More News from IWER

Professor Simon Johnson and co-author wrote: "The best way to step back from the brink of global catastrophe is to recognize Iran's economic incentives. Iran needs to export oil and gas in order to pay for essential imports, including food and medicine, as well as for the inputs needed to rebuild and improve its infrastructure."

In this year's US News & World Reports' Best Business Schools specialty rankings, MIT Sloan ranked #1 in Business Analytics, Entrepreneurship, Production/Operations, and Supply Chain/Logistics, and #2 in Executive MBA Programs.

In this "Cognoscenti" opinion piece, professors Catherine Wolfram, Christopher Knittel, and co-author wrote: "In a research paper slated for publication in the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) later this spring, we document the key vectors through which climate change affects household costs. We have found that climate change now costs the average American household $900 each year, while the annual price tag exceeds $1,300 per year for 10% of U.S. counties."

MIT IDE research fellow Michael Schrage and MIT SMR editorial director David Kiron wrote: "Productivity in an era of generative AI is not output per unit of input. It is also determined by measurable learning per unit of interaction. Organizations that build the machinery to run the cycle — verify, evaluate, capture, apply — will build that capability over time. Those that do not will consume AI without converting it into knowledge."

Investors are finding all sorts of potential of uses for large language models, ranging from the intellectual to the mundane. The challenge of interpreting what the models do, though, often holds back their use in practice. Since early 2024,  Professor Hui Chen has worked on ways to help. In his research, Chen has explored techniques to help investors understand what's happening inside the LLMs

Senior lecturer Sharmila C. Chatterjee said: "The future of retail is a hybrid of online and offline channels. To keep customers coming back, retailers need to make strategic investments, experiment with new approaches, and, inevitably, engage in some trial and error as they figure it out." The article links to a story in MIT Sloan's "Ideas Made to Matter."

If a company is struggling financially, saying AI drove cuts definitely makes for a better story, said professor Thomas Malone. There's also a long history of overshooting predictions of the impact and adoption rate of new tech, he said. It happened in the dotcom era and with autonomous driving. "I do think many people are overestimating the rate at which jobs will change," Malone said about AI projections.

"The problem that we have to solve is not whether AI has enough expertise," said professor Andrew W. Lo. "The answer right now is, clearly, AI has the financial expertise. What they don't have is that fiduciary duty. They don't have the ability to suffer consequences if they make a mistake to the same degree that a human advisor does." The notion of putting a client's interest ahead of yours "has no teeth" without responsibility or legal liability, he said.

Professor Sinan Aral joined CNBC's "Squawk Box" to discuss the state of data center buildout across the U.S. and globally, and the impact of the Iran war on Middle East data centers.

John C Head III Dean of MIT Sloan, Richard M. Locke, said: "AI is the latest wave of innovation with transformative potential for careers, jobs, and industries, similar to automation and robotics. It can be destructive to jobs or enhance skills and create new opportunities. At MIT Sloan, we are at a point of choice, and we believe that with careful management, we can follow a positive path."