What would you say is the job of a software developer? A layperson, an entry-level developer, or even someone who hires developers will tell you that job is to … well … write software. Pretty simple. An experienced practitioner will tell you something very different. They’d say that the job involves writing some software, sure….
The MIT-Takeda Program, a collaboration between MIT’s School of Engineering and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company, fuels the development and application of artificial intelligence capabilities to benefit human health and drug development. Part of the Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health, the program coalesces disparate disciplines, merges theory and practical implementation, combines algorithm and…
How does an ensemble play music together while apart? This was the question facing Frederick Ajisafe and the rest of the MIT Wind Ensemble (MITWE) at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. One method was to individually record tracks that were later mixed together to sound like a full ensemble. “It was a strange experience,”…
A new academic program developed at MIT aims to teach U.S. Air and Space Forces personnel to understand and utilize artificial intelligence technologies. In a recent peer-reviewed study, the program researchers found that this approach was effective and well-received by employees with diverse backgrounds and professional roles. The project, which was funded by the Department…
The holidays are over, and it’s time to digest. Although I don’t subscribe to the idea that history or technology moves in jerky one-year increments, it’s still valuable to take stock, look at what’s happened, and decide what was important and what isn’t. We started the year with many people talking about an “AI winter.”…
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. How was your break? I spent mine back home in snowy Finland, extremely offline. Bliss! I hope you’re well-rested, because this year is going to be even wilder than 2022 for AI. Last…
When Greg unboxed a new Roomba robot vacuum cleaner in December 2019, he thought he knew what he was getting into. He would allow the preproduction test version of iRobot’s Roomba J series device to roam around his house, let it collect all sorts of data to help improve its artificial intelligence, and provide feedback…
OpenAI introduced a world of weird and wonderful mash-ups when its text-to-image model DALL-E was released in 2021. Type in a short description of pretty much anything, and the program spat out a picture of what you asked for in seconds. DALL-E 2, unveiled in April 2022, was a massive leap forward. Google also launched…
When deep learning models are deployed in the real world, perhaps to detect financial fraud from credit card activity or identify cancer in medical images, they are often able to outperform humans. But what exactly are these deep learning models learning? Does a model trained to spot skin cancer in clinical images, for example, actually…
Have you ever been advised to “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes?” Considering another person’s perspective can be a challenging endeavor — but recognizing our errors and biases is key to building understanding across communities. By challenging our preconceptions, we confront prejudice, such as racism and xenophobia, and potentially develop a more inclusive perspective…