The multiplication of matrices and of higher-dimensional arrays called tensors lies at the heart of modern computing. Matrix or tensor multiplication is, in fact, the most common operation carried out in artificial intelligence applications, as well as in scientific simulations and computer graphics.
David Clark, Senior Research Scientist at MIT CSAIL, helped design the system that connects nearly every computer on earth. As Chief Protocol Architect of the Internet from 1981 to 1989, he was there for the beginnings of the Internet. Calling the wave of AI technology an “echo” of what happened in the 80’s, Dr. Clark is cautioning, “ maybe we need to slow things down and think a bit.”
What happens when the team behind PlayStation meets the researchers pushing the boundaries of AI? You get The Nexus of Games and AI, a 12-part MIT Independent Activities Period (IAP) course, now available to stream.
Young adults growing up in the attention economy — preparing for adult life, with social media and chatbots competing for their attention — can easily fall into unhealthy relationships with digital platforms. But what if chatbots weren’t mere distractions from real life? Could they be designed humanely, as moral partners whose digital goal is to be a social guide rather than an addictive escape?
The CSAIL Alliances Annual Meeting is our signature three-day event exclusive to CSAIL Alliances members.* This is your opportunity to engage with thought leaders crafting the next wave of AI and computer science and build the relationships that will drive your organization forward.
CSAIL Alliances is proud to support this event run by MIT Sloan students.
The MIT Sloan Fintech Conference is one of the largest student-run conferences in the world, bringing together hundreds of industry leaders, policymakers, founders, and students to explore the most pressing issues shaping the future of fintech.
This year, join us on February 20, 2026 as we discuss how technology like advances in ML and policy (i.e., stablecoins, open banking) are enabling new fintech infrastructure, payment experiences, and customer trust hubs.
When the FORTRAN programming language debuted in 1957, it transformed how scientists and engineers programmed computers. Complex calculations could suddenly be expressed in concise, math-like notation using arrays — collections of values that make it easier to describe operations on data. That simple idea evolved into today’s “tensors,” which power many of the world’s most advanced AI and scientific computing systems through modern frameworks like NumPy and PyTorch.
Coding with large language models (LLMs) holds huge promise, but it also exposes some long-standing flaws in software: code that’s messy, hard to change safely, and often opaque about what’s really happening under the hood. Researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) are charting a more “modular” path ahead.
Hal Abelson, MIT Class of 1922 Professor and CSAIL principal investigator, has received the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence from Open Education Global for helping make information technology more accessible worldwide. “Hal Abelson’s work promotes knowledge of all forms as a public good,” notes the organization in a public statement. “Hal’s work has focused on communities working together to advance and support knowledge.”
