On Wednesday, President Trump issued three executive orders, delivered a speech, and released an action plan, all on the topic of continuing American leadership in AI. The plan contains dozens of proposed actions, grouped into three “pillars”: accelerating innovation, building infrastructure, and leading international diplomacy and security. Some of its recommendations are thoughtful even if…
In an office at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), a soft robotic hand carefully curls its fingers to grasp a small object. The intriguing part isn’t the mechanical design or embedded sensors — in fact, the hand contains none. Instead, the entire system relies on a single camera that watches the robot’s…
Most Americans encounter the Federal Trade Commission only if they’ve been scammed: It handles identity theft, fraud, and stolen data. During the Biden administration, the agency went after AI companies for scamming customers with deceptive advertising or harming people by selling irresponsible technologies. With yesterday’s announcement of President Trump’s AI Action Plan, that era may…
City life is often described as “fast-paced.” A new study suggests that’s more true that ever. The research, co-authored by MIT scholars, shows that the average walking speed of pedestrians in three northeastern U.S. cities increased 15 percent from 1980 to 2010. The number of people lingering in public spaces declined by 14 percent in…
One of the shared, fundamental goals of most chemistry researchers is the need to predict a molecule’s properties, such as its boiling or melting point. Once researchers can pinpoint that prediction, they’re able to move forward with their work yielding discoveries that lead to medicines, materials, and more. Historically, however, the traditional methods of unveiling…
Google DeepMind has unveiled new artificial-intelligence software that could help historians recover the meaning and context behind ancient Latin engravings. Aeneas can analyze words written in long-weathered stone to say when and where they were originally inscribed. It follows Google’s previous archaeological tool Ithaca, which also used deep learning to reconstruct and contextualize ancient text,…
Seven faculty in the MIT School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) have been honored for their contributions through promotions, effective July 1. Three faculty promotions are in the Department of Architecture; three are in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning; and one is in the Program in Media Arts and Sciences. “Whether architects, urbanists,…
Last month I gave a talk at SXSW London called “Five things you need to know about AI”—my personal picks for the five most important ideas in AI right now. I aimed the talk at a general audience, and it serves as a quick tour of how I’m thinking about AI in 2025. I’m sharing…
AI image generation — which relies on neural networks to create new images from a variety of inputs, including text prompts — is projected to become a billion-dollar industry by the end of this decade. Even with today’s technology, if you wanted to make a fanciful picture of, say, a friend planting a flag on…
In 2001, MIT became the first higher education institution to provide educational resources for free to anyone in the world. Fast forward 24 years: The Institute has now launched a dynamic AI-enabled website for its non-degree learning opportunities, making it easier for learners around the world to discover the courses and resources available on MIT’s…