Transforming Healthcare Logistics With Low-Cost AI Hamsa Bastani and collaborators partnered with Sierra Leone’s government to build a low-cost AI tool that optimizes the allocation of essential medical supplies across the country. Operations Information and Decisions caret-arrow Ubiquity of Data
The Power of a Single Neuron and a Path to Simulating the Brain In the latest episode of the Juan Benet Podcast, Konrad Kording goes deep into how neurons work, how neurons wire together, and how organic and artificial neural networks differ. Bioengineering Neuroscience Psychology caret-arrow Evolution, Emergence and the Brain
Social Networks Outsmart Cognitive Biases In a new study, Damon Centola and Annenberg doctoral candidate Calvin Isch found that people subjected to cognitive bias could recover their ability to make rational decisions by exchanging their opinions with peers. Communication Sociology caret-arrow Consensus and Contagion in Society
Why AI Pricing Doesn’t Always Drive Prices Higher AI pricing algorithms are widely feared to fuel price fixing in online marketplaces, but new research from Ron Berman shows that they can lower prices in many cases. Marketing caret-arrow Social Norms for Algorithms
Mathematicians Created an ‘Impossible’ Shape That Shouldn’t Exist An impossible object is something that looks realistic when drawn but can’t exist in real life. Now mathematicians Robert Ghrist and Zoe Cooperband have created a mathematical classification system for visual paradoxes, and have used their framework to invent an impossible object that breaks reality in novel ways. Electrical and Systems Engineering Mathematics caret-arrow Ubiquity of Data
Future of Privacy Forum Career Achievement Award Anita Allen has received a 2026 Career Achievement Award from the nonprofit Future of Privacy Forum (FPF). The annual award recognizes individuals whose work has had a lasting impact on privacy protections, responsible innovation, and the advancement of ethical technology governance worldwide. Law Philosophy caret-arrow Ubiquity of Data
Testing AI Against Public Health’s Existing Tools A new randomized controlled trial has found that AI-powered chatbots can make vaccine-hesitant parents more likely to say they will immunize their children against HPV, but no more than standard written public health materials. Computer and Information Science caret-arrow Ubiquity of Data
Enabling Robots to Chart a Better Course Researchers from Penn Engineering and MIT, including Vijay Kumar, have co-developed a new trajectory-planning system that enables an unpiloted aerial vehicle to react quickly to obstacles while staying on a smooth flight path that minimizes travel time. Computer and Information Science Electrical and Systems Engineering Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics caret-arrow Ubiquity of Data
AI Will Be Top of Mind at ICM, Math’s Biggest Conference “AI is potentially going to lead to a real renaissance in applied math, where pure mathematicians who are domain experts are now going to have the perfect conversation partner to be able to take their ideas and connect them with real-world things,” says Robert Ghrist. Electrical and Systems Engineering Mathematics caret-arrow Ubiquity of Data
How Social Networks Reshaped Society and Politics In a new Spanish-language book by Sandra González-Bailón and El País journalist Jordi Pérez Colomé, the authors examine how online technologies (from social media to AI) have transformed political power over the last three decades. Communication Sociology caret-arrow Consensus and Contagion in Society
