Writing for The New York Times, Prof. Sherry Turkle argues that machines will never be able to replace humans as compassionate companions. “Machines have not known the arc of a human life. They feel nothing of the human loss or love we describe to them,” writes Turkle. “Their conversations about life occupy the realm of the as-if.”
MIT researchers have developed a new prosthetic device that allows amputees to feel where their limbs are located, reports Simon Makin for Scientific American. “What's new here is the ability to provide feedback the brain knows how to interpret as sensations of position, speed and force,” explains postdoctoral associate Tyler Clites.
In an interview with Wynne Parry of NBC Mach, Prof. Sherry Turkle expresses concern that household robots can interfere with children learning to understand and connect with one another. “There are skills of listening, of putting oneself in the place of the other, that are required when two human beings try to deeply understand each other,” Turkle explains.
Prof. Joi Ito, director of the Media Lab, explores the differing attitudes toward robots in Japan and the West in an article for Wired.
In an article for Forbes, AgeLab Director Joseph Coughlin explores how the advent of smart devices and the sharing economy could transform the senior housing industry. “Senior housing properties could become centers of services enabling aging in place in the home,” argues Coughlin, “forming a virtual pipeline to senior housing residences from assisted living to skilled nursing.”
Jesus Diaz of Fast Company writes that researchers from MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab are experimenting with the “truly wild” future of manufacturing with their 4-D printing technology that allows designers to rapidly print flexible, complex shapes. “It’s not hard to imagine the complex products and materials that this new technology could enable,” writes Diaz.
New Scientist reporter Chelsea Whyte spotlights Prof. Regina Barzilay’s quest to revolutionize cancer treatment by applying AI techniques in ways that could help doctors detect cancer earlier. Barzilay explains that she is committed to, "applying the best technologies available to what we care about the most – our health.”
Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, writes for Forbes about the difficulties faced by the aging population when it comes to living safely and independently. “Successful aging is less about eating right, daily exercise, or saving for retirement than having a robust circle of family and friends,” writes Coughlin.
Katharine Schwab of Co.Design highlights graduate student Joy Buolamwini and Visiting Scholar J. Nathan Matias as “design heroes” for their commitment to keep technology fair. Schwab writes that Buolamwini has forced companies “to develop better, more equitable technology” while Matias helped “reduced the prevalence of fake news.”
In a Co.Design article, MIT research fellow Amber Case, explains the problems of the blue light used in a wide array of displays including smart phones. To deal with the interruptions in sleep cycles, Case suggests that displays can stay, “blue during the day–as long as that light switched to an orangish hue as evening comes.”
In an article for The New York Times, graduate student Joy Buolamwini writes about how AI systems can often reinforce existing racial biases and exclusions. Buolamwini writes that, “Everyday people should support lawmakers, activists and public-interest technologists in demanding transparency, equity and accountability in the use of artificial intelligence that governs our lives.”
In response to a reader’s question about self-driving cars, Mercury News reporter Gary Richards describes new technology in the works by MIT researchers to allow, “driverless cars to change lanes more like human drivers do.”
During her Commencement address at MIT, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg urged graduates to try to make the world a better place, reports Abigail Hess for CNBC. "We are accountable to the people who use what we build, to our colleagues, to ourselves and to our values,” said Sandberg.
Boston Globe reporter Sophia Eppolito writes that during MIT’s 2018 Commencement exercises, speakers stressed the importance of uniting to create a better world. “We all strive to see the world, not as a zero-sum game, but as positive-sum — as a world where generous collaboration makes each collaborator smarter, stronger, and richer in every way,” said MIT President L. Rafael Reif.
Quartz reporter Leah Fessler writes that Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s Commencement address at MIT featured a call for graduates to help create more inclusive technologies and workplaces. “It’s not the technology you build that will define you. It’s the teams you build and what people do with the technology you build,” Sandberg advised.