Author Description

"Computing the Future: An Era of Innovation at MIT CSAIL" outlines the diverse range of ground-breaking research and academic efforts that have taken place over the past decade at MIT's largest interdepartmental research laboratory, the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). Lab director Daniela Rus and MIT science writer Adam Conner-Simons lead readers on a journey through a multifaceted set of research disciplines that CSAIL has impacted, spanning topics such as algorithms, AI, cryptography, natural language processing, performance engineering, and vision and graphics.These innovations include fairer machine learning algorithms, tools for automatic bug repair, and next-generation computer chips. The authors outline lab work has allowed researchers to predict traffic accidents, preserve fiber-optic networks, detect dementia, develop new antibiotics, and even help take the first-ever image of a black hole. In the process, they explore the history of computer science and how labs like CSAIL have pioneered approaches to computing that improve how people work, play, and learn. Rus and Conner-Simons look at the work retrospectively to make the argument that studying existing methods alone will not get the job done. "We need major advances and new ideas to drive our field forward," they write. "And we have to embrace our responsibility to the world for the tools we develop, to ensure we're making the world better for everyone and not just the lucky few."