Generative AI explained + Israel-Hamas conflict + learning from failure

[view in browser]( MIT Weekly [MIT Logo] November 11, 2023 Greetings, and happy Veterans Day. Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community. Want a daily dose of MIT in your inbox? [Subscribe to the MIT Daily](. Generative AI Explained #[Large red text says “AI” in front of a dynamic, colorful, swirling background. 2 floating hands made of dots attempt to grab the text, and strange glowing blobs dance around the image.]( If a machine-learning model learns to make a prediction based on certain data, that’s typically called AI. What’s different about generative AI? As MIT experts explain, these models are trained to create new data, rather than make a prediction about a specific dataset. [Full story via MIT News →]( Top Headlines Panel examines Israel-Hamas conflict As military action continues, experts at an MIT event analyze what may lie ahead. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Physicists trap electrons in a 3D crystal for the first time The results open the door to exploring superconductivity and other exotic electronic states in three-dimensional materials. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( How to decarbonize the world, at scale The MIT Energy Initiative’s Annual Research Conference highlights strategies for implementing large-scale reductions in the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( History from the ground up Associate Professor Megan Black’s research digs into mining, power, and environmental politics in the US. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( How “blue” and “green” appeared in a language that didn’t have words for them People of a remote Amazonian society who learned Spanish as a second language began to interpret colors in a new way, an MIT study has found. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Teen uses calculus learned through MITx to better understand his cancer treatment High schooler Dustin Liang estimated his blood cell counts by applying knowledge from an MITx course and talking to doctors. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( #ThisisMIT #[Alt text: About 50 members of MIT’s Track and Cross Country teams pose for portrait in front of autumn trees and hold trophies, celebratory banners, and commemorative NCAA 50-year anniversary signs. Text via @‌mitathletics: And STILL your @‌newmacsports Cross Country Champs!! @‌mittfxc sweeps the races to bring the trophies back to Cambridge!]( [Follow @mitathletics on Instagram→]( In the Media How to succeed at failing // Freakonomics Institute Professor Robert Langer speaks about his approach to failure and the importance of perseverance in his professional career. [Full story via Freakonomics →]( A social entrepreneur is born at age 67 // Oprah Daily Anh Vu Sawyer MBA ’20 discusses her personal, professional, and academic journey to becoming a successful social entrepreneur. [Full story via Oprah Daily →]( JWST spots giant black holes all over the early universe // Quanta Magazine Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers at MIT and elsewhere have discovered that the young cosmos hosted a large number of tempestuous galaxies with large black holes at their cores. [Full story via Quanta Magazine →]( MIT study offers ideas for closing the STEM innovation gap // Women We Admire Professor Fiona Murray and her colleagues have found that female STEM PhD students are less likely than their male counterparts to receive mentorship from top inventor advisors. [Full story via Women We Admire →]( Watch This #[10 people standing on a beach pose with their black rocket, which they hold horizontally. It's a cloudy day.]( “I didn’t really think I’d be joining a rocket team, and then I’d heard there was an all-Indigenous build team starting,” says second-year undergraduate Peyton Meader, a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe. That team, MIT Doya — the Cherokee word for “beaver” — took second place at the 2023 First Nations Launch contest and is now preparing for another launch in 2024. [Watch the video →]( [“] The ultimate outcome of science is knowledge, and that knowledge is not very useful if it is not communicated to others! —Chelsea Finn ’14 at a recent event celebrating of a decade of the SuperUROP program [Full story via MIT News →]( Scene at MIT #[Collage of two images: Michelle Wolf performing on stage at Kresge Auditorium and crowd during the performance under dim purple lighting.]( The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) and De Florez Fund recently welcomed comedian Michelle Wolf for a fun-filled night at Kresge Auditorium. Wolf was formerly an on-air contributor and writer for “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” and went on to headline the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2018. The show began with an introduction from Dean Agustin Rayo, who welcomed attendees to the event before the packed auditorium enjoyed two hours of Wolf’s stand-up act. [Full story via MIT SHASS→]( This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by [MIT in pop culture](. 🍿 Have feedback to share? Email mitdailyeditor@mit.edu. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! —MIT News [Forward This Email]( [Subscribe]( [MIT Logo] This email was sent to {EMAIL} because of your affiliation with MIT, or because you signed up for our newsletters. [subscribe]( [update preferences]( [unsubscribe]( [view in browser]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( MIT News Office · 77 Massachusetts Avenue · Cambridge, MA 02139 · USA