Who we become when we talk to machines
Brian, a middle-aged financial consultant, spends his day sitting in front of three screens. Two of them involve his job. The third features a chatbot, which he has given a woman’s name and frequently uses. Brian spent years on the road for work earlier in his career, has never married, and recently broke up with…
The effects of an “algorithmic monoculture” depend on the details
AI tools are increasingly replacing human judgements in some settings. For instance, resume screening algorithms are often used in hiring, where they may improve efficiency and consistency in decision-making. But some scholars have raised concerns that the adoption of automated systems could eventually result in one algorithm being used to make all decisions in a…
New formulation helps RNA vaccines withstand high temperatures
RNA vaccines, which have been proven effective against Covid-19, are now being developed for many other diseases, including cancer. One of the drawbacks to these vaccines is that they require ultracold storage, but researchers from MIT have found a promising way to overcome that limitation. With help from an AI algorithm, the researchers tweaked the…
MIT students gain a humanist lens on technical innovation in Tulsa, Oklahoma
When MIT mechanical engineering student Daphne Wang arrived for her internship at the Muscogee Creek Nation Department of Health in Tulsa, Oklahoma last summer, she expected to be writing code. To her surprise, she found herself analyzing tribal history and the implications for technical innovation. “I learned so much that I think should be required…
Estimating suicide risk from text
When people reach out during a mental health crisis, a top priority for counselors is identifying those with a high risk of suicide. The distressed person’s language holds critical clues, and a new tool developed by scientists at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research is designed to pick up on and rapidly evaluate those signals….
Deterministic Guardrails for AI Agents
Why it matters: Prompts cannot contain an autonomous agent. See how deterministic guardrails for AI agents enforce tool limits at the gateway, cut risk, and survive an audit.
Agent Supervisor Role Responsibilities
Why it matters: Agent supervisor role responsibilities decoded: the eight duties, escalation numbers and cost controls that decide whether your agent fleet ships or stalls.
The promise and peril of using visual AI to study cities
A few months ago, researchers from the MIT Senseable City Lab published a study about pollution in New York City featuring some new methods. For instance: With machine learning, they identified the types of vehicles appearing in 331 traffic cameras in the city, and estimated the emissions coming from each automobile. Given enough cameras, these…
MIT welcomes David Siegel SM ’86, PhD ’91 as its next Innovation Fellow
David Siegel SM ’86, PhD ’91, a computer scientist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, will serve as the next MIT Innovation Fellow during the 2026-27 academic year. Working with the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, Siegel will explore how artificial intelligence can accelerate scientific discovery at the Institute and beyond. “From the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing…
Poitras Center to fuel early careers of 50 young scientists dedicated to psychiatric disorders research
Patricia and James Poitras ’63, longtime MIT supporters, have launched a fellowship program for graduate students and postdocs studying major mental illness, expanding their MIT philanthropy to directly support early-career scientists. The commitment establishes 50 two-year fellowships through the Poitras Center for Psychiatric Disorders Research at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research. Five fellowships will be awarded every…