Cognitive activity scaled down in relation to external tool use….Self-reported ownership of essays was the lowest in the LLM group and the highest in the Brain-only group. LLM users also struggled to accurately quote their own work. While LLMs offer immediate convenience, our findings highlight potential cognitive costs. Over four months, LLM users consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels. These results raise concerns about the long-term educational implications of LLM reliance and underscore the need for deeper inquiry into AI's role in learning.

I’ve been concerned about this at work for awhile – reliance on LLMs for writing negatively impacts learning. I see this as sort of a hidden challenge for young lawyers starting out today. So much of our learning comes from writing. If you’re relying on LLMs for your writing, what are you not learning?

Now I have something to support my concerns. Here’s the paper.

tags: science ai mit

posted by matt in Thursday, June 19, 2025

In a series of experiments with a prototype device, the researchers demonstrated that this cell could carry more than three times as much energy per unit of weight as the lithium-ion batteries used in virtually all electric vehicles today.

This is interesting – a fuel cell instead of a battery. Widespread adoption would require a paradigm shift in thinking, but sometimes that's exactly what is needed. As the MIT professor said: "if people don’t think something is totally crazy at first, it probably isn’t going to be that revolutionary."

And the research was supported by the National Science Foundation, by the way. Oh, and they've already formed a company to further develop the technology. Basic research wins again.

Here's the paper in Joule for reference.

tags: science aviation ev research mit

posted by matt in Thursday, May 29, 2025

Drinking water from brackish ground water, with only renewable energy input and no battery storage. Pretty cool.

“Being able to make drinking water with renewables, without requiring battery storage, is a massive grand challenge. And we’ve done it.”

tags: science mit

posted by matt in Saturday, October 19, 2024

I caught this sweet moment of Jonathan and Renee glancing out the window onto Killian Court (the courtyard in front of the main building with the dome). The light was amazing!

tags: mit

photo posted by matt in Saturday, August 31, 2024

Jonathan contemplated The Alchemist statue by Jaume Plensa a bit before we took photos in front of it. We had made the connection to Spiegel, the Plensa statue installed in front of the Toledo Museum of Art and were comparing and contrasting the two. Spiegel has two figures that are made from letters to symbolize a conversation, while The Alchemist is a solo figure made from numbers to reflect MIT's focus on STEM.

Toledo, MIT, two, one. It's a coincidence, of course, but it's tempting to assign some deeper meaning to it.

Regardless, I love both of these statues.

tags: mit toledo art statue plensa

photo posted by matt in Saturday, August 31, 2024

The move out of the summer sublet went well and only took a couple hours, leaving the afternoon free. We went down to MIT and Jonathan gave us a tour of campus and the Math Department. I think he had the smile in this picture the entire time. He is so clearly excited and ready to get started. I am so happy for him and proud of him.

tags: mit

photo posted by matt in Saturday, August 31, 2024

“My goals are to tap into the full scope of human talent, to bring the very best to M.I.T. and to make sure they thrive once here,” Dr. Kornbluth said in a statement. “We can build an inclusive environment in many ways, but compelled statements impinge on freedom of expression, and they don’t work.”

tags: mit

posted by matt in Monday, May 6, 2024