Portrait of Regina Barzialy

NOVA ‘A.I. REVOLUTION’ Dives Into the Past, Present, and Future of One of the Most Consequential Technological Advancements of Our Time

BOSTON, MA; Feb.12, 2024 — The award-winning PBS science series, NOVA, a production of GBH, will premiere the one-hour film “A.I. REVOLUTION” Wednesday, March 27 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on PBS. Can we harness the power of artificial intelligence to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems without creating an uncontrollable force that ultimately destroys us? New A.I. tools like ChatGPT can now answer complex questions, write essays, and generate realistic-looking images in a matter of seconds. In “A.I. REVOLUTION,” which will also be available for streaming at pbs.org/nova, NOVA on YouTube, and the PBS App, correspondent Miles O’Brien meets some of the scientists who are at the forefront of A.I. advancement and explores the promise, perils, and possible future of this unprecedented technology taking the world by storm.

Beyond drug discovery and prosthetics, the film explores several other ways that A.I. is transforming science. Computer scientist Regina Barzilay at Massachusetts General Hospital has trained a neural network to detect breast cancer from mammograms years before they are detectable by human eyes with over 85% accuracy. A.I. is also being used to help detect lung cancer. Lives are even being saved from natural disasters, as A.I. is now being deployed in California to detect wildfires early before they rage out of control. Learn more
Screenshot of a video with a title that reads "AI and Responsible Clinical Implementation"

AI Developers Should Understand the Risks of Deploying Their Clinical Tools, MIT Expert Says

AI applications for health care should be designed to function well in different settings and across different populations, says Marzyeh Ghassemi, PhD (Video), whose work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) focuses on creating “healthy” machine learning (ML) models that are “robust, private, and fair.” The way AI-generated clinical advice is presented to physicians is also important for reducing harms, according to Ghassemi, who is an assistant professor at MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Institute for Medical Engineering and Science. And, she says, developers should be aware that they have a responsibility to clinicians and patients who could one day be affected by their tools. Learn more
Plane taking off from a handheld tablet surrounded by white geometric lines and floating blue pixels.

Stratospheric safety standards: How aviation could steer regulation of AI in health

What is the likelihood of dying in a plane crash? According to a 2022 report released by the International Air Transport Association, the industry fatality risk is 0.11. In other words, on average, a person would need to take a flight every day for 25,214 years to have a 100 percent chance of experiencing a fatal accident. Long touted as one of the safest modes of transportation, the highly regulated aviation industry has MIT scientists thinking that it may hold the key to regulating artificial intelligence in health care.

Marzyeh Ghassemi, an assistant professor at the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and Institute of Medical Engineering Sciences, and Julie Shah, an H.N. Slater Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, share an interest in the challenges of transparency in AI models. After chatting in early 2023, they realized that aviation could serve as a model to ensure that marginalized patients are not harmed by biased AI models. Learn more
AI-generated vintage illustration showing a team of male and female scientists surrounding a complex metal machine covered in glass

How important is explainability? Applying clinical trial principles to AI safety testing

The use of AI in consumer-facing businesses is on the rise — as is the concern for how best to govern the technology over the long-term. Pressure to better govern AI is only growing with the Biden administration’s recent executive order that mandated new measurement protocols for the development and use of advanced AI systems. Learn more
Dina Katabi standing on stage holding a microphone and a remote.

MIT Jameel Clinic conference urges use of AI in healthcare

The Jameel Clinic, the epicenter of artificial intelligence in healthcare at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recently hosted the first conference in Saudi Arabia to drive the use of AI in healthcare. The event marked the second edition of AI Cures MENASA, a one-day conference that aims to explore the integration of AI into healthcare with a focus on the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia region. Learn more

MIT Jameel Clinic hosts first conference in Saudi Arabia to drive the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare

The MIT Jameel Clinic, the epicentre of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), hosted today its first conference in Saudi Arabia to advance the use of AI in healthcare. The 2023 edition of AI Cures • MENASA aims to explore the integration of AI into healthcare with a focus on the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) region. Learn more
Person wearing a lab coat, goggles, and gloves looking at a screen atop a microscope.

9 new breakthroughs in the fight against cancer

Lung cancer kills more people in the US yearly than the next three deadliest cancers combined. It's notoriously hard to detect the early stages of the disease with X-rays and scans alone. However, MIT scientists have developed an AI learning model to predict a person's likelihood of developing lung cancer up to six years in advance via a low-dose CT scan. Learn more
Image of Regina Barzilay typing on a laptop at a desk
Illustration of a human hand reaching out to a digitally generated hand

AI’s Balance of Power

An inconspicuous box sits beside the Wi-Fi router, silently humming its own much-lower-energy radio waves through the house. The patient—who has a family history of Parkinson’s disease—makes dinner, watches TV, and falls asleep. Nothing amiss. Learn more
Illustration of a computer in a stone age setting

How an archeological approach can help leverage biased data in AI to improve medicine

Although computer scientists may initially treat data bias and error as a nuisance, researchers argue it’s a hidden treasure trove for reflecting societal values. Learn more
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