More News from IWER
The war on Iran and the war on Anthropic
Institute Professor Daron Acemoglu wrote: "Regardless of what one thinks of current AI capabilities, there is little doubt that who controls AI in the future will have momentous implications for democracy, business, communication, and privacy. Many in the industry may interpret the Anthropic ban to mean that the US government, not the private sector, will control AI."
Surging gasoline prices create new political woes for Trump
Global oil futures surged the most in four years Monday, rising as much as 14%. The price of crude accounts for about half of how much motorists pay at the pump. And when oil rises quickly, gasoline prices tend to follow suit. "It's the rockets and feathers effect," said professor Christopher Knittel, associate dean for climate and sustainability. "When things are going up — they go up fast."
The 'stablecoin sandwich' is dead: Why the next phase of crypto payments is all about the user relationship
Research scientist Christian Catalini said: "Not just Meta, but also Google, Apple, all of them will be using multiple providers, as is the case when they do disbursements of payments. I would expect the market to be commodified in the future, rather than a branded stablecoin. In a sense, it's a sign that the market has matured."
AI + work: Building pro-worker AI
Professor Simon Johnson, Institute Professor Daron Acemoglu, and MIT professor David Autor joined a webinar to discuss their new paper "Building pro-worker AI." "We are not currently on the pro-worker AI path and that's unfortunate, it's regrettable, it's avoidable, and we're working hard to try and get us onto a much more pro-worker path," said Johnson.
MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference still raising the bar as it celebrates 20th anniversary
Co-founded by Daryl Morey (MBA '00), the two-day conference has become a place where companies across the sports industry have found future employees among the MIT Sloan School of Management students that help plan and run it.
With so many storm outages, why don't we put more power lines underground in Mass.?
While burying power lines everywhere isn't feasible, there are still some places where the effort would be worth it, according to associate dean for climate and sustainability Christopher Knittel. " We don't have to necessarily move to a system where everything is underground," he said. "What we really need is a more targeted approach, which is to identify the most critical lines in the network and do the cost-benefit test on undergrounding those."
Twelve principles for reimagining universities in times of rupture and regeneration
Senior lecturer Otto Scharmer and co-author wrote: "In a time defined by an accelerating erosion of social, ecological and spiritual foundations, the dominant models of leadership and education are increasingly becoming part of the problem. And yet, new possibilities are also becoming visible. Across regions and sectors, educators and innovators are prototyping ways of learning, leading and organizing that are more life-affirming, more connected and more resilient."
Don't give up on tech-heavy market, say MIT, State Street researchers
A recent study by senior lecturer Mark Kritzman and co-author found that, irrespective of their high market concentration, heavily weighted stocks aren't necessarily riskier investments. It's a "fallacy" to equate market weight with risk. A highly concentrated market is a "natural consequence" of growth, not an "aberration," they said.
Why is Trump blocking this bridge to Canada? Something stinks.
Senior lecturer Robert Pozen wrote: "President Donald Trump's threat to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, a new six-lane span linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, defies economic logic — and smells suspiciously like a political quid pro quo that will harm the competitiveness of the United States. Turning down a fully built, Canadian-funded bridge to and from Detroit is economic malpractice."