David Rotman

Scientists have used AI to discover promising drug-like compounds. The universe of molecules that could be turned into potentially life-saving drugs is mind-boggling in size: researchers estimate the number at around 1060. That’s more than all the atoms in the solar system, offering virtually unlimited chemical possibilities—if only chemists could find the worthwhile ones. Now…

The prospect of powerful new quantum computers comes with a puzzle. They’ll be capable of feats of computation inconceivable with today’s machines, but we haven’t yet figured out what we might do with those powers. One likely and enticing possibility: precisely designing molecules. Chemists are already dreaming of new proteins for far more effective drugs,…

AI’s big advances have so far relied on algorithms that train on huge piles of data. If robots are going to work in the real world, that will have to change.

The leading installer of rooftop solar panels says it has achieved record efficiencies with its panels.

The pandemic shows that the US is no longer much good at coming up with technologies relevant to our most basic needs.

America’s paralysis reveals a deep and fundamental flaw in how the nation thinks about innovation.

The failure of capitalism to solve our biggest problems is prompting many to question one of its basic precepts.

In 2001, we picked our first annual set of 10 breakthrough technologies. Here’s what their fates tell us about progress over the last two decades.

In nanotechnology and molecular biology, researchers are often severely limited by the inability to observe atoms and molecules in three dimensions. Proteins, for instance, fold into complex patterns that are largely invisible to the biologists trying to work out their functions of the biomolecules.…

Azeem Azhar’s new book “Exponential Age” predicts stupendous technology growth will lead to an age of abundance. The reality is more complicated.

New digital technologies are exacerbating inequality. Here’s how scientists creating AI can make better choices.

Three bills investing hundreds of billions into technological development could change the way we think about government’s role in growing prosperity.

New large language models will transform many jobs. Whether they will lead to widespread prosperity or not is up to us.

Can a massive infusion of money for making computer chips transform the economy of Syracuse and show us how to rebuild the nation’s industrial base?

A decade after the high profile bust of cleantech 1.0, venture-backed firms are again flourishing. We need them to succeed. Will they?

Turning advances in clean energy and carbon-free industrial processes into sustainable businesses is expensive and risky. But we can learn from past failures.

In a 1938 article, MIT’s president argued that technical progress didn’t mean fewer jobs. He’s still right.

Watch the ondemand video of the Roundtables session: Building a Cleaner Future: Better Batteries and Their Materials. Available only to MIT Alumni and subscribers. Hosted by Casey Crownhart, Climate reporter, David Rotman, Editor at large, James Temple, Sr Editor of Climate & Energy. Learn more about what battery technologies will matter, how we will build them, and the community impacts.

Artificial intelligence could put us on the path to a booming economic future, but getting there will take some serious course corrections.

Watch the on-demand video of the Roundtables session, Putting AI’s Climate Impact Into Perspective. Available only to MIT Alumni and subscribers. Featured speakers are David Rotman, Editor-at-large, Melissa Heikkilä, Senior AI Reporter, and James Temple, Sr Editor for Energy.