Axios reporter Kaveh Waddell writes that a group of economists led by Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson has proposed creating a new metric to measure GDP that accounts for the value of free digital goods and new technologies. The researchers estimate that “hidden benefits from Facebook alone have added 0.05–0.11 percentage points to GDP every year since its 2004 launch,” Waddell explains.
In an article for The Boston Globe about how the city of Cambridge is trying to bring ad-hoc art galleries into empty commercial spaces, Max Reyes highlights Spaceus, a startup founded by two MIT alumna that transforms unused shops into galleries and studio space for artists. “People are stoked that these spaces are no longer empty,” explains MIT graduate and Spaceus co-founder Stephanie Lee.
Fast Company reporter Adele Peters highlights a new study co-authored by MIT researchers that examines the impacts of using solar geoengineering to cut global temperature increases caused by climate change in half. The researchers found that “reducing warming would also offset the increasing intensity of hurricanes and would help moderate extreme rain and a lack of water for farming,” Peters explains.
The Economist spotlights the work of Prof. David Autor and the influence of his research examining how labor markets respond to disruption. The Economist notes that Autor’s research “is enormously influential, in large part because of his groundbreaking work on the effects on American workers of China’s extraordinary rise.”
MIT researchers have found that some inactive ingredients in medications could play a role in triggering irritation or allergic reactions, reports Bob McDonald for CBC Radio. The researchers hope that, “pharmaceutical companies provide more information to doctors, and that alternative drug formulas can be developed for people with allergies or sensitivities.”
In this video, Mashable spotlights how MIT researchers have developed an origami-inspired soft robotic gripper that can grasp a wide variety of objects.
Los Angeles Times reporter Melissa Healy writes that a new study by MIT researchers provides evidence that acoustic and visual stimulation could improve Alzheimer’s symptoms. “The study’s central finding — that inducing electrical synchrony touched off such a widespread range of effects — suggests there might be a single key lever that can preserve or restore order in brains made 'noisy' by age and disease,” Healy explains.
Writing for The Wall Street Journal, visiting lecturer Irving Wladawsky-Berger spotlights how the new MIT Schwarzman College of Computing aims to educate students from every discipline on how to responsibly use and develop AI technologies. Wladawsky-Berger notes that “such an interdisciplinary initiative is a truly bold step for any institution.”
LiveScience reporter Stephanie Pappas writes that a new study by MIT researchers finds that massive tectonic collisions in the tropics may have led to the last three ice ages on Earth. “This could provide a simple tectonic process that explains how Earth goes in and out of glacial periods,” explains Prof. Oliver Jagoutz.
In an article for the Financial Times, Ashley Nunes, a research affiliate at MIT, writes about the Ethiopian Airlines crash and examines the limits of automation. “The more automated the system, the more crucial the human operator becomes,” writes Nunes. “That’s because automation doesn’t purge demand for human labour, instead it changes the type of labour needed.”
Axios reporter Steve LeVine highlights how MIT is offering a new edX course focused on the future of work. The course will “track technological history going back to the 19th century, income inequality, labor groups, automation, German manufacturing and more,” LeVine explains.
Writing for Smithsonian, Alice George highlights Margaret Hamilton’s work leading the team at the MIT Instrumentation Lab that developed the software for the Apollo 11 mission. “She was a pioneer when it came to development of software engineering,” says Teasel Muir-Harmony, a curator at the National Air and Space Museum, and “a pioneer as a woman in the workplace contributing to this type of program, taking on this type of role.”
The Financial Times has named Prof. Tim Berners-Lee its "Boldness in Business" Person of the Year for his work aimed at providing people with more control over how their personal data is used online, reports John Thornhill. “We know how to fire rockets into the sky. We should be able to build constructive social networks,” says Lee.
Writing for Bloomberg, Faye Flam highlights Prof. Alan Lightman’s book “In Praise of Wasting Time.” Flam notes that in the book, Lightman looks “at both psychological studies and life histories of famous scientists and writers, and concluded that taking downtime, or play time, is essential to divergent thinking.”
A study by MIT researchers shows that exposing patients to flashing light and pulsing sounds could reverse Alzheimer’s symptoms, reports Angus Chen for Scientific American. “This is the first time we’ve seen that this noninvasive stimulation can improve cognitive function,” says Prof. Li-Huei Tsai.