Prof. David Autor speaks with NPR’s Chris Arnold about trade deals, the presidential election, and how trade with China has impacted American workers. Instead of criticizing trade deals, Arnold notes that Autor would like the national conversation to “focus on what can be done to help workers who've been displaced by trade.”
Christian Science Monitor reporter Jack Detsch writes about the “Cambridge 2 Cambridge” hackathon, which brought together students from MIT and Cambridge University to hack websites and discover built-in vulnerabilities. “It’s not a law of nature that machines are insecure,” says CSAIL’s Howard Shrobe. This hackathon “is the first step of piquing curiosity to fix it.”
Reuters reporter Svea Herbst-Bayliss writes that in her remarks at MIT, Madame Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, spoke about steps that could be taken to tackle climate change. "If subsidies were removed and carbon prices set properly now and taxed that would go a long way in addressing the climate change issues the world is facing,” says Lagarde.
The Economist reports on a new study co-authored by Prof. David Autor that examines how increased trade between China and the U.S. has impacted American workers. The researchers found that “sudden exposure to foreign competition can depress wages and employment for at least a decade.”
Nidhi Subbaraman writes for BetaBoston about “Cambridge 2 Cambridge,” an international cybersecurity challenge that will take place this spring between researchers from MIT CSAIL and the University of Cambridge. Prof. Howard Shrobe explained that the contest will take the form of a virtual “capture the flag” contest.
Prof. Anant Agarwal, CEO of edX, writes for U.S. News and World Report about how MOOCs can improve lives around the world. Agarwal writes that MOOCS have, “demonstrated potential benefit as a catalyst for change within universities and all over the world. MOOC platforms have helped entire countries build their labor forces and create conduits for dramatic social change.”
MIT researchers are collaborating with the Self-Employed Women's Association to identify how women in India use technology, reports The Times of India. "There are lots of innovations in the name of the poor, but nobody knows what works," explains Prof. Bishwapriya Sanyal.
In an article for The Huffington Post about the Paris climate agreement, senior lecturer Jason Jay argues that the agreement “represents a possibility - that the world can come together and solve one of the most complex problems we face as a civilization.”
Prof. John Sterman writes for The Huffington Post about the Paris climate agreement. Sterman asks “Is the agreement a triumph, as the negotiators and heads of state declare, or another weak pronouncement that will do little to stave off climate catastrophe? The answer is both: The Paris agreement represents real progress. It also falls significantly short.”
A recent analysis by researchers from the MIT Sloan School of Management and Climate Interactive demonstrates how the structure of the Paris climate agreement “could lead to a scenario in which temperatures are held to about 1.8 C,” reports Chris Mooney for The Washington Post.
Prof. Carlo Ratti writes about the proliferation of startup hubs around the world in this piece for Project Syndicate. “Before long, the digital world and the physical world will be indistinguishable,” writes Ratti. “The era of ‘Silicon Everywhere’ is upon us – and it is taking shape in the world’s cities.”
A study conducted by Prof. Esther Duflo found that when women were offered financial support through livestock and educational training, they were able to climb out of poverty, according to The Economist. “Seven years after the programme began their average monthly consumption was almost one-third higher than it had been after two years.”
A new report details the entrepreneurial impact of MIT’s alumni entrepreneurs, reports Hiawatha Bray for BetaBoston. “We’re seeing a more rapid rate of growth than we have ever seen before,” explains Prof. Edward Roberts, in the “growth in the formation and startup of new companies by MIT alumni.”
In an article for USA Today, Colin Chilcoat highlights a study co-authored by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir that indicates that climate change could cause the Persian Gulf to experience severe heat with greater regularity. Greenhouse-gas buildup could raise “temperatures to intolerable seasonal highs and [increase] the frequency and severity of extreme heat waves,” writes Chilcoat.
NBC News reporter Keith Wagstaff writes that MIT will open a new “Innovation Node” in Hong Kong next summer. Wagstaff explains that the goal of the Innovation Node is to help students learn how to bring ideas from lab to market.