The Economist highlights a study by J-PAL researchers examining the effectiveness of certain educational technologies. The researchers found that, “in nearly all the 41 studies which compared pupils using adaptive software with peers who were taught by conventional means the software-assisted branch got higher scores.”
New Scientist reporter Aylin Woodward writes MIT researchers used the MIT Bitcoin Project, which provided freshman access to bitcoin, as an opportunity to examine early-adoption behaviors. The study shows that if you make “early adopters feel special…their resulting enthusiasm seems to help technology go viral.”
Science reporter Gloria Emeagwali reviews Prof. Clapperton Mavhunga’s new book, which examines how Africans have contributed to science throughout history. “Eurocentric assumptions about the history of science and technology, entrepreneurship, epistemology, and scientific methodology are directly challenged in this scholarly collection of essays that masterfully document the historical and contemporary scientific contributions of Africans.”
Writing for CNBC, Ali Montag highlights MIT’s MicroMasters programs and how they offer students around the world a new path to a graduate degree. Montag notes that passing students from the MicroMasters in data, economics and development policy, “are eligible to apply for a master's program on campus at MIT.”
The Economist reviews Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson and Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee’s latest book, which examines how new digital technologies will impact businesses. Brynjolfsson and McAfee, “believe that the latest phase of computers and the internet have created three shifts in how work happens.”
Washington Post reporter Robert Samuelson highlights a study co-authored by Prof. David Autor that finds that new technologies can lead to productivity increases that often generate more jobs. Autor and his colleagues found that “every 10 percent gain in productivity resulted in a 2 percent gain in employment spread over four years.”
Prof. Esther Duflo speaks with WBUR’s Fred Thys about MIT’s MicroMasters in development economics. Thys explains that the new MicroMasters program allows students, “to take rigorous courses online for credit, and if they perform well on exams, to apply for a master's degree program on campus.”
Randall Stross of The Wall Street Journal examines the latest book by Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson and Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee, which explores technologies shaping the future of business. Stross writes that the, “authors present a splendid tutorial on things that are too new for most civilians to have gained a good understanding of—cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, distributed ledgers, and smart contracts.”
In an article for Bloomberg, Peter Coy examines Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson and Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee’s latest book, which examines how smart machines might be integrated into the businesses of the future. Coy explains that the book is written for, “executives and entrepreneurs trying to make their way in this brave new world of driverless cars and hackathons.”
Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson and Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee speak with Tom Ashbrook of On Point about their new book, “Machine, Platform, Crowd.” Speaking about how much decision-making machines could be handling in the future, Brynjolfsson explains that “instead of having us humans try to tell the machines exactly what needs to be done, machines are learning on their own.”
This CNN video highlights the new programmable backpack unveiled during the grand opening of the AFFOA headquarters in Cambridge. MIT alumnus Tairan Wang, COO of AFFOA, explains that the backpack is made with a programmable fabric that allows users to share information. The technology addresses how people initially connect, Wang explains.
The launch of the AFFOA headquarters featured demos of two new smart fabrics, including a programmable backpack and fabric that uses LED lights to stream information to the wearer, writes Donna Goodison for the Boston Herald. Prof. Yoel Fink, AFFOA’s CEO, explains that, “the way to changing what fabrics are involves changing what fibers are.”
Boston Globe reporter Hiawatha Bray writes that at the launch of the AFFOA headquarters, researchers unveiled smart fabrics that can send messages, tune in audio signals and more. Bray writes that Prof. Yoel Fink, CEO of AFFOA, explained that “because the new fibers can process data like a computer…engineers will be able to develop an endless array of ways to use it.”
Zeninjor Enwemeka reports for WBUR on the opening of the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) headquarters, during which the center’s first fabric products were unveiled. Enwemeka explains the, “big idea here is to develop fabrics that provide services. The folks at AFFOA think fabrics are the next software.”
Fortune reporter Aaron Pressman highlights how in her address during the 2017 Investiture of Doctoral Hoods, MIT alumna Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, urged doctoral graduates to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. "The world is starving for new ideas and great leaders who will champion those ideas," said Su.