CSAIL Alliances Podcasts

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

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

Finches, zebras, Darwin... and AI?

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

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

The MIT CSAIL Alliances Podcast is collaborating with MIT Sloan's Me, Myself, and AI podcast to share a special bonus episode this month. Paul Romer once considered himself the most optimistic economist. He rightfully predicted that technology would blow up as an economic driver coming out of the inflation of the 1970s, but acknowledges he did not foresee the inequality that technology advances would lead to. On this episode of the Me, Myself, and AI podcast, Paul shares his views on AI advances and their implications for society. Rather than pave the way for full automation, he is a proponent of keeping humans in the loop and believes that technology can be pointed in a direction for more meaningful and beneficial use, citing education as an area ripe to benefit from AI. More about CSAIL Alliances and our podcasts: csail.mit.edu/podcast For more episodes from Me, Myself, and AI: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/audio-series/me-myself-and-ai/

How AI will Change Your Job with MIT Economics Professor David Autor & The Potential of Self-Supervised Learning with CSAIL PhD Student Sharut Gupta Host: Kara Miller Part One: MIT Economics Professor David Autor says that AI is “not like a calculator where you just punch in the numbers and get the right answer. It's much harder to figure out how to be effective with it.” Offering unique insights into the future of work in an AI-powered world, Professor Autor explains his biggest worries, the greatest upside scenarios, and how he believes we should be approaching AI as a tool, and addresses how AI will impact jobs like nursing and skilled trades. Studies and papers referenced in conversation: AI and Product Innovation: https://aidantr.github.io/files/AI_innovation.p AI and the Gender Gap: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4759218 Robotics and Nursing Homes: https://www.nber.org/papers/w33116 Part Two: CSAIL PhD student Sharut Gutpa describes how self-supervised learning might bring about truly adaptable models which can respond to fast-changing environments, like consumer preferences. CSAIL Alliances connects business and industry to the people and research of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Labs. Learn more about CSAIL Alliances here. Each month, the CSAIL podcast features cutting-edge MIT and CSAIL experts discussing their current research, challenges and successes, as well as the potential impact of emerging tech. Learn more and listen to past episodes. Connect with CSAIL Alliances: On our site (https://cap.csail.mit.edu/about-us/meet-our-team) On X ( / csail_alliances ) On LinkedIn ( / mit-CSAIL )

Have we achieved Artificial General Intelligence? MIT CSAIL Professor Manolis Kellis argues yes. Computers can do nearly every intellectual task that humans are capable of and are rapidly tackling the physical tasks. What does this mean for the future of AI integration, regulation, and development? Hear Professor Kellis' ideas about how businesses can incorporate LLMs (large language models) to minimize silos, why we shouldn't put up too many guardrails on AI technology, and how human-AI collaboration can lead to broader societal benefit, including healthcare. Professor Kellis is working toward a future where AI transforms healthcare through a deeper understanding of our individual genetics and targeted treatment development. Visit Professor Kellis's website to learn more about his work on AI and computational biology: https://www.csail.mit.edu/person/manolis-kellis

Associate Professor Marzyeh Ghassemi discusses why, despite its tremendous potential for good, AI must be approached with caution, especially in high risk areas like healthcare. Biases in training data can perpetuate real-world inequalities, providers might rely too much on potentially faulty AI, and tools created for one demographic might not necessarily translate to a different population. However, considering the incredible potential of AI to tackle challenges in transformative ways, it's worth approaching these considerations with rigorous academic insight. Learn more about her work here: https://www.csail.mit.edu/person/marzyeh-ghassemi

This month's podcast is a double feature. First up, Associate Professor and Chief Health AI Officer at the University of California San Diego Karandeep Singh explains the reality of using artificial intelligence for medicine. Professor Singh extrapolates on what works, what doesn't, and how some challenges are social rather than technical. Plus, MIT CSAIL's Assistant Professor Andreea Bobu explains how large language models are advancing the field of robotics. Thanks to LLMs, giving directions to robots might soon look more like a conversation, without the need for step-by-step commands. You can learn more about CSAIL research and access a full transcript of this podcast at https://cap.csail.mit.edu/. To learn about CSAIL's Professional Development Courses, including the upcoming Cybersecurity for Technical Leaders and Deploying AI courses, visit here: cap.csail.mit.edu/events-professional-programs. Podcast listeners save 10% on courses with code MITXPOD10.

Founding Director of the MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative CSAIL Senior Research Scientist Daniel Weitzner says a lack of visibility about how personal data is being used is leading to an erosion of customer trust. However, companies increasingly need to leverage data for analytic advantage, generative AI applications, and more. His research focuses on solutions which would empower consumers with visibility and control of their data, facilitating a future of accountability and trust. Hear more about his work here: https://www.csail.mit.edu/person/daniel-weitzner Find out more about CSAIL Alliances, as well as a full transcript of this podcast, at: https://cap.csail.mit.edu/podcasts/how-companies-can-rebuild-trust-around-data-danny-weitzner?utm_source=alliancesmembers&utm_medium=pardot&utm_campaign=dannypod24 If you would like to learn more about CSAIL's Professional Development Courses, including the upcoming Driving Innovation with Generative AI, visit here: cap.csail.mit.edu/events-professional-programs. Podcast listeners save 10% on courses with code MITXPOD10.

Professor of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management and CSAIL Andrew Lo believes AI can help everyday consumers make important financial decisions by democratizing access to quality finance advice. His research aims to address the challenges of deploying AI in finance by, for example, answering questions around responsibility and engaging with financial advisors to make sure such tools are useful in the field. Professor Lo is the faculty director for the FintechAI@CSAIL research initiative. Find out more about CSAIL Alliances, as well as a full transcript of this podcast, at https://cap.csail.mit.edu/podcasts/how-ai-can-help-financial-decision-making-andrew-lo If you would like to learn more about CSAIL's Professional Development Courses, including the upcoming Driving Innovation with Generative AI, visit here: cap.csail.mit.edu/events-professional-programs. Podcast listeners save 10% on courses with code MITXPOD10. Looking for another great podcast? MIT Sloan Management Review's "Me, Myself, and AI," expert hosts and researchers talk with AI leaders from organizations like NASA, Upwork, Github, and Meta to explore how organizations achieve success with generative AI — and what challenges and ethical considerations they face along the way. Listen to Me, Myself, and AI wherever you stream podcasts. https://link.chtbl.com/pxsEZ4pf?sid=CSAIL

Princeton Professor Arvind Narayanan, author of "AI Snake Oil," sheds light on the stark contrast between the public perception and actual capabilities of AI. In this podcast, he explores the significant gap between the excitement surrounding AI and its current limitations. Find out more about CSAIL Alliances, as well as a full transcript of this podcast, at https://cap.csail.mit.edu/podcasts/current-state-ai-arvind-narayanan. If you would like to learn more about the Cybersecurity for Technical Leaders Course, visit here:https://cap.csail.mit.edu/cybersecurity-technical-leaders-online-course-mit-csail-alliances Podcast listeners save 10% with code MITXTPOD10

Associate Professor Stefanie Mueller, who leads the Human-Computer Interaction group at CSAIL, discusses her groundbreaking research using generative AI for 3D applications. Specifically she explains how generative AI can be combined with mechanical simulation to create stable and personalized 3D models. Find out more about CSAIL Alliances, as well as a full transcript of this podcast, at https://cap.csail.mit.edu. If you would like to learn more about the Cybersecurity for Technical Leaders Course, visit here: https://cap.csail.mit.edu/cybersecurity-technical-leaders-online-course-mit-csail-alliances Podcast listeners save 10% with code MITXTPOD10

MIT Professor Daniel Jackson, associate director of CSAIL and the author of The Essence of Software, argues that if your design is flawed, so is your product. In this podcast, Prof. Jackson shares some cases where software design makes or breaks big companies and what can be done to improve software design in the future. Find out more here: cap.csail.mit.edu

This week on the CSAIL Alliances Podcast we're joined by George Westerman, a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and Founder of the Global Opportunity Initiative. Westerman discusses the future of AI, the opportunities it presents, as well as some potential pitfalls. Find out more about CSAIL Alliances, as well as a full transcript of this podcast at https://cap.csail.mit.edu/

Today's generative AI programs know how to write, compose music, and even create works of art. But it learned to do so by training on data made by human creators without asking their permission. As independent artists and giant media companies bring their cases to court, the question is: will all this fundamentally change the human-AI relationship? This week's podcast is a special crossover episode with our friends at Click Here; find out more about them here: https://therecord.media/podcast

MIT CSAIL Professors Srini Devadas and Vinod Vaikuntanathan join the CSAIL Alliances Podcast for a conversation about cybersecurity, addressing topics from federated protocols, the importance of data-driven approaches, and how quantum computing could change the landscape. Find out more about Professor Devadas, Professor Vaikuntanathan and CSAIL Alliances here: A transcript of this podcast is also available on the CSAIL Alliances website.

On this episode of the CSAIL Alliances Podcast, hear from industry experts Andy Ellis (former Chief Security Officer at Akamai) and Amy Herzog (Chief Information Security Officer, Ads & Devices at Amazon) about what companies should be focused on in a changing security landscape. Ellis and Herzog discuss the role of AI, the future of security, and the importance of maintaining vigilance with existing protocols like email. Find a full transcript of this podcast and more information at cap.csail.mit.edu

CSAIL Director Professor Daniela Rus shares insights from her new book "The Heart and the Chip". Professor Rus discusses the past, present and future of how robots shape our lives. For more information on Professor Rus' new book, and to find a full transcript of this podcast please visit cap.csail.mit.edu

CSAIL Professor Hal Abelson has a long history of looking at the importance of Computer Science education and helping shape its future. Listen as he joins Kara Miller in conversation to discuss how AI will shape education moving forward. CORRECTION: Please note, the website in the outro of the podcast should be cap.csail.mit.edu. A full transcript of this podcast will be available at cap.csail.mit.edu

CSAIL's Dr. Neil Thompson joins Kara Miller for a conversation on how AI will affect the future of business. Dr. Thompson also shares insights into the race for computing power and how that competition is shaping the landscape of industry. Find more about Dr. Neil Thompson and his research, as well as a transcript of this podcast at http://cap.csail.mit.edu/podcasts/ais-impact-future-work-neil-thompson.

MIT Professor Thomas Malone sits down with Kara Miller for a discussion about the intersections of business and computer science. Find a full transcript of this podcast and more at cap.csail.mit.edu

MIT Professor Charles E. Leiserson discusses business, education, optimization and the end of Moore's Law with Kara Miller. Find a full transcript of this podcast at cap.csail.mit.edu

CSAIL Professor and Turing Award winner Mike Stonebraker sits down with Kara Miller for a conversation about research and business. They're joined by Gant Redmon, CEO of Hopara, an Agile Digital Twin company that was built at MIT CSAIL. A full transcript of this podcast can be found at cap.csail.mit.edu

CSAIL Professor Yoon Kim joins Kara Miller for a conversation about the past, present and future of Large Language Models. A full transcript of this podcast can be found at cap.csail.mit.edu

CSAIL Professor Saman Amarasinghe discusses how Large Language Models like Chat GPT, will alter the future of programming. Professor Amarasinghe also examines how structured data fits into the equation. A transcript of this podcast can be found here: cap.csail.mit.edu

Vivienne Sze is an associate professor in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She's a coauthor of Efficient Processing of Deep Neural Networks. A full transcript will be available at cap.csail.mit.edu

CSAIL Professor Armando Solar-Lezama shares his insights on Program Synthesis. A full transcript of this podcast is available at cap.csail.mit.edu

Hear from CSAIL Professor Christina Delimitrou as she outlines advances being made in the cloud computing space. A full transcript of this podcast will be available at cap.csail.mit.edu

CSAIL Professor Henry Corrigan-Gibbs shares insights into his research that builds computer systems using ideas from cryptography, computer security, and computer systems. A transcript of this podcast can be found at cap.csail.mit.edu

CSAIL Professor Sam Hopkins gives an overview of the landscape of high dimensional statistics, and shares some of the research that he and his colleagues at CSAIL are working on to shape it. Professor Hopkins would like to note one correction, when he refers to the "planted clique" problem, it should be "max clique in a random graph". A full transcript of this podcast is available at cap.csail.mit.edu

Professor Mengjia Yan shares insights into her cybersecurity research. A full transcript of this podcast will be available at cap.csail.mit.edu

Cambridge based visual artist and MIT alumni Karl Sims shares his insights on art, science and business.

CSAIL Professor Arvind details his work in Near-storage computing. He explains how he's using flash storage instead of massive amounts of DRAM for big data problems. A transcript of this podcast will be available at cap.csail.mit.edu

MIT Professors Peter Shor and Will Oliver join for a conversation on the current state and future possibilities of quantum computing. A transcription for this podcast can be found at cap.csail.mit.edu

CSAIL Professor Neil Thompson explains how the end of Moore's Law will affect the computing stack, and what industry leaders should consider when facing this problem. Accessible captions can be found at cap.csail.mit.edu

CSAIL Professor Gerald Jay Sussman discusses the importance of a breadth of research, lessons academia and industry can learn from each other, and how to be a flexible programmer. Accessible captions can be found at cap.csail.mit.edu

CSAIL Professor John Guttag discusses the process of incorporating AI into healthcare. Guttag also talks about the process of bringing an idea out of the lab and into a full-fledged business.

CSAIL Professor Una-May O'Reilly discusses her work at the ALFA Group at MIT CSAIL and gives insights into the differences between Deep Learning and Deep Understanding.

CSAIL Professor David Karger discusses two of his research areas with CSAIL Alliances. He reviews his team's work on no-code and low-code authoring to help people create custom solutions to unique problems. Next, he discusses tools he's created to improve online discussions. A transcript of this podcast can be found here: https://cap.csail.mit.edu/sites/default/files/resource-pdfs/David%20Karger%20Podcast%20Export%201.pdf

CSAIL's David Clark discusses the differences between misinformation and disinformation, and why the latter is a more serious threat. He also examines possible solutions to the disinformation problem. You can find a transcript for this podcast here: https://cap.csail.mit.edu/sites/default/files/resource-pdfs/David%20Clark%20Podcast%202022.pdf

CSAIL Professor Adam Chlipala is working to change some of the fundamental ways we use cryptography. His latest project, Fiat Cryptography, utilizes formal methods to create complex cryptographic code to guarantee correctness. Fiat Cryptography stands to significantly change the efficiency and security of the web. A transcript for this episode can be found here: https://cap.csail.mit.edu/sites/default/files/resource-pdfs/Adam%20Chlipala%20Podcast%20Export%201.pdf

CSAIL Principal Research Scientist Ruth Rosenholtz discusses the rise of video conferencing throughout the pandemic. Rosenholtz shares fascinating insights from her vision science research that could help reshape how video conferencing platforms are used. Please find a link to this podcast's transcript here: https://cap.csail.mit.edu/sites/default/files/resource-pdfs/Ruth%20Rosenholtz%20CSAIL%20Alliances%20Podcast%203.pdf

Professor Justin Solomon discusses the many applications of processing geometric data including medical vision, 3D animation and autonomous vehicles. Please find a transcript for this podcast here: https://cap.csail.mit.edu/sites/default/files/resource-pdfs/Justin%20Solomon%20Podcast%20Export%201%281%29.pdf

Professor Manolis Kellis of MIT CSAIL and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard discusses the effects COVID-19 has had on his computational biology research. Kellis believes that by being aware of genetic predispositions we can better prepare to confront each person's unique challenges. Access the transcript for this podcast at: https://cap.csail.mit.edu/sites/default/files/2021-10/Manolis%20Kellis%20CAP%20Podcast%20Export%203.pdf

CSAIL's Tim Kraska is developing new autoML approaches to make analytics more accessible to a broader range of users and optimize database architecture systems for companies. Access the transcript for the podcast at: http://cap.csail.mit.edu/sites/default/files/2021-08/Tim%20Kraska%20podcast.pdf.

MIT Schwarzman College of Computing Professor and Cambridge Mobile Telematics founder Sam Madden discusses how far technology can be pushed into other application domains. His research explores reinforcement learning and repurposing shelf machine learning components to advance systems and solve current challenges. Access the transcript for the podcast at: https://cap.csail.mit.edu/sites/default/files/2021-07/Sam%20Madden%20Podcast_0.pdf.

Professor Daniel Jackson of MIT CSAIL is working on a number of projects to make software more usable, reliable, and secure. By rethinking the fundamentals of software design, he says that developers can ultimately give more flexibility to users in the structure and organization of software, as well as meet more user needs. Learn more about Professor Jackson at: https://bit.ly/3paRcsm Access the transcript for the podcast at: https://cap.csail.mit.edu/sites/default/files/research-pdfs/Daniel%20Jackson%20Podcast.pdf

Professor Jacob Andreas of MIT CSAIL is trying to close the gap between current machine learning techniques and human abilities to learn language and learn from language about the rest of the world. Learn more about Prof. Andreas at: https://bit.ly/3vECQ5o. Access the transcript for the podcast at: https://cap.csail.mit.edu/sites/default/files/research-pdfs/Edit%20II%20.pdf.

As one of the founding directors of the Free Software Foundation, CSAIL's Prof. Hal Abelson believes that free software empowers everyone to maintain the freedom to run, edit, contribute to, and share software, as well as see everything the software is doing. Learn more about Prof. Abelson at: https://bit.ly/3fPIEEq. Access the transcript for the podcast at: https://cap.csail.mit.edu/sites/default/files/research-pdfs/ResearcherSpotlight_HalAbelson_02_24_2021.pdf