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02.06.2025
39 Minuten
Cybersecurity expert and venture capitalist Andy Ellis breaks down
why the smartest organizations are using AI to augment their
workers, not replace them. Today’s AI systems are best used when
they serve as “semi-pro” tools—fast, scalable, surprisingly
effective, but still guided by some human oversight. In this
conversation, he shares cautionary tales about hallucinations,
prompt injections, unintended consequences, and outlines the common
pitfalls he already sees companies falling into. You’ll hear: - How
to minimize resistance and bring the workforce onboard when
deploying AI tools. - Why AI agents should be limited in scope and
the advantage of stacking specialized agents which, acting
together, enhance productivity and capacity. - Why AI is good for
generating content for specific purposes but not good at creating
writing, art, or materials which will have lasting impact. - How
productivity “nag bots” can help workers get more done. Ellis sees
this moment as the next SaaS-level transformation, arguing that the
winners of today’s AI arms race will become the trillionaires of
tomorrow. Fundamentally, he believes the best way to implement this
transformative new technology is to let humans decide and the AIs
act. Connect with CSAIL Alliances: On our site:
cap.csail.mit.edu/about-us/meet-our-team On X:
x.com/csail_alliances On LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/mit-csail
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05.05.2025
34 Minuten
Can your phone make you a safer driver? Or is it part of the
problem? MIT CSAIL Professor Sam Madden shares the origin story of
Cambridge Mobile Telematics, a CSAIL spinout using smartphones and
AI to prevent car crashes and save lives. In this episode,
Professor Madden joins host Kara Miller to explore how
accelerometers, algorithms, and well-timed incentives are
transforming how we understand and improve driver behavior.
Professor Madden reflects on surprising data trends, like why crash
rates haven’t fallen despite better car tech, and how the
ubiquitous smartphone became a key tool for reducing risk on the
road. He also dives into how generative AI is reshaping software
development, what it means for education and programming skills,
and why trust and privacy remain top concerns when deploying AI
across sensitive industries. Covering distracted driving,
autonomous vehicles, behavioral nudges, and business
infrastructure, Professor Madden reveals what’s working and where
the road ahead leads. Topics include: The history of Cambridge
Mobile Telematics The realities of traffic accidents How your phone
can track your driving safety Turning your data into a narrative
The corrosive effects of phones Learn more about Professor Madden
on his website: https://db.csail.mit.edu/madden/ Or his CSAIL page:
https://www.csail.mit.edu/person/sam-madden Read our case study on
Cambridge Mobile Telematics:
https://cap.csail.mit.edu/sites/default/files/2023-05/CMT_Case%20Study%20Template_2022.pdf
Connect with CSAIL Alliances: On our site:
https://cap.csail.mit.edu/about-us/meet-our-team On X:
https://x.com/csail_alliances On LinkedIn:
https://linkedin.com/company/mit-csail
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17.04.2025
14 Minuten
Finches, zebras, Darwin... and AI? Two centuries after Darwin
explored the Galápagos, artificial intelligence is transforming how
we study and protect the natural world, rapidly expanding what’s
possible in biodiversity and ecology research. In this episode, MIT
CSAIL Assistant Professor Sara Beery explains how AI is unlocking
new possibilities in conservation, from identifying endangered
species to analyzing ecosystem health at scale. AI can help
biologists collect, process, and interpret enormous volumes of
data, unlocking patterns and offering insights that were simply not
possible without modern technology. Beery shares her journey, from
tagging snow leopards in college to leading global research at the
intersection of computer vision and ecology. But she sounds a note
of caution: AI has no values of its own and must be paired with
human values to tackle the complex tradeoffs behind biodiversity
decisions. As these tools become more powerful, it’s up to us to
decide how they’re used, and what (or who) we prioritize. Topics
include: Using AI to analyze millions of wildlife images Why
computer vision is revolutionizing species identification The
ethical dilemmas behind conservation decisions How researchers are
using AI to inform policy and protect ecosystems Learn more about
Professor Beery: Website: https://beerys.github.io/ or her CSAIL
page https://www.csail.mit.edu/person/sara-beery Connect with CSAIL
Alliances: On our site:
https://cap.csail.mit.edu/about-us/meet-our-team On X:
https://x.com/csail_alliances On LinkedIn:
https://linkedin.com/company/mit-csail #MITCSAIL #AI #Conservation
#Biology #Technology #CSAILPodcast
Mehr
03.04.2025
47 Minuten
What happens when every company becomes a tech company—and the
geeks take the wheel? Renowned economist, bestselling author, and
MIT Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee unpacks how AI is
transforming corporate strategy—from cement makers to software
engineers. Drawing on insights from his book The Geek Way and his
startup Workhelix, McAfee shares what he’s hearing from executives
around the world, where AI is delivering real ROI, and why
understanding how we measure impact is just as important as what we
measure. From call centers to material science labs, from
spreadsheet power users to the future of education, McAfee examines
how generative AI is changing who wins—and how people can avoid
getting left behind. He also weighs in on the biggest AI
misconceptions, the risks that actually matter, and why Silicon
Valley still holds the crown in the age of innovation. Topics
include: The management playbook of the future Real-world studies
on AI’s impact in the workplace Why AI helps some workers more than
others The “credibility revolution” in measuring ROI What companies
get wrong about scaling AI Whether writing—and even coding—will
still matter in 10 years Andrew McAfee is the Co-Director of the
IDE and a Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of
Management. His research investigates how information technology
changes the way companies perform, organize themselves, and
compete. He is a NYT bestselling author and writes a widely read
blog, which is at times one of the 10,000 most popular in the
world. Prior to joining MIT Sloan, McAfee was a professor at
Harvard Business School. Connect with CSAIL Alliances: On our site:
https://cap.csail.mit.edu/about-us/meet-our-team On X:
https://x.com/csail_alliances On LinkedIn:
https://linkedin.com/company/mit-csail #MITCSAIL #AI #GenerativeAI
#Leadership #Technology #CSAILPodcast
Mehr
24.02.2025
28 Minuten
For a full, uncut video version of this show (shot in Professor
Andreas' MIT CSAIL office!), watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBV5Bj_NnbA MIT CSAIL Associate
Professor Jacob Andreas walks listeners through how LLMs like
ChatGPT evolved from academic curiosities to industry-disrupting
technologies. Reflecting on the transformations he has observed in
AI research, Professor Andreas discusses how some ideas—like
linking NLP research to cognitive science—have taken a backseat,
while others—like the importance of large-scale training
data—remain central. He offers insights on AI use cases, the
emergence of models like DeepSeek, and the critical role of human
oversight in AI deployment. Acknowledging both the excitement and
concerns surrounding AI, Professor Andreas believes that educators
and industry alike face a challenge in keeping pace with the
‘moving target’ of AI progress. Plus: learn how AI can be used to
decode the language of sperm whales! About the guest: Professor
Andreas is an MIT EECS Associate Professor and CSAIL PI. Before
joining MIT, he earned his PhD at Berkeley. His group's research
focuses on three themes: building machine learning models that
learn language in human-like ways, enabling the use of language as
a general-purpose tool for building intelligent systems, and
developing techniques for understanding machine learning models
using language. His group envisions a future built around training,
explaining, and interacting with intelligent systems for users of
all the world's languages. Learn more about Professor Jacob Andreas
and his research here: https://www.mit.edu/~jda/ Want to know more
about Professor Andreas' work on the language of sperm whales? Read
here:
https://news.mit.edu/2024/csail-ceti-explores-sperm-whale-alphabet-0507
MIT's CSAIL Alliances Podcast is your guide to how AI &
computer science research impact how we live, work, play, and
learn. Listener discounts, meet the host, and more:
csail.mit.edu/podcast
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Über diesen Podcast
MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
(CSAIL) Alliances serves as a gateway into the lab for industry and
governmental institutions seeking a closer connection to the work,
researchers, and students of CSAIL. Our podcast aims to provide
inside access to topics covered by CSAIL and other leaders
advancing computer science and AI research.
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