Sloan Lecturer Harvey Michaels speaks with Boston Globe reporter Scooty Nickerson about skyrocketing energy costs in Massachusetts. Michaels explains that one contributing factor is the vast but costly energy system that can supply heat during cold dips but is expensive to maintain. “It’s like having a fleet of planes flying around with very few passengers on them,” Michaels explains. “It’s going to be very expensive for the passengers that do fly” to make it worth it.
Prof. David Schmittlein, the longest serving dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management who was known for his role expanding Sloan’s international reach, has died at the age of 69, reports Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. Schmittlein “led initiatives introducing several new degree programs, redesigning the academic program portfolio while maintaining the MBA as the flagship degree, and diversifying executive offerings,” writes Marquard.
A new study by Prof. Jackson Lu and graduate student Lu Doris Zhang finds that assertiveness is key to moving up the career ladder, and that debate training could help improve an individual’s chances of moving into a leadership role, reports Julia Pugachevsky for Business Insider. “If someone knows when to voice their opinions in a diplomatic and fruitful way, they will get more attention,” says Lu.
MIT has been named among the top-performing intuitions in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, reports The Economic Times. MIT ranks “first in 12 subjects, maintaining its stronghold in fields like engineering, technology, and computer science,” explains Economic Times.
Research Scientist Eva Ponce, director of online education for the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, speaks with Financial Times reporter Rafe Uddin about how companies are shifting toward automation and the impact on employees. “Companies are investing more in upskilling associates… ensuring they’re ready for a new style of work,” says Pone. “More complex tasks will still need to be done by people… These technologies are disruptive. The warehouse of the future is a combination of robotics, sensors and computer vision.”
A study by researchers at MIT has found “that 80% of companies are monitoring remote or hybrid workers,” reports Lucas Mearian for Computer World. “Specialized software can track online activity, location, and even behaviors such as keystrokes and tone in communications — often without workers’ knowledge,” explains Mearian.
Writing for Forbes, Dr. Diane Hamilton spotlights how a course offered by Profs. Danielle Li and Thomas Malone “challenged common assumptions about AI’s role in the workplace, offering a more interesting and, at times, unexpected perspective.” Hamilton notes: MIT researchers reveal AI’s good and bad impact on jobs and skills, making it clear that AI is not just about automation. It is about augmentation. Companies that use AI to empower employees rather than replace them will be the ones that thrive in the years ahead.”
Bloomberg reporter Robb Mandelbaum spotlights how the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship has developed a new AI JetPack to help students accelerate the entrepreneurial process. “Our mission at the Trust Center is to advance the field of innovation-driven entrepreneurship everywhere,” Paul Cheek, executive director of the Martin Trust Center. “We can’t do it with intuition or by throwing stuff against the wall. We have to practice entrepreneurship in a rigorous, systematic way that increases the odds of success.”
Eva Ponce, director of online education for the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, speaks with Financial Times reporter Rafe Uddin about how companies are integrating automation. “Labor shortages are a persistent theme and this is another driver for this investment,” says Ponce.
Diane Hoskins '79, a member of the MIT Corporation, has been named a CNBC Changemaker for her impact on the business world, reports Ian Thomas for CNBC. “Over her more than three-decade career at Gensler, she has risen up the firm’s ranks to now serve as its global co-chair alongside Andy Cohen, who Hoskins shares long-term strategy and day-to-day operations with and previously served as co-CEO with for nearly two decades,” writes Thomas. “Hoskins has also been at the center of the discussion around how workspace design intersects with employee performance and engagement, overseeing Gensler’s Workplace Survey and influencing how the industry at large designs offices and other spaces.”
A new study by researchers at MIT has found that “while highly skilled workers reported a 40% surge in performance when artificial intelligence was used within the boundary of its capabilities, overreliance on AI resulted in a performance drop of 19%,” reports Chris Callagher for USA Today.
Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee speaks with Forbes reporter Joe McKendrick about lessons that he believes technology companies need to absorb. McAfee notes that successful companies “are a lot more egalitarian, they try to modularize themselves and give a great deal of autonomy, and they try to settle their arguments via evidence.”
Prof. Daron Acemoglu speaks with New York Times reporter Jeff Sommer about the anticipated impact of future AI on various industries. “There is a lot of hype in the industry,” says Acemoglu. While some AI companies have “impressive achievements,” Acemoglu adds that many financial and economic calculations were being based on mere “projections into the future that are sometimes exaggerated.”
Research Scientist Peter Gloor speaks with Forbes reporter Vibhas Ratanjee “about how we can learn from the natural world—specifically social insects—to improve teamwork and innovation in modern workplaces.” Ratanjee notes that: “Gloor is a strong advocate for biophilic design—an approach that integrates nature into work environments to boost well-being and creativity. And the science backs him up: Studies have found that employees who work in spaces with natural light, plants and open-air designs report higher job satisfaction and lower stress levels.”
Evan Ehrenberg PhD '16 co-founded Waterlily, a company that “uses artificial intelligence to predict a family’s future long-term care needs and costs” with the right care and financial planning, reports Mary Ann Azevedo for TechCrunch. “Ehrenberg — who had previously founded and sold Clara Health — helped with early research and was struck by the industry’s response,” writes Azevedo. “Curious, he tested the platform and was shocked by his long-term care predictions — so much so that he changed his diet, hired a personal trainer, and updated his financial plans.”