How a subfield of physics led to breakthroughs in AI – and from there to this year’s Nobel Prize

Two researchers whose work has led to the AI revolution won the 2024 Nobel Prize in physics. A materials physicist explains statistical mechanics, the physics field behind their discoveries.

Veera Sundararaghavan, Professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan • conversation
Oct. 9, 2024 ~8 min

Nobel Prize in physics spotlights key breakthroughs in AI revolution − making machines that learn

The Nobel Prize shows that the field of artificial neural networks – and the deep learning AI revolution the technology unleashed – owe as much to physics as biology and computer science.

Ambuj Tewari, Professor of Statistics, University of Michigan • conversation
Oct. 8, 2024 ~8 min


Artificial intelligence meets “blisk” in new DARPA-funded collaboration

Collaborative multi-university team will pursue new AI-enhanced design tools and high-throughput testing methods for next-generation turbomachinery.

Janine Liberty | Anne Wilson | Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics | Department of Mechanical Engineering • mit
Oct. 8, 2024 ~4 min

Bubble findings could unlock better electrode and electrolyzer designs

A new study of bubbles on electrode surfaces could help improve the efficiency of electrochemical processes that produce fuels, chemicals, and materials.

David L. Chandler | MIT News • mit
Oct. 8, 2024 ~7 min

University of Cambridge alumnus awarded 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics

Geoffrey Hinton, an alumnus of the University of Cambridge, was today awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with John Hopfield of Princeton

Cambridge University News • cambridge
Oct. 8, 2024 ~3 min

How AI is improving simulations with smarter sampling techniques

MIT CSAIL researchers created an AI-powered method for low-discrepancy sampling, which uniformly distributes data points to boost simulation accuracy.

Rachel Gordon | MIT CSAIL • mit
Oct. 2, 2024 ~8 min

AI simulation gives people a glimpse of their potential future self

By enabling users to chat with an older version of themselves, Future You is aimed at reducing anxiety and guiding young people to make better choices.

Adam Zewe | MIT News • mit
Oct. 1, 2024 ~9 min

AI pareidolia: Can machines spot faces in inanimate objects?

New dataset of “illusory” faces reveals differences between human and algorithmic face detection, links to animal face recognition, and a formula predicting where people most often perceive faces.

Rachel Gordon | MIT CSAIL • mit
Sept. 30, 2024 ~8 min


Helping robots zero in on the objects that matter

A new method called Clio enables robots to quickly map a scene and identify the items they need to complete a given set of tasks.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News • mit
Sept. 30, 2024 ~9 min

New security protocol shields data from attackers during cloud-based computation

The technique leverages quantum properties of light to guarantee security while preserving the accuracy of a deep-learning model.

Adam Zewe | MIT News • mit
Sept. 26, 2024 ~8 min

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