Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS)

A helicopter drops water on a vast, smokey forest fire

Q&A: Are far-reaching fires the new normal?

As Canada’s wildfires continue to be felt downwind, MIT experts weigh in on what to expect in the coming months, with wildfire season underway.

June 9, 2023

Five panelists seated on stage in discussion.

Bringing the social and ethical responsibilities of computing to the forefront

The inaugural SERC Symposium convened experts from multiple disciplines to explore the challenges and opportunities that arise with the broad applicability of computing in many aspects of society.

June 8, 2023

Munther Dahleh speaks at a podium in an indoor space

Celebrating the impact of IDSS

A two-day conference at MIT reflected on the impact of the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society since its launch, as founding Director Munther Dahleh prepares to step down.

May 26, 2023

Aerial overhead view of several roadways converging into and separating out from a rotary amidst fall foliage.

Exploring new methods for increasing safety and reliability of autonomous vehicles

A new study finds human supervisors have the potential to reduce barriers to deploying autonomous vehicles.

May 23, 2023

The Green Mosque is against a black background, and is light blue and beige. It has a blue dome in the center, and stylized archways.

Architectural heritage like you haven’t seen it before

“Ways of Seeing” project documents endangered Afghan heritage sites through digital imaging, virtual reality, and hand-drawn professional renderings.

May 19, 2023

A map of the Gulf of Mexico shows the dynamic ocean currents, with red areas representing the most movement. Yellow tails show the movements of buoys represented as red dots.

A better way to study ocean currents

A new machine-learning model makes more accurate predictions about ocean currents, which could help with tracking plastic pollution and oil spills, and aid in search and rescue.

May 17, 2023

A neural network with lines connecting square nodes in 3 rows. The squares have different scenes of bold shapes in grey, pink and green. On the right row, there are two large square nodes with more complex arrangements of shapes.

Researchers create a tool for accurately simulating complex systems

The system they developed eliminates a source of bias in simulations, leading to improved algorithms that can boost the performance of applications.

May 4, 2023

A dark map shows Boston/Cambridge. Thousands of dots cover the image, ranging from dark red, pink, white, light blue, and dark blue. An inset chart says, “Diversity change (Oct ’21 — Apr ’19),” and has the color chart show more diverse (blue) and less diverse (red).

Study: Covid-19 has reduced diverse urban interactions

Mobility-related data show the pandemic has had a lasting effect, limiting the breadth of places people visit in cities.

April 28, 2023

Martin Wainwright stands next to a series of cement columns outside an MIT building

Martin Wainwright named director of the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society

Widely recognized leader in statistics and machine learning to succeed Munther Dahleh.

April 24, 2023

In Song Kim is seated in chair in a room with wooden slatted walls. Through the slats, a green light shines and casts interesting shadows on the ground.

Illuminating the money trail

MIT political scientist In Song Kim shines a bright light on the dark art of political lobbying.

April 16, 2023

Photo of Gokul Sampath standing in a greenhouse of flowers, next to a photo of Jie Yun standing outside with a tan brick wall for background

MIT PhD students honored for their work to solve critical issues in water and food

Gokul Sampath and Jie Yun have been named 2023-24 J-WAFS Fellows.

April 13, 2023

Aerial view shows a nuclear power plant, surrounded by lush green areas and water, with mountains in distance.

Study: Shutting down nuclear power could increase air pollution

If reactors are retired, polluting energy sources that fill the gap could cause more than 5,000 premature deaths, researchers estimate.

April 10, 2023

A neural network is represented by boxes connected by lines, floating in white space with red and blue light. A large green checkmark icon is on the right.

A method for designing neural networks optimally suited for certain tasks

With the right building blocks, machine-learning models can more accurately perform tasks like fraud detection or spam filtering.

March 30, 2023

Collage of eleven new faculty member's headshots, arranged in two rows

School of Engineering welcomes new faculty

Eleven new faculty members join six of the school's academic departments and institutes.

March 29, 2023

A collection of four photos of students sitting at a desk with laptops with a faculty member, sitting on a floor together collaborating, and in a classroom listening to a person present in front of a large screen.

Boosting passenger experience and increasing connectivity at the Hong Kong International Airport

Students develop entrepreneurial mindsets and cultural competency in a startup boot camp.