A shorter update this year.
- Large language models made another set of leaps this year. As many people have commented, ChatGPT, in particular, has become as useful as a group of very good graduate students. I find myself using it more and more to explore ideas. I continue to wonder how long we humans will remain useful in producing new research.
- If everything proceeds according to schedule, I'll have a general science book coming out in 2026, which I've been working on for a while. Stay tuned for more details!
- My incredibly talented student, Xing Gao, graduated this year (she was co-advised with Yu Cheng at Brown). You can read her fantastic thesis here.
- This year, IDEAL transitioned to a three–co-director leadership structure (myself, Avrim Blum, and Aravindan Vijayaraghavan), which should be more sustainable going forward. Previously, the directorship rotated annually.
- The year was also marked by various cuts at the NSF. Some (not all) of these are concerning, but they may have a silver lining. Universities may be forced to become more honest about how research is actually funded. For too long, faculty have felt pressure to fundraise for work they would largely be doing anyway. Perhaps we can find a way to direct the limited money to where it would actually make a difference.
MDLI logo, from the AMR journal website.
- MDLI launched in 2025, and we are now accepting submissions!
- Looking ahead, I’ll be on sabbatical in Spring 2026, which feels not a moment too soon!
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