Writing for Wired, Media Lab research specialist Kate Darling makes the case that robots are more like animals than people. “Despite the AI pioneers’ original goal of recreating human intelligence, our current robots are fundamentally different,” writes Darling. “They’re not less-developed versions of us that will eventually catch up as we increase their computing power; like animals, they have a different type of intelligence entirely.”
MIT researchers have developed a new robot, dubbed RF Grasp, that can sense hidden objects using radio waves, reports Brian Heater for TechCrunch. “The tech allows RF Grasp to pick up things that are covered up or otherwise out of its line of vision,” writes Heater.
TechCrunch reporter Brian Heater spotlights how MIT researchers have devised a neural network to help optimize sensor placement on soft robots to help give them a better picture of their environment.
Writing for Forbes, research affiliate Tom Davenport spotlights how Stitch Fix “uses AI algorithms and human stylists working in combination to make recommendations to clients of items of clothing, shoes, or accessories.”
Profs. Daron Acemoglu and David Autor speak with New York Times columnist Kevin Roose about the impact of automation on the labor market. “A lot of professional work combines some element of routine information processing with an element of judgment and discretion,” says Autor. “That’s where software has always fallen short. But with A.I., that type of work is much more in the kill path.”
Elisabeth Reynolds, executive director of the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future, speaks with Soledad O’Brien about how to ensure workers aren’t left behind in the transition to a more digital workforce. “If we can find pathways to the middle where we do see growth and demand for workers - construction, healthcare, the trades, manufacturing, places where we are seeing opportunities - that move can really be a new lifeline for people,” says Reynolds.
Forbes contributor Adi Gaskell spotlights how the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future recently released a comprehensive report examining the future of work. Gaskell writes that the Task Force's report emphasizes the “pressing issues of our time as one of improving the quality of jobs to ensure that prosperity is shared across the economy.”
Axios reporter Bryan Walsh spotlights a new study by researchers from MIT’s Task Force on the Work of the Future that examines the impact of AI on the future of work. Walsh notes that the report’s authors “recommend programs that can enhance computer skills from kindergarten through the university level, while urging businesses and worker organizations to build cushions for the sometimes harsh changes AI will wreak on work.”
Prof. Daron Acemoglu speaks with Guardian reporter Lauren Aratani about the impact of automation on inequality. While AI has “tremendous potential for making humans more productive,” Acemoglu notes that it also “has been a major driver in the increase in inequality.”
Research affiliate Ashley Nunes writes for the Financial Times about the FAA certifying the Boeing 737 MAX, and the tradeoffs posed by increased automation. “For all their benefits, robots remain — much like humans — imperfect,” writes Nunes.
A new white paper by Prof. Daron Acemoglu and graduate student Andrea Mandera finds that the U.S. tax code incentivizes companies to invest in automation rather than employees, reports Peter Coy for Bloomberg. “Favorable taxation of capital leads to excessive automation,” explains Acemoglu.
A new study by researchers from the MIT AgeLab finds that drivers of Tesla cars tend to be more distracted when using the car’s semi-autonomous system, reports Matt McFarland for CNN. The researchers found “drivers glanced more frequently away from the road, and thus paid less attention, when Autopilot was active.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Christopher Mims spotlights Prof. Daron Acemoglu’s research examining the impact of automation on employment and a new essay from Prof. David Autor and Dr. Elisabeth Reynolds that illustrates how the pandemic could exacerbate economic inequality.
Writing for Forbes, Prof. David Mindell highlights a new report by MIT researchers that explores the future of automation. “We can imagine cities jammed with single-occupant autonomous cars, or we can imagine flexible, high-throughput mixed modal systems that benefit from autonomous technologies,” writes Mindell. “What comes to pass is up to us, and will be shaped by policy choices we make today.”
Writing for Fortune about the impacts of automation on the labor market, Geoff Colvin highlights Prof. Daron Acemoglu’s research analyzing the historical effects of technology on workers. Colvin explains that Acemoglu and his colleagues found that, “for the first time in modern history, automation isn’t necessarily good for workers overall.”