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WBUR

Prof. David Autor is a guest of Meghna Chakrabarti on WBUR’s On Point, discussing his research on the potential impact of AI on the workforce. Autor says “AI is a tool that can enable more people with the right foundational training and judgment to do more valuable work.”

Popular Mechanics

Researchers at CSAIL have created three “libraries of abstraction” – a collection of abstractions within natural language that highlight the importance of everyday words in providing context and better reasoning for large language models, reports Darren Orf for Popular Mechanics. “The researchers focused on household tasks and command-based video games, and developed a language model that proposes abstractions from a dataset,” explains Orf. “When implemented with existing LLM platforms, such as GPT-4, AI actions like ‘placing chilled wine in a cabinet' or ‘craft a bed’ (in the Minecraft sense) saw a big increase in task accuracy at 59 to 89 percent, respectively.”

NewsNation

Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have developed a filter from used brewery yeast capable of removing lead and other metals from water, reports Rich Johnson for NewsNation. “Through a process called biosorption, the yeast can bind to lead, as well as the metals commonly used in electronic components,” explains Johnson. “That, say the researchers, could be a game-changer when recycling those metals. But the more valuable impact may be the ability to filter drinking water, starting with home faucets, and eventually scaling up to serve municipal water systems.” 

TechCrunch

Researchers at MIT have developed SuperLimbs, a pair of wearable robotic limbs that “can physically support an astronaut and lift them back on their feet after a fall,” reports Brain Heater for TechCrunch. “The system, which is still in the prototype phase, responds directly to the wearer’s feedback,” writes Heater. “When sitting or lying down, it offers a constructive support to help them get back up while expending less energy — every extra bit helps in a situation like this.”

Financial Times

Writing for the Financial Times, Jon Hilsenrath revisits lessons from the occupational shifts of the early 2000s when probing AI’s potential impact on the workplace. He references Prof. David Autor’s research, calling him “an optimist who sees a future for middle-income workers not in spite of AI, but because of it…creating work and pay gains for large numbers of less-skilled workers who missed out during the past few decades.”

Nature

Nature reporter Andrew Robinson reviews “The Heart and the Chip,” a new book by Prof. Daniela Rus and science writer Gregory Mone. The book “focuses on combining human and robotic strengths to pair ‘the heart and the chip’ in three interlinked fields: robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning,” explains Robinson. 

Scroll.in

Scroll.in reporter Deepa Gahlot reviews “Srikanth,” a biopic highlighting the life of Srikanth Bolla '13, the blind founder of Bollant Industries. Bolla is “by any measure a poster boy of unflinching determination and never taking no for an answer,” writes Gahlot. “The film is so earnest, so sunshine-y, [and] the hero so inspiring.”

Fast Company

Matt Elenjickal writes for Fast Company about pressuring companies to drive sustainable practices, noting the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics’ 2023 State of Supply Chain Sustainability report, which found that “investors continue to be the fastest-growing source of pressure on company leadership when demanding progress against sustainability goals.” 

TechCrunch

Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have developed a new machine-learning model capable of “predicting a physical system’s phase or state,” report Kyle Wiggers and Devin Coldewey for TechCrunch

New York Times

Break Through Tech A.I., a new program hosted and supported by MIT and a number of other universities, is providing free artificial intelligence courses to “reduce obstacles to tech careers for underrepresented college students, including lower-income, Latina and Black young women,” reports Natasha Singer for The New York Times. The program “aims to help lower-income students, many of whom have part-time jobs on top of their schoolwork, learn A.I. skills, develop industry connections and participate in research projects they can discuss with job recruiters,” writes Singer. 

Featured Multimedia

Sheila Xu ’14 never imagined she could become a pilot, but she says MIT put her on that path. Born deaf to hearing parents, Xu first learned American Sign Language and connected with the Deaf* community as an undergraduate. These experiences inspired her to want to open doors for more people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The MIT Bike Lab is a student-run bike shop that provides bike repair and maintenance services to the MIT community. Founded by Mechanical Engineering student Bianca Champenois SM ’22, the Bike Lab is a place for hands-on learning and problem solving, and it aims to motivate the community toward sustainable transportation practices.

MIT CSAIL researchers enhance robotic precision with sophisticated tactile sensors in the palm and agile fingers, setting the stage for improvements in human-robot interaction and prosthetic technology.

Alumni leave MIT armed with knowledge and a whole lot of memories. During Tech Reunions in 2023, the MIT Alumni Association asked returning alums what else they had held onto since leaving campus. Find out who’s holding on to their old fencing gear and who has something from the library they forgot to return.

Liane Makatura is a computer scientist, mathematician, and human-centered designer who strives to leverage technology in a way that facilitates creativity and innovation. In particular, she enjoys creating computational tools that make it easier for people to design and manufacture physical objects that achieve specific goals in terms of both form and function.

Researchers in the Future Sketches group at the MIT Media Lab conduct research around textiles and memory. Most recently, using conductive thread technologies, team members have created fabrics that can "speak" their own stories through elements like sound and light.

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