Prof. Stuart Madnick speaks with CNN reporter Allison Morrow about cybersecurity concerns stemming from the recent global technology outage. “There are organizations that we’re heavily dependent upon that we don’t even realize how dependent we are until they stop functioning,” says Madnick.
Forbes reporter Rodger Dean Duncan spotlights “The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines,” a new book by Research Affiliate Matt Bean SM '14, PhD '17. Duncan “explains Beane’s take on AI tools, collaboration and remote work, who suggests traditional mentoring is at risk in the workplace. Beane says today’s successful people have ‘discovered new tactics that others can use to get skills without throwing out the benefits of hybrid working arrangements.’”
Prof. Stuart Madnick speaks with Boston Globe reporter Hiawatha Bray about how the CrowdStrike update caused a global IT outage. Madnick “expects the hits to keep on coming because so many companies depend on certain IT vendors,” writes Bray. “This is happening more and more often, and the consequences are even larger and larger,” cautions Madnick.
A new working paper by Prof. Anna Stansbury and Research Associate Kyra Rodriguez looks at the “class gap” among US Ph.D.-holders in science, social science, engineering and health, reports Soumaya Keynes for the Financial Times. The paper found “those whose parents did not have a college degree are 13 per cent less likely to end up with tenure at a top university than those with more educated parents. They also tend to end up at lower-ranked institutions,” Keynes explains.
Writing for Fortune, Prof. Fiona Murray emphasizes the importance of strengthening transatlantic venture capital investments to strengthen ties among NATO members. “By investing in and adopting emerging dual-use technologies, NATO can leverage the private sector’s innovation power and its transatlantic talent pool, while countering our strategic competitors’ influence and ambitions,” Murray writes.
Prof. Michael Cusumano speaks with Associated Press reporters Matt O’Brien and Sarah Parvini about a new approach to AI acquisitions and the impact on smaller AI startups. “To acquire only some employees or the majority, but not all, license technology, leave the company functioning but not really competing, that’s a new twist,” says Cusumano.
Prof. of the practice Donald Sull speaks with Fortune reporter Lindsey Leake about the common misconceptions found in corporate company culture. “People often think that high performance is an excuse for abusive behavior—they confuse disrespectful and bullying behavior for maintaining high standards,” say Sull. “But it’s possible to set the bar for performance high without berating or bullying people. And to the extent these toxic managerial behaviors drive high performers out of the organization, the abusive behavior undermines performance.”
Prof. David Rand speaks with New York Times reporters Tiffany Hsu and Stuart A. Thompson about the challenges of stopping the spread of misinformation. “It seems like an easy enough problem: there’s the true stuff and there’s the false stuff, and if the platforms cared about it, they would just get rid of the false stuff,” says Rand. “Then we started working on it and it was like, ‘Oh God.’ It’s actually way more complicated.”
MIT spinout, Cogito, uses “advanced voice analytics to scrutinize voice tons and speech patterns, not just during customer interactions but also within internal team communications,” reports Andre Shojaie for Forbes. “By providing real-time feedback to representatives, Cogito helps them adjust their emotional tone and empathy levels accordingly,” explains Shojaie. “This application significantly reduces stress and cultivates a supportive work environment by enhancing interpersonal interactions among team members.”
Writing for Scientific American, graduate student Jerry Lu and his colleagues explore the mathematics, physics, and sensor technology that have revolutionized competitive swimming. “Today the advent of sensor technology has turned this idea into a reality in which mathematics and physics produce useful information so that coaches can ‘precision-train’ 2024 Olympic hopefuls,” writes Lu. “The results have been enormously successful.”
Prof. Stuart Madnick speaks with CNBC reporter Trevor Laurence Jockims about cybersecurity attacks on American water systems. Madnick explains that while a population’s water has not been shut off due to a hack, but “we have demonstrated in our lab how operations, such as a water plant, could be shut down not just for hours or days, but for weeks. It is definitely technically possible,” Madnick explains.
Writing for Forbes, lecturer Guadalupe Hayes-Mota '08, SM '16, MBA '16 explores the role of artificial intelligence and biotechnology in transforming the healthcare industry specifically for venture capitalists (VCs). “The fusion of AI and biotechnology presents a wealth of opportunities for venture capitalists,” writes Hayes-Mota. “By staying attuned to emerging trends and adopting strategies for impactful investments, VCs can drive innovation and create transformative changes in healthcare.”
Prof. Yasheng Huang joins a Financial Times podcast to speak with James Kynge about how China’s technological advancement and economic growth could be threatened by the country’s increasing authoritarianism. “My own prediction is that if Chinese domestic policy doesn’t change substantially, the pace of technological and scientific progress that we have witnessed during the reform era, that pace is going to slow down,” Huang says.
Prof. Christopher Palmer joins Infotrak host Chris Witting to discuss his recent study that found logistical assistance increases the likelihood that low-income families will move to neighborhoods that offer better economic opportunity. Palmer and colleagues asked “how come more people with vouchers aren’t availing themselves of the opportunity to move to better neighborhoods? That was a prime motivation for our study.”
Asadej Kongsiri MBA '99 has been named the new President of The Stock Exchange of Thailand, reports Anuchit Nguyen for Bloomberg. The stock exchange says “with Asadej’s extensive experience in the financial markets, board members ‘are confident in his ability to lead and navigate the evolving financial landscape,’” writes Nguyen.