Feed aggregator
New US dietary guidelines are heavy on meat and carbon emissions
Trump’s shadow looms over EU aviation emissions plan
Australian state faces catastrophic fire risk from heat wave
Severe storms bring high winds and possible tornadoes to Oklahoma
3 Questions: How AI could optimize the power grid
Artificial intelligence has captured headlines recently for its rapidly growing energy demands, and particularly the surging electricity usage of data centers that enable the training and deployment of the latest generative AI models. But it’s not all bad news — some AI tools have the potential to reduce some forms of energy consumption and enable cleaner grids.
One of the most promising applications is using AI to optimize the power grid, which would improve efficiency, increase resilience to extreme weather, and enable the integration of more renewable energy. To learn more, MIT News spoke with Priya Donti, the Silverman Family Career Development Professor in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and a principal investigator at the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS), whose work focuses on applying machine learning to optimize the power grid.
Q: Why does the power grid need to be optimized in the first place?
A: We need to maintain an exact balance between the amount of power that is put into the grid and the amount that comes out at every moment in time. But on the demand side, we have some uncertainty. Power companies don’t ask customers to pre-register the amount of energy they are going to use ahead of time, so some estimation and prediction must be done.
Then, on the supply side, there is typically some variation in costs and fuel availability that grid managers need to be responsive to. That has become an even bigger issue because of the integration of energy from time-varying renewable sources, like solar and wind, where uncertainty in the weather can have a major impact on how much power is available. Then, at the same time, depending on how power is flowing in the grid, there is some power lost through resistive heat on the power lines. So, as a grid operator, how do you make sure all that is working all the time? That is where optimization comes in.
Q: How can AI be most useful in power grid optimization?
A: One way AI can be helpful is to use a combination of historical and real-time data to make more precise predictions about how much renewable energy will be available at a certain time. This could lead to a cleaner power grid by allowing us to handle and better utilize these resources.
AI could also help tackle the complex optimization problems that power grid operators must solve to balance supply and demand in a way that also reduces costs. These optimization problems are used to determine which power generators should produce power, how much they should produce, and when they should produce it, as well as when batteries should be charged and discharged, and whether we can leverage flexibility in power loads. These optimization problems are so computationally expensive that operators use approximations so they can solve them in a feasible amount of time. But these approximations are often wrong, and when we integrate more renewable energy into the grid, they are thrown off even farther. AI can help by providing more accurate approximations in a faster manner, which can be deployed in real-time to help grid operators responsively and proactively manage the grid.
AI could also be useful in the planning of next-generation power grids. Planning for power grids requires one to use huge simulation models, so AI can play a big role in running those models more efficiently. The technology can also help with predictive maintenance by detecting where anomalous behavior on the grid is likely to happen, reducing inefficiencies that come from outages. More broadly, AI could also be applied to accelerate experimentation aimed at creating better batteries, which would allow the integration of more energy from renewable sources into the grid.
Q: How should we think about the pros and cons of AI, from an energy sector perspective?
A: One important thing to remember is that AI refers to a heterogeneous set of technologies. There are different types and sizes of models that are used, and different ways that models are used. If you are using a model that is trained on a smaller amount of data with a smaller number of parameters, that is going to consume much less energy than a large, general-purpose model.
In the context of the energy sector, there are a lot of places where, if you use these application-specific AI models for the applications they are intended for, the cost-benefit tradeoff works out in your favor. In these cases, the applications are enabling benefits from a sustainability perspective — like incorporating more renewables into the grid and supporting decarbonization strategies.
Overall, it’s important to think about whether the types of investments we are making into AI are actually matched with the benefits we want from AI. On a societal level, I think the answer to that question right now is “no.” There is a lot of development and expansion of a particular subset of AI technologies, and these are not the technologies that will have the biggest benefits across energy and climate applications. I’m not saying these technologies are useless, but they are incredibly resource-intensive, while also not being responsible for the lion’s share of the benefits that could be felt in the energy sector.
I’m excited to develop AI algorithms that respect the physical constraints of the power grid so that we can credibly deploy them. This is a hard problem to solve. If an LLM says something that is slightly incorrect, as humans, we can usually correct for that in our heads. But if you make the same magnitude of a mistake when you are optimizing a power grid, that can cause a large-scale blackout. We need to build models differently, but this also provides an opportunity to benefit from our knowledge of how the physics of the power grid works.
And more broadly, I think it’s critical that those of us in the technical community put our efforts toward fostering a more democratized system of AI development and deployment, and that it’s done in a way that is aligned with the needs of on-the-ground applications.
Enduring impacts of El Niño on life expectancy in past and future climates
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 09 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-025-02534-4
The El Niño–Southern Oscillation threatens human health, and its impacts are likely to intensify under climate change. This research examines how historical El Niño–Southern Oscillation events have caused life expectancy and economic losses across the Pacific Rim and projects future impacts and vulnerable groups.Channelized melt beneath Antarctic ice shelves previously underestimated
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 09 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-025-02537-1
Channelized subsurface melting is an important process in the dynamics of ice shelves. Here the authors present observational data from Antarctic ice shelves and show that their basal melt is up to 50% higher than previously assumed.How Hackers Are Fighting Back Against ICE
ICE has been invading U.S. cities, targeting, surveilling, harassing, assaulting, detaining, and torturing people who are undocumented immigrants. They also have targeted people with work permits, asylum seekers, permanent residents (people holding “green cards”), naturalized citizens, and even citizens by birth. ICE has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on surveillance technology to spy on anyone—and potentially everyone—in the United States. It can be hard to imagine how to defend oneself against such an overwhelming force. But a few enterprising hackers have started projects to do counter surveillance against ICE, and hopefully protect their communities through clever use of technology.
Let’s start with Flock, the company behind a number of automated license plate reader (ALPR) and other camera technologies. You might be surprised at how many Flock cameras there are in your community. Many large and small municipalities around the country have signed deals with Flock for license plate readers to track the movement of all cars in their city. Even though these deals are signed by local police departments, oftentimes ICE also gains access.
Because of their ubiquity, people are interested in finding out where and how many Flock cameras are in their community. One project that can help with this is the OUI-SPY, a small piece of open source hardware. The OUI-SPY runs on a cheap Arduino compatible chip called an ESP-32. There are multiple programs available for loading on the chip, such as “Flock You,” which allows people to detect Flock cameras and “Sky-Spy” to detect overhead drones. There’s also “BLE Detect,” which detects various Bluetooth signals including ones from Axon, Meta’s Ray-Bans that secretly record you, and more. It also has a mode commonly known as “fox hunting” to track down a specific device. Activists and researchers can use this tool to map out different technologies and quantify the spread of surveillance.
There’s also the open source Wigle app which is primarily designed for mapping out Wi-Fi, but also has the ability to make an audio alert when a specific Wi-Fi or Bluetooth identifier is detected. This means you can set it up to get a notification when it detects products from Flock, Axon, or other nasties in their vicinity.
One enterprising YouTuber, Benn Jordan, figured out a way to fool Flock cameras into not recording his license plate simply by painting some minor visual noise on his license plate. This is innocuous enough that any human will still be able to read his license plate, but it completely prevented Flock devices from recognizing his license plate as a license plate at the time. Some states have outlawed drivers obscuring their license plates, so taking such action is not recommended.
Jordan later went on to discover hundreds of misconfigured Flock cameras that were exposing their administrator interface without a password on the public internet. This would allow anyone with an internet connection to view a live surveillance feed, download 30 days of video, view logs, and more. The cameras pointed at parks, public trails, busy intersections, and even a playground. This was a massive breach of public trust and a huge mistake for a company that claims to be working for public safety.
Other hackers have taken on the task of open-source intelligence and community reporting. One interesting example is deflock.me and alpr.watch, which are crowdsourced maps of ALPR cameras. Much like the OUI-SPY project, this allows activists to map out and expose Flock surveillance cameras in their community.
There have also been several ICE reporting apps released, including apps to report ICE sightings in your area such Stop ICE Alerts, ICEOUT.org, and ICE Block. ICEBlock was delisted by Apple at the request of Attorney General Pam Bondi, a fact we are suing over. There is also Eyes Up, an app to securely record and archive ICE raids, which was taken down by Apple earlier this year.
Another interesting project documenting ICE and creating a trove of open-source intelligence is ICE List Wiki which contains info on companies that have contracts with ICE, incidents and encounters with ICE, and vehicles ICE uses.
People without programming knowledge can also get involved. In Chicago, people used whistles to warn their neighbors that ICE was present or in the area. Many people 3D-printed whistles along with instructional booklets to hand out to their communities, allowing a wider distribution of whistles and consequently earlier warnings for their neighbors.
Many hackers have started hosting digital security trainings for their communities or building web sites with security advice, including how to remove your data from the watchful eyes of the surveillance industry. To reach a broader community, trainers have even started hosting trainings on how to defend their communities and what to do in an ICE raid in video games, such as Fortnight.
There is also EFF’s own Rayhunter project for detecting cell-site simulators, about which we have written extensively. Rayhunter runs on a cheap mobile hotspot and doesn’t require deep technical knowledge to use.
It’s important to remember that we are not powerless. Even in the face of a domestic law enforcement presence with massive surveillance capabilities and military-esque technologies, there are still ways to engage in surveillance self-defense. We cannot give into nihilism and fear. We must continue to find small ways to protect ourselves and our communities, and when we can, fight back.
EFF is not affiliated with any of these projects (other than Rayhunter) and does not endorse them. We don’t make any statements about the legality of using any of these projects. Please consult with an attorney to determine what risks there may be.
2.009 mechanical engineering students embrace “cycles”
MIT’s senior capstone course 2.009 (Product Engineering Processes), an iconic class known colloquially on campus as “two double-oh nine,” emulates what engineers experience while working as part of a design team at a product development firm. The annual prototype launch is a colorful and exciting culmination of a semester’s worth of work.
“This fall, 97 students split into six teams entered the rapid-fire cycle of product engineering, looping between ideas, prototypes, failures, fixes, and breakthroughs,” said Josh Wiesman, 2.009 lecturer, in the program’s opening remarks. “They pushed themselves out of their comfort zone and learned to oscillate between creativity and technical rigor. Thermal, fluids, mechanics, materials, instrumentation — everything you can imagine came back around in new and unexpected ways.”
Wiesman’s remarks hinted at this year’s theme, which co-instructor Peko Hosoi, the Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering, reminded spectators was announced this year as “Cycles!”
“Engineering doesn’t move in a straight line,” Hosoi elaborated. “It loops, it resets, accelerates, and builds momentum, just like our students.” She continued, “Tonight, we’re celebrating the energy, grit, and creativity that comes from embracing those cycles.”
Starting with ideation, the teams ventured out to talk to people from a variety of walks of life and uncover what Hosoi referred to as “exciting problems worth solving.” From there — with mentors, access to makerspaces, and a budget to turn their ideas into working products — the teams, each represented by a color, spent 13 weeks designing, building, and drafting a business plan for their product.
Spectators packed Kresge Auditorium on Dec. 8, waiving colorful pompoms and cheering on the teams, with thousands more watching online. The six teams demonstrated their prototypes and shared business plans, with breaks between presentations featuring dance and musical performances by MIT Ridonkulous, MIT Ohms, and MIT Live, and short animated films created by the 2.009 team which, this year, incorporated popular movie references.
A recording of the event livestream is available on the 2.009 website, which includes full demonstrations of the product prototypes discussed below, along with audience questions.
Green Team
In the United States, some 350,000 people suffer cardiac arrest each year. Immediate intervention by bystanders can be the difference between life and death. The Green Team presented HeartBridge, an automated CPR device.
“For every minute someone who needs it goes without effective CPR, their chance of survival decreases by roughly 10 percent,” Green Team presenters told the audience. But, they added, CPR is exhausting at the recommended speed and compression depth, with research showing decreases in effectiveness of manual compressions after just three minutes.
HeartBridge is a durable mechanical device that administers steady compressions to a patient and provides textual, visual, and auditory cues to users.
Purple Team
The Purple Team painted the picture of a quintessential fall activity in New England, inviting the audience to imagine “it’s a beautiful Saturday in October, and you decide to go apple picking.” At family-run orchards, thousands of apples fall to the ground each season, creating more than just a mess. Rotting apples invite pests or can spread fungus, decreasing crop yield.
AgriSweep, the Purple Team’s prototype, is a hydraulic powered tractor attachment that collects fallen apples into a produce bin, saving time and labor costs, decreasing the need for sprays, and potentially generating revenue for farmers who sell the windfalls for hard cider, livestock feed, or compost.
Nodding to the video references punctuating the show, the team closed their presentation with a reference to an iconic film with an MIT connection: “How do you like them apples?”
Red Team
Hand embroidery is a popular pastime, but drawing or transferring patterns can be time-consuming or messy. The Red Team aims to solve this problem with their product, Scribbly, a “user-friendly and software-free printer” designed to let hobbyists to create their own designs and make transfers easier.
The machine, which can accommodate a variety of fabrics and embroidery hoop sizes up to 10 inches in diameter, reads design files from a USB, then transfers the image via a pen that can be “erased” with heat if the user wants to change the design.
To demonstrate their product, the team created a transfer pattern of the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering logo.
Blue Team
Boating safety was top-of-mind for the Blue Team. Propeller-related injuries are a big concern for recreational boaters. Fixed propeller guards, or prop guards, are the most common solution but have drawbacks, including reducing fuel efficiency and decreasing maneuverability. DORI, the Blue Team prototype, is a deployable prop guard that is stowed above the waterline and can be lowered into place when needed.
Yellow Team
The Yellow Team tackled a problem faced by “pond skating enthusiasts and people who maintain their own backyard rinks,” namely, rough patches, bumps, and uneven ice. Their product, Polar, is a compact device that smooths out backyard surfaces to improve skate-ability.
The system includes a chassis on a welded steel frame with a motorized drivetrain, a cutter to shave the ice surface, and an onboard water distribution system with heating mechanism and drip bar for resurfacing.
Pink Team
The final team of the night, the Pink Team, conquered a challenge rooted in one of the most demanding and real-world contexts: rescue diving. In a drowning emergency, rescue divers have just minutes to save a life. Using a retractable strap, carabiner, and locking mechanism, the Pink Team’s product, HydroHold, attaches directly to a diver’s buoyancy control device and offers a hands-free way to secure a drowning victim during a rescue mission.
The product was developed following consultations with divers from local fire departments, the state police, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. “When we took these prototypes to rescue divers, we heard them ask for two things over and over,” the presenters said. “Something simple, and something safe.”
Rather than choosing complexity, Hosoi told the audience, the Pink Team pursued refinement. “They kept testing with users, shaping the interface, and polishing the details until everything felt natural.”
Wiesman added that the product is a reminder that “powerful engineering isn’t about flashy things … sometimes it’s about reducing friction, elevating usability, and building something that just works when it matters.”
Thank you and goodnight
The night ended with a final “thank you” song celebrating the products, the teams, and all the contributors who make the class possible because, as Hosoi said, “It really does take a team to make this class ‘cycle’ forward.”
The clever AI-generated tribute, which weaves in the names of class participants and instructors, while rhyming “pizza with pepperoni” and “pond-sized Zamboni,” can also be watched in its entirety at the end of the livestream recording, following the product demonstrations.
Decoding the Arctic to predict winter weather
Every autumn, as the Northern Hemisphere moves toward winter, Judah Cohen starts to piece together a complex atmospheric puzzle. Cohen, a research scientist in MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), has spent decades studying how conditions in the Arctic set the course for winter weather throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. His research dates back to his postdoctoral work with Bacardi and Stockholm Water Foundations Professor Dara Entekhabi that looked at snow cover in the Siberian region and its connection with winter forecasting.
Cohen’s outlook for the 2025–26 winter highlights a season characterized by indicators emerging from the Arctic using a new generation of artificial intelligence tools that help develop the full atmospheric picture.
Looking beyond the usual climate drivers
Winter forecasts rely heavily on El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) diagnostics, which are the tropical Pacific Ocean and atmosphere conditions that influence weather around the world. However, Cohen notes that ENSO is relatively weak this year.
“When ENSO is weak, that’s when climate indicators from the Arctic becomes especially important,” Cohen says.
Cohen monitors high-latitude diagnostics in his subseasonal forecasting, such as October snow cover in Siberia, early-season temperature changes, Arctic sea-ice extent, and the stability of the polar vortex. “These indicators can tell a surprisingly detailed story about the upcoming winter,” he says.
One of Cohen’s most consistent data predictors is October’s weather in Siberia. This year, when the Northern Hemisphere experienced an unusually warm October, Siberia was colder than normal with an early snow fall. “Cold temperatures paired with early snow cover tend to strengthen the formation of cold air masses that can later spill into Europe and North America,” says Cohen — weather patterns that are historically linked to more frequent cold spells later in winter.
Warm ocean temperatures in the Barents–Kara Sea and an “easterly” phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation also suggest a potentially weaker polar vortex in early winter. When this disturbance couples with surface conditions in December, it leads to lower-than-normal temperatures across parts of Eurasia and North America earlier in the season.
AI subseasonal forecasting
While AI weather models have made impressive strides showcasing in short-range (one-to–10-day) forecasts, these advances have not yet applied to longer periods. The subseasonal prediction covering two to six weeks remains one of the toughest challenges in the field.
That gap is why this year could be a turning point for subseasonal weather forecasting. A team of researchers working with Cohen won first place for the fall season in the 2025 AI WeatherQuest subseasonal forecasting competition, held by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The challenge evaluates how well AI models capture temperature patterns over multiple weeks, where forecasting has been historically limited.
The winning model combined machine-learning pattern recognition with the same Arctic diagnostics Cohen has refined over decades. The system demonstrated significant gains in multi-week forecasting, surpassing leading AI and statistical baselines.
“If this level of performance holds across multiple seasons, it could represent a real step forward for subseasonal prediction,” Cohen says
The model also detected a potential cold surge in mid-December for the U.S. East Coast much earlier than usual, weeks before such signals typically arise. The forecast was widely publicized in the media in real-time. If validated, Cohen explains, it would show how combining Arctic indicators with AI could extend the lead time for predicting impactful weather.
“Flagging a potential extreme event three to four weeks in advance would be a watershed moment,” he adds. “It would give utilities, transportation systems, and public agencies more time to prepare.”
What this winter may hold
Cohen’s model shows a greater chance of colder-than-normal conditions across parts of Eurasia and central North America later in the winter, with the strongest anomalies likely mid-season.
“We’re still early, and patterns can shift,” Cohen says. “But the ingredients for a colder winter pattern are there.”
As Arctic warming speeds up, its impact on winter behavior is becoming more evident, making it increasingly important to understand these connections for energy planning, transportation, and public safety. Cohen’s work shows that the Arctic holds untapped subseasonal forecasting power, and AI may help unlock it for time frames that have long been challenging for traditional models.
In November, Cohen even appeared as a clue in The Washington Post crossword, a small sign of how widely his research has entered public conversations about winter weather.
“For me, the Arctic has always been the place to watch,” he says. “Now AI is giving us new ways to interpret its signals.”
Cohen will continue to update his outlook throughout the season on his blog.
Eighteen MIT faculty honored as “Committed to Caring” for 2025-27
At MIT, a strong spirit of mentorship shapes how students learn, collaborate, and imagine the future. In a time of accelerating change — from breakthroughs in artificial intelligence to the evolving realities of global research and work — guidance for technical challenges and personal growth is more important than ever.
The Committed to Caring (C2C) program recognizes the outstanding professors who extend this dedication beyond the classroom, nurturing resilience, curiosity, and compassion in a new generation of innovators. The latest cohort of C2C honorees exemplify these values, demonstrating the lasting impact that faculty can have on students’ academic and personal journeys.
The Committed to Caring program is a student-driven initiative that has celebrated exceptional mentorship since 2014. In this cycle, 18 MIT professors have been selected as recipients of the C2C award for 2025-27, joining the ranks of nearly 100 previous honorees.
The following faculty members comprise the 2025-27 Committed to Caring cohort:
- Iwnetim Abate, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
- Abdullah Almaatouq, MIT Sloan School of Management
- Marc A. Baldo, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Anantha P. Chandrakasan, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Anna-Christina Eilers, Department of Physics
- Herbert Einstein, Department of Civil and Environment Engineering
- Dennis M. Freeman, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Daniel Hidalgo, Department of Political Science
- Erin Kara, Department of Physics
- Laura Lewis, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Lina Necib, Department of Physics
- Sara Prescott, Department of Biology
- Ellen Roche, Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Loza Tadesse, Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Haruko Murakami Wainwright, Department of Nuclear Science
- Fan Wang, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
- Forest White, Department of Biological Engineering
- Bin Zhang, Department of Chemistry
Since its launch, the C2C program has placed students at the heart of its nomination process. Graduate students across all departments are invited to share letters recognizing faculty whose mentorship has made a lasting impact on their academic and personal journeys. A selection committee, consisting of both graduate students and staff, reviews nominations to identify those who have meaningfully strengthened the graduate community at MIT.
The selection committee this year included: Zoë Wright (Office of Graduate Education, or OGE), Ryan Rideau, Elizabeth Guttenberg (OGE), Beth Marois (OGE), Sharikka Finley-Moise (OGE), Indrani Saha (History, Theory, and Criticism of Art and Architecture, OGE), Chen Liang (graduate student, MIT Sloan School of Management), Jasmine Aloor (grad student, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics), Leila Hudson (grad student, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science), and Chair Suraiya Baluch (OGE).
“I wanted to be part of this committee after nominating my own professor in the last cycle, and the experience has been incredibly meaningful,” says Aloor. “I was continually amazed by the ways that so many professors show deep care for their students behind the scenes … What stood out to me most was the breadth of ways these faculty members support their students, check in on them, provide mentorship, and cultivate lifelong bonds, despite being successful and pressed for time as leaders at the top Institute in the world.”
Guttenberg agrees, saying, “Even when these gestures appear simple, they leave a profound and lasting impact on students’ lives and help cultivate the thriving academic community we value.”
Nomination letters illustrate how the efforts of these MIT faculty reflect a deep and enduring commitment to their students’ growth, well-being, and sense of purpose. Their advisees praise these educators for their consistent impact beyond lectures and labs, and for fostering inclusion, support, and genuine connection. Their care and guidance cultivates spaces where students are encouraged not only to excel academically, but also to develop confidence, balance, and a clearer vision of their goals.
Liang underlined that the selection experience “has shown me how many faculty at MIT … help students grow into thoughtful, independent researchers and, just as importantly, into fuller versions of themselves in the world.”
In the months ahead, a series of articles will showcase the honorees in pairs, with a reception this April to recognize their lasting impact. By highlighting these faculty, the Committed to Caring program continues to celebrate and strengthen MIT’s culture of mentorship, respect, and collaboration.
AI & Humans: Making the Relationship Work
Leaders of many organizations are urging their teams to adopt agentic AI to improve efficiency, but are finding it hard to achieve any benefit. Managers attempting to add AI agents to existing human teams may find that bots fail to faithfully follow their instructions, return pointless or obvious results or burn precious time and resources spinning on tasks that older, simpler systems could have accomplished just as well.
The technical innovators getting the most out of AI are finding that the technology can be remarkably human in its behavior. And the more groups of AI agents are given tasks that require cooperation and collaboration, the more those human-like dynamics emerge...
