Forbes contributor Joe McKendrick writes that MIT researchers have developed a new metric for analyzing the value of the digital goods and services people use. McKendrick writes that the research provides “an idea of what digital goods -- those free or paid-for subscription services available via the internet and mobile -- add to our economy.”
Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson speaks with Sabri Ben-Achour of Marketplace about his work quantifying the economic benefits of goods and services that GDP does not measure. “We haven’t been measuring the value of the environment or digital goods,” says Brynjolfsson. “That means policy makers, when they are trying to see where is value coming and how is the economy growing, they have been missing that understanding.”
Writing for The Guardian, Prof. Kate Brown argues that a better understanding of the health ramifications of radioactivity is needed before nuclear power is expanded. “Before we enter a new nuclear age, the declassified Chernobyl health records raise questions that have been left unanswered about the impact of chronic low doses of radioactivity on human health,” writes Brown.
Wall Street Journal reporter Mike Bird writes that MIT researchers have proposed a new metric for GDP that would incorporate free digital goods and services. Bird explains that the researchers found that Facebook “would have boosted U.S. economic growth by between 0.05 and 0.11 percentage points a year” under the new metric.
MIT startup ClearMotion Labs has developed technology that helps cars adjust to potholes in the road, making for a smoother ride, reports Robert Goulston for Boston 25 News. “As the wheels are going over bumps, those sensors are detecting those bumps and instantaneously looking to push and pull the wheels,” explains MIT alumnus and ClearMotion CEO Shakeel Avadhany.
Forbes contributor Charles Towers-Clark writes that CSAIL researchers have developed a new machine learning system that could be used to help develop better estimates about internet data. “In tests, the system was over 57% more accurate in estimating internet traffic and more than 71% for trending social media topics,” Towers-Clark explains.
Quartz reporter Eshe Nelson writes that MIT researchers have proposed redesigning GDP to incorporate free digital goods and services. Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson explains that updating GDP provides a “realistic idea of what creates value in society and what doesn’t. A lot of digital goods we’ll find are creating a ton of value.”
Bhaskar Pant, executive director of MIT Professional Educations, speaks with TecHR reporter Sudipto Ghosh about how professional development programs help professionals update their skills. “Upskilling is now a fundamental part of doing business and survival,” explains Pant. “Employers need to keep their work forces current as in-demand skills evolve, and it makes sense for them to turn to higher education for help in that regard.”
Fast Company reporter Katherine Schwab spotlights Duality, an MIT startup that is using homomorphic encryption to analyze encrypted data without decrypting it. Schwab explains that the “company’s technology could provide an actual solution to the data privacy problem by allowing companies to keep their data fully encrypted and still find patterns in it.”
In an article for the Financial Times, Ashley Nunes, a research affiliate at MIT, writes about the Ethiopian Airlines crash and examines the limits of automation. “The more automated the system, the more crucial the human operator becomes,” writes Nunes. “That’s because automation doesn’t purge demand for human labour, instead it changes the type of labour needed.”
Writing for Smithsonian, Alice George highlights Margaret Hamilton’s work leading the team at the MIT Instrumentation Lab that developed the software for the Apollo 11 mission. “She was a pioneer when it came to development of software engineering,” says Teasel Muir-Harmony, a curator at the National Air and Space Museum, and “a pioneer as a woman in the workplace contributing to this type of program, taking on this type of role.”
The Financial Times has named Prof. Tim Berners-Lee its "Boldness in Business" Person of the Year for his work aimed at providing people with more control over how their personal data is used online, reports John Thornhill. “We know how to fire rockets into the sky. We should be able to build constructive social networks,” says Lee.
MIT researchers have found that companies with experienced technologists on their boards tend to have better financial outcomes, reports Sara Castellanos and Angus Loten for The Wall Street Journal. “Directors on digitally savvy boards have an understanding, tested by experience, of how digital technologies impact the way that companies will succeed in the next decade,” explains research scientist Stephanie Woerner.
In an article for Wired, Media Lab director Joi Ito, a professor of the practice at MIT, discusses his decision to allow his young daughter to have screen time and the potential impact of technology on children. Ito argues that tech leaders should focus on “creating technology that makes screen entertainment healthier and fun for all families.”
TechCrunch reporter Devin Coldewey writes about the Ethics and Governance in AI Initiative, a research program developed by the Media Lab and Harvard. Coldewey notes that the initiative just announced funding for a number of projects “aimed at using technology to keep people informed, or informing people about technology.”