A recent study from Oregon State University estimated that more than 3,500 animal species are at risk of extinction because of factors including habitat alterations, natural resources being overexploited, and climate change. To better understand these changes and protect vulnerable wildlife, conservationists like MIT PhD student and Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) researcher Justin Kay are developing computer vision algorithms that carefully monitor animal populations. A member of the lab of MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science assistant professor and CSAIL principal investigator Sara Beery, Kay is currently working on tracking salmon in the Pacific Northwest, where […]

With the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence, teachers and school leaders are looking for answers to complicated questions about successfully integrating technology into lessons, while also ensuring students actually learn what they’re trying to teach.  Justin Reich, an associate professor in MIT’s Comparative Media Studies/Writing program, hopes a new guidebook published by the MIT Teaching Systems Lab can support K-12 educators as they determine what AI policies or guidelines to craft. “Throughout my career, I’ve tried to be a person who researches education and technology and translates findings for people who work in the field,” says Reich. “When tricky things come […]

Managing a power grid is like trying to solve an enormous puzzle. Grid operators must ensure the proper amount of power is flowing to the right areas at the exact time when it is needed, and they must do this in a way that minimizes costs without overloading physical infrastructure. Even more, they must solve this complicated problem repeatedly, as rapidly as possible, to meet constantly changing demand. To help crack this consistent conundrum, MIT researchers developed a problem-solving tool that finds the optimal solution much faster than traditional approaches while ensuring the solution doesn’t violate any of the system’s […]