Blockchains Meet IoT, Supply Chains and Distributed Energy Systems
Michael Casey | E14-393
The Internet of Things—billions of interconnected devices projected to transact autonomously with each other—portends vast new opportunities and challenges for an increasingly digitized global economy. But how will those devices trust each other? Which institutions will intermediate their exchanges? Who will control the reams of data they'll produce? The truth is that this hyper-decentralized and automated economy of IoT microtransactions might be impossible without the aid of a decentralized trust system of record-keeping such as a blockchain. In this workshop, we will explore what’s possible and what’s not when blockchain capabilities, including smart contracts, are introduced into IoT environments. In particular, we will explore the peer-to-peer markets that might arise in systems such as supply chains and solar microgrids.
Future of Work: AI & the Ecology of Labor
Morgan Frank, Esteban Moro Egido, Manuel Cebrian, Iyad Rahwan | E15-359
Labor and employment, fields where automation threatens to perturb the status quo, are long-standing interests in the field of labor economics. How do occupations redefine themselves with changing labor demands? Does modern technology constrain career mobility? What factors lead to resilient employment opportunities in cities? While economists have explored the impact of robotics in fields like manufacturing and transportation, there remain unexplored labor dynamics associated with technological change. In this workshop, we explore the ecology of labor. Our novel approach for considering cities, occupations, and workplace skills as a mutualistic ecological system allows us to leverage network science and dynamical systems to map the structure of skill complementarity, career advancement, and urban migration that underlies the US labor force. This workshop will explore which cities should expect
Hacking Manufacturing
Jifei Ou, Jie Qi, Artem Dementyev | 3rd Floor Atrium
This workshop will discuss how to foster innovation by bringing designers, hackers, and engineers to the factory floor. We will share demo projects from our summer 2017 course in Shenzhen, China, and the students' experience of working and researching in the factories there. We will also discuss how to establish collaborations between researchers and members by creating new "Hacking Manufacturing" pathways—such as researchers in residence at factories, and bringing the factory back to the Lab through courses.
ML Space Exploration Initiative: Demo Showcase & Launch Schedule
Ariel Ekblaw, Joe Paradiso | E14-244
Join us for the latest updates on the Media Lab's Space Exploration initiative. Come for a sneak peak of the 16 research payloads soon to launch on our November Zero Gravity flight—physical hardware will be on display for in-person demos. We'll share the latest in our space-hacking portfolio, discuss our suborbital and orbital launch schedule for 2018, and update members on the numerous ways to get involved. We look forward to your input on the future of space research—from space tourism to consumer products in zero-g, to aerospace sensors and Mars missions. The Space Exploration initiative workshop welcomes and encourages companies seeking potential collaborations in space-related research.
Open Agriculture Initiative: Meet the Farmers
Caleb Harper, Hildreth England | E14-514B
The Open Agriculture initiative brings together partners from industry, government, and academia in a research collective that's creating collaborative tools and open technology platforms for the exploration of future agricultural systems. Join us for insights from OpenAg's research in Food Computers, data and climate prospecting, plant microbiome interactions, flavor and fragrances, and education and community-building. Light bites and beverages provided using freshly harvested ingredients from OpenAg's Food Computer Farm.
Organizational Rhythms
Sandy Pentland | E14-240
The world is becoming driven by data, but most organizations are still only innovating around the edges. Organizational Rhythms researchers, led by Prof. Alex Pentland, pioneered the science and technology to discover behavioral intelligence from data and handle that data in a trusted, secure way. The algorithms, software, and hardware created by Organizational Rhythms research offer a robust foundation for designing data-centered organizations of the future, enabling them to:
- Organize people, teams, and culture around real-time data systems;
- Innovate new processes and develop an innovation culture;
- Govern and manage digital risk through trusted data, secure sharing, and protection of data rights; and navigate globally disparate and privacy and cybersecurity regulations.
Open Ocean Initiative
Katy Croff Bell, Joe Paradiso | E14-493
The ocean is vast, exciting, and critical to life on earth, and yet it remains largely a mystery. The Open Ocean initiative works at the intersection of science, technology, art, and society to design and deploy new ways to understand the ocean and connect people to it in novel ways, empowering a global community of explorers. Together, we will discover the unknown, the extremes, and the wonder of the sea—because the ocean is for everyone. We welcome member companies interested in exploration, research, learning, and conservation to join us in a discussion about potential collaborations.