On NPR’s Short Wave, climate correspondent Lauren Sommer reports on MIT researchers using artificial intelligence to decode the secret language of sperm whales. Prof. Daniela Rus says, “it really turned out that sperm whale communication was indeed not random or simplistic but rather structured in a very complex, combinatorial manner.”
Prof. David Autor is a guest of Meghna Chakrabarti on WBUR’s On Point, discussing his research on the potential impact of AI on the workforce. Autor says “AI is a tool that can enable more people with the right foundational training and judgment to do more valuable work.”
Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have developed a new machine-learning model capable of “predicting a physical system’s phase or state,” report Kyle Wiggers and Devin Coldewey for TechCrunch.
Nature reporter Andrew Robinson reviews “The Heart and the Chip,” a new book by Prof. Daniela Rus and science writer Gregory Mone. The book “focuses on combining human and robotic strengths to pair ‘the heart and the chip’ in three interlinked fields: robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning,” explains Robinson.
The Hill reporter Tobias Burns spotlights the efforts of a number of MIT researchers to better understand the impact of generative AI on productivity in the workforce. One research study “looked as cases where AI helped improved productivity and worker experience specifically in outsourced settings, such as call centers,” explains Burns. Another research study explored the impact of AI programs, such as ChatGPT, among employees.
Forbes selects innovators for the list’s Healthcare & Science category, written by senior contributor Yue Wang. On the list is MIT PhD candidate Yuzhe Yang, who studies AI and machine learning technologies capability to monitor and diagnose illnesses such as Parkinson's disease.
Researchers from the Department of Air Force-MIT Artificial Intelligence Accelerator are applying new AI technologies to assist with everything from pilot communication to developing an AI alternative to GPS satellite-dependent navigation, reports Associated Press reporter Tara Copp.
Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have used quantitative and computational methods to analyze animal communication, reports Emily Anthes for The New York Times.
Writing for The Architect’s Newspaper, James McCown describes the glass curtain wall at the new MIT Schwarzman College of Computing. “Artificial intelligence will be one of the chief research initiatives taking place at Schwarzman,” McCown notes. With all of its transparency, here MIT and SOM have created a powerful gesture of openness and accountability—a crucial perspective as AI technology advances in ways that are both exciting and foreboding.”
An analysis by MIT researchers has identified “wide-ranging instances of AI systems double-crossing opponents, bluffing and pretending to be human,” reports Hannah Devlin for The Guardian. “As the deceptive capabilities of AI systems become more advanced, the dangers they pose to society will become increasingly serious,” says postdoctoral associate Peter Park.
MIT researchers have developed a new procedure that uses game theory to improve the accuracy and consistency of large language models (LLMs), reports Steve Nadis for Quanta Magazine. “The new work, which uses games to improve AI, stands in contrast to past approaches, which measured an AI program’s success via its mastery of games,” explains Nadis.
MIT researchers have used advancements in machine learning and computing to help decode whale vocalizations, reports Sarah Kuta of Smithsonian Magazine. “If researchers knew what sperm whales were saying, they might be able to come up with more targeted approaches to protecting them,” Kuta explains. “In addition, drawing parallels between whales and humans via language might help engage the broader public in conservation efforts.”
A new analysis of years of vocalizations by sperm whales in the eastern Caribbean has provided a fuller understanding of how whales communicate using codas, reports Will Dunham of Reuters. Graduate student Pratyusha Sharma explained that: "The research shows that the expressivity of sperm whale calls is much larger than previously thought."
New Scientist reporter Clare Wilson writes that a new analysis by MIT researchers of thousands of exchanges made by east Caribbean sperm whales demonstrates a communication system more advanced than previously thought. “It’s really extraordinary to see the possibility of another species on this planet having the capacity for communication,” says Prof. Daniela Rus.
Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have uncovered a phonetic alphabet used by sperm whales, which provides “key breakthroughs in our understanding of cetacean communication,” reports Brain Heater for TechCrunch. “This phonetic alphabet makes it possible to systematically explain the observed variability in the coda structure,” says Prof. Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL. “We believe that it’s possible that this is the first instance outside of human language where a communication provides an example of the linguistic concept of duality of patterning. That refers to a set of individually meaningless elements that can be combined to form larger meaningful units, sort of like combining syllables into words.”