakthroughs. 

Writing for the Financial Times, Ryosuke Harada highlights a new MIT report that emphasizes the “importance of education and investment in human resources and warns that in the absence of a strategy, jobs will be lost and divisions in society will widen.”

Forbes contributor Rob Toews spotlights the work of Professor Daniela Rus, the deputy dean of research for the Schwarzman College of Computing and director of CSAIL; graduate student Joy Buolamwini; and former MIT postdoc Rana el Kaliouby for their work shaping the future of AI. “They also serve as role models for the next generation of AI leaders, reflecting what a more inclusive AI community can and should look like," writes Toews.

Forbes contributor Angelica Krystle Donati spotlights MIT startup Clockworks Analytics, which “leverages existing products installed in buildings such as thermostats, building automation devices, and other sensors and focuses on generating sophisticated analytics based on that data.”

Writing for Greentech Media, Jason Deign spotlights a new study by Prof. Jessika Trancik that examines the rising costs of new nuclear plants. The researchers found that “the main reason for spiraling nuclear plant construction bills is soft costs, the indirect expenses related to activities such as engineering design, purchasing, planning, scheduling and — ironically — estimating and cost control.”