Category: Uncategorized

When I last wrote to you in this magazine, I told you a bit about the MIT Collaboratives, an effort to spark new ideas and modes of inquiry and help the people of MIT solve global problems. Since then, we’ve launched the first collaborative, grounding it in the human-centered fields represented by our School of… Read more

“THE CULT OF THE FOUNDER.” “THE CULT OF THE TECH GENIUS.”  “Beware: Silicon Valley’s cultists want to turn you into a disruptive deviant.” “Tech’s cult of the founder bounces back.” “Silicon Valley’s Strange, Apocalyptic Cults.” “How the cult of personality and tech-bro culture is killing technology.” “Company or cult?” “Is your corporate culture cultish?” “The… Read more

We need a strategy to deal with a hydra.  It’s Sunday, January 14, 2024, more than 50 hours since the annual MIT Mystery Hunt kicked off at noon on Friday, and Setec Astronomy is one of more than 200 teams racing to solve hundreds of puzzles over three days. The 60-some members of Setec, many… Read more

The widespread use of large-scale language models (LLMs) in safety-critical areas has brought forward a crucial challenge: how to ensure their adherence to clear ethical and safety guidelines. Existing alignment techniques, such as supervised fine-tuning (SFT) and reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), have limitations. Models can still produce harmful content when manipulated, refuse legitimate… Read more

The evolution of speech and language technology has led to improvements in areas like voice assistants, transcription, and sentiment analysis. However, many models struggle to capture the nuances of human emotion and intent. These systems often focus on accuracy in tasks like transcription or translation, neglecting the emotional context that underpins effective communication. This gap… Read more

These discounted tablets, headphones, and kitchen goods can still make it under the tree—if you hurry. Read more

Visual generative models have advanced significantly in terms of the ability to create high-quality images and videos. These developments, powered by AI, enable applications ranging from content creation to design. However, the capability of these models depends on the evaluation frameworks used to measure their performance, making efficient and accurate assessments a crucial area of… Read more

One user told WIRED that Google Maps directed them to “drive right into a wall that’s been up since 2003.” Read more

Who really needs an AI assistant to help find information on the internet? It depends on what you’re trying to find. Read more

Diarra from Detroit, The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh—these are the shows you might not have watched in 2024, but definitely still should. Read more