Building 32 - a Podcast from MIT CSAIL Alliances

MIT has a new podcast. Announcing Building 32, from MIT CSAIL Alliances. Behind every technological breakthrough is a story. From email to the fax machine to the Roomba and even OkCupid, innovations that shape our daily lives trace back to MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, or MIT CSAIL. And technology that is years ahead of the market is being developed in CSAIL labs n...

Professor Armando Solar-Lezama, MIT CSAIL Associate Director, says there are currently three camps in AI discourse: the utopian thinkers, the alarmists, and the skeptics. And all of them are wrong. Plus, hear his thoughts on AI Agents, neurosymbolic programming, vibe coding, and more. In this conversation, Professor Solar-Lezama explains how "vibe coding" is transforming daily productivity for tho...

This month we’re featuring a special guest episode from our friends at MIT OpenCourseWare's Chalk Radio. Host Sarah Hansen sits down with Professor of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management and CSAIL PI Andrew Lo for a wide-ranging conversation about money, learning, and making financial advice accessible to everyone. Andrew Lo explains why he believes finance is a language we all need to s...

What does AI really mean for jobs, productivity, and the future of work? Recorded with a live audience at the MIT Museum! In this special live taping of the CSAIL Alliances Podcast, host Kara Miller explores big questions on AI and the future of work with two MIT researchers leading research on technology and labor—David Autor, MIT economist and coauthor of The Work of the Future, and Neil Thompso...

Host Kara Miller sits down with MIT Professor Russ Tedrake, a leading researcher in robotics and AI at CSAIL to explore the rapidly accelerating world of humanoid and intelligent robots. Tedrake takes us behind the scenes of the robotics revolution—from the cultural resistance and skepticism, to the moment everything shifted. Today, major tech leaders are declaring humanoid robots “the biggest pro...

In this episode of MIT CSAIL Alliances, host Kara Miller sits down with Professor Manya Ghobadi, a researcher and entrepreneur bridging the gap between academia and industry. Ghobadi, who has worked at Microsoft Research, Google, and now leads her own startup Systalyze, explores why so many companies struggle to efficiently deploy AI — and how her team is creating the “AI doctor” enterprises didn’...

How will AI reshape the future of deep tech, industry, and investment? In this episode of the MIT CSAIL Alliances Podcast, host Kara Miller speaks with Bilal Zuberi, founder and managing partner of Red Glass Capital. A longtime venture capitalist, Zuberi explains why AI isn’t just changing apps and SaaS tools—it’s unlocking massive sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, energy, and defense. He sh...

From sports drinks to self-driving cars, some of the most transformative innovations have emerged when universities and businesses join forces. In this episode, host Kara Miller talks with Lori Glover, author of Innovation Alchemy and Managing Director of Global Strategic Alliances at MIT CSAIL, about the surprising ways academic research and industry collaboration shape technology, talent, and th...

AI is transforming radiology, but not at the expense of skilled technicians. In the same way that personal computers and spreadsheets didn’t eliminate accountants, AI is not going to replace radiologists but will instead transform the way they work. MIT CSAIL Professor Polina Golland’s research sits at the intersection of machine learning and healthcare, specifically medical imaging. In this episo...

In this special crossover episode, we're bringing you a conversation from our friends at Me, Myself, and AI, a podcast by MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group. Walter Sun, Senior VP and Global Head of AI at SAP, joins hosts Shervin Khodabandeh and Sam Ransbotham for a deep dive into how SAP is deploying AI at scale across its platforms, from building a generative AI hub with acc...

Chris Miller, Tufts Professor and author, explains how semiconductors—those tiny chips inside your phone, car, and coffee maker—have become the most critical technology in the world. Today’s global economy, military power, and AI breakthroughs all hinge on who makes the chips and where. In this episode, Dr. Miller explores how the chip industry evolved from independent manufacturing giants to spec...

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, unin...

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 an...

Finches, zebras, Darwin... and AI? 🧠🌍 Two centuries after Darwin explored the Galápagos, artificial intelligence is transforming how we study and protect the natural world, rapidly expanding what’s possible in biodiversity and ecology research. In this episode, MIT CSAIL Assistant Professor Sara Beery explains how AI is unlocking new possibilities in conservation, from identifying endangered spe...

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...

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 discus...

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 wo...

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...

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 mi...

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. Howev...

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 explain...

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...

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...

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/curr...

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://...