Government

Los Angeles Times reporter Sammy Roth spotlights Prof. Lawrence Susskind’s study that finds common sources of opposition to delayed or blocked renewable energy projects include concerns over land use and environmental impact. Roth writes that Susskind’s “research has convinced him that speeding up the clean energy transition will be possible only if developers take the time to make a good-faith effort to gather input from communities before dumping solar and wind farms on them.”

Postdoctoral fellow Joshua A. Schwartz and University of Pennsylvania PhD candidate Sabrina B. Arias write for The Washington Post about their research exploring how American cities and towns are taking action to help reduce carbon emissions. “Major urban areas account for about 30 percent of the U.S. carbon footprint,” they write. “This means even relatively narrow efforts focused on those cities could still have a significant impact.”

Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Ernest Moniz, former secretary of energy, makes the case for addressing climate change and energy insecurity collectively. “US decision makers in the public and private sector need to implement data-driven plans that reflect real needs and enable a credible and sustained energy transition to zero-carbon energy in the mid-century time frame,” writes Moniz.

Prof. Jonathan Gruber speaks with GBH Boston Public Radio co-hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan about the future of inflation and the potential strategies of the Federal Reverse Bank.  

Prof. Jonathan Gruber speaks with Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Joe Mathieu about Affordable Care Act funding and the future of healthcare. It’s both about making these premiums more affordable for the lowest income people and giving middle-income people access to this important government program, says Gruber.

A new report by researchers from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab “examines the federal government’s history of election spending—and suggests ways it could consider dispersing monies to help underfunded election administrators,” reports Talib Visram for Fast Company. “The federal government not being a full partner in the game, especially given its fiscal resources, contributes mightily to the underfunding of this area,” says Prof. Charles Stewart III.

In an article for The Hill, Prof. Emeritus Henry Jacoby writes that “government agencies, even as they act to protect U.S. interests, need to try to maintain conditions favorable for international climate research efforts.”

In an article for the Financial Times, Prof. Robert Merton underscores the importance of providing workers with financial security in retirement and explains Selfies (Standard-of-living indexed, forward-starting, income-only securities), a pension-like bond innovation he helped create. “More such innovative instruments from academics, politicians and others are needed if we are to ensure more people can retire with resources that can withstand inflation and provide the security they need,” Merton writes. 

James Arthur Jemison II M.C.P ’94 has been appointed Boston’s first planning chief by Mayor Michelle Wu, reports Saraya Wintersmith for GBH. "I'm incredibly grateful to Mayor Wu for the opportunity to bring my expertise and passion for equitable development back to Boston,” Jemison said. “I am honored to have the opportunity to work with Bostonians to reform the development process and create the kind of growth that reflects our values.”

Fortune reporter Jeremy Kahn spotlights a study co-authored by Prof. Marzyeh Ghassemi exploring issues associated with “explainable” AI systems that are being applied in fields such as healthcare, finance and government. The researchers explain that those using such systems “might have misunderstood the capabilities of contemporary explainability techniques—they can produce broad descriptions of how the AI system works in a general sense but, for individual decisions, the explanations are unreliable or, in some instances, only offer superficial levels of explanation.”

Daleep Singh, an MIT alumnus and the United States Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics, speaks with CBS journalist Sharyn Alfonsi about the economic sanctions being used to combat Russia’s attack on Ukraine. “In this century, our view is power is much more closely tied to your economic strength, technological sophistication, and your story,” says Singh.

Carol R. Saivetz, a senior advisor for MIT’s Security Studies Program, speaks with NBC Boston about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “The claims that this was all about NATO expansion are really false,” says Saivetz. “I think it’s much more about Putin’s imperial ambitions and this whole idea that unless he can put back together the Soviet Union that somehow Russia is not a great power.”

Prof. Mariana Arcaya writes for The Boston Globe about how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Build Beck Better bill will help combat the ongoing global climate crisis. “Shifting away from fossil-fuel consumption and combatting injustice are the two keys to solving the climate crisis,” writes Arcaya. “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act provides vital funding for some of the measures the United States needs to take.” 

Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini writes for The Atlantic about the dangers posed by government agencies adopting the use of facial recognition technology. “No biometric technologies should be adopted by the government to police access to services or benefits,” writes Buolamwini, “certainly not without cautious consideration of the dangers they pose, due diligence in outside testing, and the consent of those exposed to potential abuse, data exploitation, and other harms that affect us all.”

In an article for The Washington Post, Visiting Professor Susan Blumenthal and Emily Stark of New America make the case for creating a “government-backed program that would evaluate and label masks for consumers like the Food and Drug Administration does for sunscreens.”