Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)

Machines that learn betterNew math will make it much easier to build machine-learning systems that tackle a wider range of problems.

When good enough is betterBy exploiting a simple but counterintuitive trick, a new system finds sections of computer programs where accuracy can be traded for speed.

Drug discovery, Netflix style?MIT researchers apply ranking algorithms to pharmaceutical R&D.

In Profile: Missy CummingsFormer U.S. Naval fighter pilot aims to improve how humans and computers interact.

Web sites that can take a punchBy preventing web applications from deviating from their normal behavior, a new MIT system can keep them online even during a cyberattack.

Context is ev … well, something, anywayMIT research uses information about how frequently objects are seen together to refine the conclusions of object recognition systems.

Explained: Linear and nonlinear systemsMuch scientific research across a range of disciplines tries to find linear approximations of nonlinear behaviors. But what does that mean?

Sketch-interpreting softwareA new system that lets people enter data into a tablet computer simply by drawing diagrams on the screen could lead to interactive whiteboards.

At Davos, MIT faculty discuss the nature of intelligenceVideos available of professors' presentations at World Economic Forum

Picture-driven computingNew research could enable computer programming based on screen shots, not just code

Putting the squeeze on dataIn work that could make it easier to handle huge data sets, MIT researchers improve data compression's fidelity without sacrificing speed

Rethinking artificial intelligenceBroad-based MIT project aims to reinvent AI for a new era. By going back and fixing mistakes, researchers hope to produce ‘co-processors’ for the human mind.

Flight of fancyUsing an autonomous mini-helicopter, an MIT team stunned the Association for Unmanned Vehicles International by solving one of its notoriously tough challenges on the first try.

Cryptographic voting debutsA new system for ensuring accurate election tallies, which MIT researchers helped to develop, passed its first real-world test last Tuesday.

When Signals Cross: Medical Systems at CSAILProfessor John Guttag and his team of graduate students are working in partnership with clinicians to produce technological solutions for medical problems.

Reporter's Notebook: Inventing languageMIT’s Barbara Liskov, winner of the Turing Award, describes how she helped lay the foundations for today’s programming languages.

What computer science can teach economicsConstantinos Daskalakis applies the theory of computational complexity to game theory, with consequences in a range of disciplines.

Parallel courseAs chip makers turn to multiple 'cores' to improve performance, MIT researchers help ease programmers' transition to parallel programming.

Seeing thingsResearchers from MIT's CSAIL teach computers to recognize objects.

Securing the webA new MIT programming tool would automatically plug holes that hackers exploit.

Stay focusedThe Computer Graphics Group sharpens photographs by capturing multiple low-quality images instead of a single higher-quality image.

Whose Internet is it, anyway?One of the Internet's chief architects looks at the FCC's proposed Net neutrality rules.

Digital DemocracyThe World Wide Web Consortium weighs in on government transparency