A new publication from SSRC Research Affiliate Sandro Lera, MIT Prof. Sandy Pentland, and ETH Prof. Didier Sornette encourages regulators to take a holistic view to prevent and address outsized dominance within systems, concluding that "the emergence of disproportional dominance is not explained as the action of a single agent,...
SSRC Welcomes Prof. Fotini Christia as New Director
“Fotini’s breadth as a social scientist, on-the-ground approach, use of data science and computational techniques, and application of novel methods to understand how societies are being shaped in diverse areas, made her a natural fit to lead SSRC into the next chapter,” says Daniel Huttenlocher, dean of the MIT Schwarzman...
A New Social Contract for the AI Age
MIT Professors Sandy Pentland and Nazli Choucri joined global leaders at the AI World Society in September in developing the first ever social contract for the AI age. The effort is designed to foster positive social outcomes from the use of AI and to build an inclusive society across politics,...
New Publication in Nature Offers Suggested Approach to Safely Reopening
A new article published August 5 in Nature Human Behaviour integrates anonymized real-time mobility data with census and demographic data to model COVID-19 transmission in the Boston area. The authors, including Esteban Moro, Visiting Professor in the Media Lab and IDSS, and Professor Sandy Pentland of MIT’s Connection Science Group,...
Ali Jadbabaie named head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Professor Jadbabaie has served as Department Head of SSRC since 2016, and is also Associate Director of IDSS.
Dynamic Networks Improve Remote Decision Making
Crisis events demand decision-making networks that are dynamic, not static, and respond to frequent feedback.
CBI Study Analyzes Contamination in Drug Manufacturing Plants
A new study from the Center for Biomedical Innovation (CBI) published in Nature Biotechnology analyzes past incidents of viral contamination in the manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals and offers recommendations.
Interview with Gigi Hirsch, MD from Evidera
NEWDIGS is an exciting and innovative approach to developing solutions for systemwide impediments to biomedical innovation and patient care. The noncompetitive, collaborative environment encourages novel and fresh ideas and interactions to truly move the industry forward in positive ways. Dr. Debra Schaumberg, Vice President, Scientific Affairs, Real-World Evidence at Evidera...
Morgan Frank Featured in US Federal Reserve Interview
Augmentation—AI designed to work with humans, not replace them—promises to improve job quality and productivity. In an audio feature, roboticists and researchers talk to Invested about augmentation’s design, challenges, and benefits.
FP article: Baghdadi’s Martyrdom Bump
Baghdadi’s Martyrdom Bump Killing the Islamic State leader will not kill his ideas. By Santiago Segarra, Ali Jadbabaie and Richard Nielsen October 29, 2019 It is clear that the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi will damage the organizational and strategic capacity of the already beleaguered Islamic State....