2023 MIT IDE Annual Report

AI RISING

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR 

ALL IN ON AI 

In 2023, our research team doubled down on efforts to analyze, 

test, forecast and discuss AI advancements and challenges 

We continue 

to stay both 

vigilant and 

cutting-edge. 

SINAN ARAL 

DIRECTOR, MIT IDE 

In the eight years since the MIT Initiative on the Digital 

Economy began its research efforts, digital technologies have 

transformed society, business and the economy, creating the 

internet-everything world we know today. There also were more 

than a few flameouts and slow burns. But AI is firmly in the 

transformative category; it appears to be here to stay. 

Led by the meteoric rise of large language models (LLMs) and 

ChatGPT, AI is taking on mainstream businesses and society 

as a whole. Accenture’s AI Services’ group notes that 97% of 

executives surveyed in June 2023 said generative AI will be 

“transformative to their company and industry.” Fully 95% of 

organizations are increasing their AI investments. 

In today’s smart world, voice, touch and sensors of all kinds 

understand us and anticipate our thoughts and actions. The 

potential is vast. 

While 2023 was pivotal for the rise of AI, various iterations of 

the technology have been in development for decades. Along 

the way, there have been many hyped-up expectations and false 

starts—but also many notable successes. The IDE predicted 

a machine-learning boom at our 2018 Annual Conference, 

delivering a presentation about sports stories written by an AI 

assistant. We continue to stay both vigilant and cutting-edge. 

Our research team has doubled down on efforts to analyze, test, 

forecast and discuss AI advancements, as well as the risks that 

an AI-centric world may offer. 

Renée Richardson Gosline’s work on including humans in 

the loop and creating friction to make optimized decisions 

is a great example of our research efforts. Similarly, John 

Horton’s two research studies—one on algorithmic writing 

assistance for job seekers and the other on using LLMs 

as simulated economic agents—are both fascinating. Neil 

Thompson is breaking new ground with his analysis of AI 

scaling scenarios. David Rand is part of an MIT committee 

offering policy recommendations on AI governance. As these 

efforts indicate, we’re committed to the rigorous study of both 

the promises and perils that AI may bring. 

At the same time, we’re keeping a watchful eye on the critical 

issues of misinformation, digital experimentation, distributed 

technologies and platform marketplaces. This is reflected in our 

prominent research publications, events and education. Rand’s 

work on misinformation is prolific. Dean Eckles’ development of 

new data-analytics mechanisms is broadening the scope of uses. 

The work of Thompson, Jonathan Ruane and Andrew McAfee on 

quantum computing is eye-opening. And Alex “Sandy” Pentland 

continues to illuminate new paths into our digital future. 

There’s a lot more underway for 2024, thanks to the support of 

our stakeholders—generous donors, foundations, and corporate 

supporters. It’s been refreshing to see you in person again, and 

we look forward to leaping with you into the AI future. 

Thank you for keeping the IDE’s critical work front and center. 

SINAN ARAL 

DIRECTOR 

INSIDE 

4 2023 HIGHLIGHTS 

6 ANALYZING: RESEARCH 

9 ACHIEVING: RECOGNITION & AWARDS 

10 CONVENING: EVENTS 

13 EDUCATING 

14 LEADING 

16 LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE 

DIRECTOR 

MIT IDE ANNUAL REPORT 2023 | 3

GEEKING OUT 

In November, IDE 

co-director Andrew 

McAfee launched his 

new book, The Geek 

Way, to much acclaim. 

Andy was featured on 

numerous podcasts, 

where he spoke about 

eschewing bureaucracy 

and cultural sclerosis for 

what he calls “the geek 

way” in business. 

INAUGURAL THINKER-FEST EVENT 

In many ways, 2023 was outstanding for the IDE. 

We kicked off the year with the first MIT Thinker- 

Fest event, melding the academic resources of 

the IDE with the brainpower of the Thinkers50 

community. This event attracted more than 800 

virtual attendees worldwide. 

At this year’s Platform Strategy Summit, Lindsey Gamble 

(center) of Mavrck shared his perspective about the huge 

growth of the creator community. Ansley Williams (left) 

of Ogilvy was also on the panel, which was moderated by 

event co-chair Peter C. Evans (right). 

2023 IN REVIEW 

A YEAR OF CONVENING, 

COLLABORATING, 

EDUCATING AND LEADING 

We brought together global experts from academia, industry, 

government and nonprofits to share diverse opinions and experiences 

A STRONGER COLLABORATION 

In 2023, we solidified our collaboration with founding 

member Accenture by co-authoring papers on cloud 

computing, quantum computing and responsible AI. 

In addition, Accenture leaders participated in IDE events 

and forums throughout the year. 

MEDIUM GROWS LARGER 

The IDE’s research projects and events continue to garner 

global attention from the press and media, advancing 

the public’s understanding of the digital economy. Our 

channels experienced widespread growth as we promoted 

content across LinkedIn, Medium, X, Instagram and our 

website and video channels. 

Our audience has grown to more than 9,000 followers 

on Medium—double the number from a year ago—and 

engagement is up. Among our most-viewed blogs of 

2023 were posts on social media platforms of the future 

and ChatGPT. 

BACK IN THE FLESH 

After a few years of virtual-only events, we were 

happy to meet attendees both in person and virtually 

this year with excellent response and participation. 

The Social Media Summit engaged 17,000 virtual 

attendees while the Platform Strategy Summit 

attracted nearly 200 participants. Overall, we 

boosted our engagement with audiences while also 

welcoming new members and partners. 

IN THE MEDIA 

Director Sinan Aral was a sought-after commentator 

on national and global media, including MSNBC and 

Yahoo!Finance, where he called President Biden’s 

AI Executive Order “big, bold and broad.” Other 

IDE group leaders led timely conversations about 

their work, too. That included Neil Thompson in an 

interview with Politico, David Rand with Thinkers50, 

and Alex “Sandy” Pentland speaking at the Boston 

Global Forum. 

A-LAB KEEPS WINNING 

The IDE’s flagship educational offering—the Analytics 

Lab (A-Lab)—continues to attract both students and 

project hosts. The year’s class included 93 graduate 

students and 22 projects hosted by 18 companies. 

The winning team represented Akkodis. 

MIT IDE ANNUAL REPORT 2023 | 4 MIT IDE ANNUAL REPORT 2023 | 5

ANALYZING 

RESEARCH BUILDS A 

STRONG FOUNDATION 

The insights and studies produced by IDE research groups 

frame critical and timely topics facing the digital economy 

With AI taking center stage in 2023, concerns 

about GPT misuse, regulation and competition 

were debated globally. These topics also 

informed our research agenda. The more 

technology’s role in society was top-of-mind 

and hotly debated, the more valuable the IDE’s 

work became. Our leaders are primary sources 

for data, research, analysis and insights on the 

state of AI, including its impact on society. 

We continue our 

rigorous focus 

across eight 

research groups. 

VIEW OUR LATEST RESEARCH PROJECTS AT IDE.MIT.EDU 

HUMAN-FIRST AI 

RENÉE RICHARDSON 

GOSLINE 

Renée Richardson Gosline leads this research group 

which examines human-AI interaction through the lens 

of behavioral science. The group’s research focuses on 

the symbiosis between humans and AI, as well as the 

competitive advantages possible by creating this synergy 

in the right context. This includes human-AI interactions to 

shape systems that place humans first, encouraging optimal 

decision making, and prioritizing responsible innovation. 

The group’s research topics also include human trust of AI 

algorithms, algorithmic bias, and mutual learning between 

humans and algorithms. Using experiments and mixedmethod 

approaches, the group also proffers strategic, 

policy and behavioral solutions. 

As organizations experience rapid digital transformation, 

the effective adoption of AI by employees, partners and 

customers becomes essential to achieving a competitive 

advantage. Society must also place the welfare of humans 

first, to maximize the benefits of human-AI collaboration 

and reduce harm. 

ANDREW 

McAFEE 

TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN ORGANIZATIONS 

AND DIGITAL CULTURE 

This research group, previously focusing on Tech for Good, 

is expanding to include the culture and impact of tech-driven 

organizations. How can technology continue to drive positive 

progress in our world? As organizations embrace AI, what 

other changes must take place? 

Technology is the most disruptive force in human history, 

ushering in unprecedented health, convenience and 

prosperity. At the same time, innovation is accompanied 

by the potential for peril. Leadership must evolve and 

constantly reframe the conversation. That means asking not 

only, “What will technology do to our economy, society and 

environment?” but also, “What will we do with technology?” 

This research group amplifies the IDE’s ongoing position 

that faster, more inclusive technology progress and access— 

not a slowdown—is needed to meet both current and future 

needs. The group is led by Andrew McAfee, whose new book, 

The Geek Way, points to an emerging body of research. 

DEAN 

ECKLES 

DAVID 

RAND 

ALEX “SANDY” 

PENTLAND 

JOHN 

HORTON 

NEW DATA ANALYTICS 

How do AI algorithms affect purchasing behavior? How 

do you assess the efficacy of short-term interventions 

that aim for a long-term outcome, like reducing customer 

churn? What happens to an individual and community’s 

economic outcomes when those individuals move to a 

new state or country? 

These and other questions are being examined by the 

New Data Analytics research group’s experimental and 

observational studies. Headed by Dean Eckles, the group 

employs applied statistics, experimental design, machine 

learning and causal inference to understand how new 

technologies and means of social interaction impact 

productivity, consumer demand, political mobilization 

and public health. This includes impacts on consumer 

demand, information sharing, worker productivity and 

even stock prices. 

MISINFORMATION & FAKE NEWS 

Why do people share inaccurate content online? What 

can be done to reduce the spread of misinformation and 

fake news? These topics continue to perplex researchers 

seeking better solutions—whether in healthcare, politics, 

news or social media. 

Cognitive science research and digital field experiments 

are the tools this research group, led by David Rand, uses 

to advance the fight against online misinformation. The 

group sheds light on how people decide what to believe 

and share. Then it leverages these insights to design antimisinformation 

interventions that include labeling, accuracy 

prompts, source identification and the wisdom of crowds. 

This research group runs experiments to test the impact 

of these interventions, and it collaborates with technology 

companies including Google and Meta to translate science 

into real-world actions. The group was influential in 2023, 

with more than a dozen peer-reviewed research journals. 

BUILDING A DISTRIBUTED ECONOMY 

This research group, led by Alex “Sandy” Pentland, 

studies how finance, manufacturing, data and human 

resources are managed in a distributed world. 

The traditional roles of corporations and employees 

are being transformed in ways that include decentralized 

autonomous organizations, or DAOs. The group’s research 

focuses on how organizations can coordinate employees 

and companies to optimize both efficiency and robustness 

in this fast-changing environment. 

This group also examines software and legal infrastructure 

for supporting distributed organizations; and the practical 

protocols that allow the audit of supply chains for carbon 

tracking, fraud detection and legal compliance. In 2024, 

the group will study how well these methods work in real 

environments to inform, guide and shape critical decisions 

by industry, government and society. 

AI, MARKETPLACES AND LABOR 

ECONOMICS 

This research group led by John Horton explores the 

prevalence and importance of online marketplaces and 

computer-mediated transactions. The group also asks: 

How can these marketplaces be designed to create 

widespread benefits for all? 

The research aims to understand the rise and growth of 

online marketplaces. It also seeks to guide incumbent 

and startup companies toward successful platform 

strategies and best practices. Given that many of these 

platforms are focused on shared labor, there are many 

compelling questions about practice, benefits, strategy 

and public policy. 

The accelerant of AI raises further questions about how 

job seekers can optimize new aids such as ChatGPT. 


RESEARCH BUILDS A STRONG FOUNDATION CONTINUED 

SINAN 

ARAL 

NEIL 

THOMPSON 

ACHIEVING 

RECOGNITION & AWARDS 

IDE research and researchers have been lauded within 

and outside of the MIT community 

GENERATIVE AI & DECENTRALIZATION 

This research group is dedicated to understanding how 

generative, decentralizing technologies such as GenAI 

and blockchain affect power, scalability, productivity 

and the promise of an inclusive and prosperous digital 

future. The group has expanded its previous focus on 

Web3 architectures to now include the latest technology 

shifts. This newly refocused research group is led by IDE 

Director Sinan Aral. 

One of the group’s large-scale projects seeks to precisely 

measure the productivity improvements offered by GenAI 

to knowledge workers. 

When we are thinking 

about ‘should AI do a 

task?’ it’s not really a 

question of ‘could an AI 

do a task?’ It’s whether 

the process of combining 

AI with human capabilities 

is worth the effort. 

JOHN HORTON 

AI, MARKETPLACES AND LABOR 

ECONOMICS RESEARCH LEAD 

MIT IDE 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, QUANTUM 

AND BEYOND 

IT innovations have transformed our lives and created 

enormous prosperity for society. But how are these 

technologies changing and how fast will we need 

to adapt? 

This research group, led by Neil Thompson, explores 

the biggest trends that shape IT, from Moore’s Law 

to the emergence of AI Scaling Laws. The team of 

computer scientists, engineers and economists uses 

an interdisciplinary lens to view computing progress 

and identify the most important trends, impacts 

and opportunities. By exploring key computing 

technologies—including AI, specialized chips, quantum 

computers and algorithms—the team also generates 

insights that business leaders can use to promote and 

sustain greater prosperity. 

We also ask how important new technologies, such 

as quantum computing, will be. We focus on two 

lenses for our work: What are the fundamental drivers 

of technology change? What will these mean for the 

evolution of firms and the prosperity of society? 

KEY INSIGHTS 

3 TOP AI 

CONCERNS 

Panelists at MIT’s 2023 

Conference on Digital 

Experimentation (CoDE) 

raised several key challenges 

resulting from the rapid 

development of GenAI tools. 

Chief among these concerns 

were biased reasoning, a 

lack of data transparency 

in training data and 

worries about human job 

displacement. 

BIASED REASONING 

LACK OF TRAINING 

DATA TRANSPARENCY 

HUMAN LABOR 

REPLACEMENT 

Left: Thinkers50 Co-founder Des Dearlove (left) with IDE 

Director Sinan Aral at the Thinker-Fest event. 

Right: IDE researchers Geoffrey Parker and Marshall Van 

Alstyne at the Thinkers50 awards in London. 

THINKERS50 AWARDS 

David Rand, an MIT Sloan professor and IDE research group leader, 

was nominated for the Thinkers50 Digital Thinking Award, which 

honors researchers who shed light on the digital reality of business. 

At the gala awards in London, Director Sinan Aral, along with IDE 

Researcher Geoffrey Parker, Fellow Marshall Van Alstyne and co- 

Director Andrew McAfee, were also honored for topping the 2023 

Thinkers50 list. 

IDE DEEPENS COLLABORATION 

WITH ACCENTURE 

Accenture, a founding member of the IDE, has embarked on an 

extensive program of research and activities with IDE faculty, 

scientists and staff for nearly a decade. In 2023 this partnership 

focused on quantum computing (with Neil Thompson, Andrew 

McAfee and Jonathan Ruane); cloud computing (with Wang Jin 

and Sebastian Steffen); and responsible AI (with Renée 

Richardson Gosline). 

Looking ahead to 2024, Accenture and the IDE will continue their 

focus on quantum computing and responsible AI; we’ll also add 

a deeper exploration of GenAI and productivity improvements in 

knowledge work (with Sinan Aral). 

MIT POLICY COMMITTEE 

In December, David Rand was also named to an MIT 

policy committee that issued a series of briefs in a 

white paper about AI governance. The framework 

describes advances in auditing of new AI tools and calls 

for government approved, self-regulatory organizations, 

among other recommendations. Rand’s research work 

on AI content labels was also included. 

BEST PAPER 

Sukwoong Choi, an IDE postdoctoral associate, 

co-authored a study nominated for best paper at 

the International Conference on Computer and 

Information Science and Technology (CIST 2023), held 

in October in Phoenix, Ariz. Choi co-wrote the paper, 

Standing on the Shoulders of AI: Pushing the Knowledge 

Frontier by Learning from AI, with Hyo Kang, Namil Kim, 

and Junsik Kim. 

HORTON GETS TENURE 

John Horton was granted tenure at MIT Sloan in 

May. Horton leads the IDE’s AI, Labor Economics & 

Online Marketplaces Research Group, and serves as 

the Richard S. Leghorn (1939) Career Development 

Professor and associate professor of information 

technologies at MIT Sloan. His research focuses on 

the intersection of labor economics, market design 

and information systems. 


MIT PLATFORM STRATEGY SUMMIT 

Nearly 200 in-person and virtual attendees heard a wide range of fresh 

perspectives at the MIT Platform Strategy Summit in July. Throughout the 

day, Summit co-leaders Geoffrey Parker, Peter Evans and Marshall Van 

Alstyne hosted AI industry executives, academics and regulatory experts. 

The consensus: Challenges and opportunities abound even as these 

powerful ecosystems consolidate and mature. 

SOCIAL MEDIA SUMMIT @ MIT 

Nearly 17,000 virtual attendees joined the third annual Social Media Summit 

@MIT on May 23. The event featured a range of perspectives on reining in the 

rampant influence of digital life. IDE Director Sinan Aral and other speakers 

challenged users and platforms to revive the benefits of open public forums 

and tamp down the misinformation, bias and infractions. The event’s keynote 

was delivered by Christopher Graves, president of Ogilvy’s Behavioral Center, 

who outlined both the promises and risks of personality-based marketing. 

CONVENING 

GREAT 

MINDS 

JOIN 

TOGETHER 

Events continue to be the IDE’s 

primary means for amplifying our 

research insights far and wide 

In October, IDE Research Lead Neil Thompson 

(fifth from left, front row) hosted a workshop 

on AI scaling with industry practitioners. 

Going back more than 10 years, 

there are a number of ways 

businesses can benefit from 

human-machine collaboration. 

As this new era of generative AI 

comes into the workplace, I don’t 

see those benefits going away. 

H. JAMES WILSON 

GLOBAL MANAGING DIRECTOR, 

IT AND BUSINESS RESEARCH 

ACCENTURE 

SPEAKING AT THE 2023 MIT 

PLATFORM STRATEGY SUMMIT 

IDE SEMINAR SERIES 

THINKER-FEST 

The inaugural MIT Thinker-Fest event melded the academic resources of the IDE 

with the brainpower of the Thinkers50 community. Sinan Aral hosted the virtual 

event on February 23 with more than 800 virtual attendees joining from around the 

globe. During the session, IDE leaders Renée Richardson Gosline and John Horton, 

along with scholars Geoffrey Parker and Marshall Van Alstyne, debated whether 

the splintered internet can be repaired, the state of remote work, and how to control 

AI bias. Other featured speakers included digital anthropologist Rahaf Harfoush, 

company founder Martin Lindstrom, and Dell VP of Engineering Jerry Carter. 

MIT PhD Candidate 

Zanele Munyikwa 

presented research 

on Generative AI at 

her seminar talk. 

Our informal seminars highlighted early results from 

current research projects and provocative ideas from 

MIT scholars and other researchers. 

SPRING 2023 

Raghav Narsalay 

Accenture 

John Micheal Van Reenen 

London School of Economics 

MIT IDE 

Michael Luca 

Harvard Business School 

Bo Cowgill 

Columbia University 

Glen Weyl 

Microsoft 

Alex Moehring 

MIT 

FALL 2023 

Chenhao Tan 

University of Chicago 

Georgios Petropolous 


Park Sinchaisri 

University of California, 

Berkeley 

Dokyun “DK” Lee 

Boston University 

Zanele Munyika 



EDUCATING 

LEADERS TEACH TOOLS 

TO NAVIGATE NEW TECH 

Business leaders can become students; students can collaborate 

with industry 

CONFERENCE ON DIGITAL EXPERIMENTATION (CoDE) 

How can experts design better AI? This and other technical questions were explored 

at the 2023 MIT Conference on Digital Experimentation (CoDE), held at MIT on 

November 10–11. The 10th annual event offered a mecca for those testing and 

proving the latest theories underlying emerging technologies. More than 300 in-person 

attendees heard presentations from 17 plenary speakers and 116 parallel sessions 

and poster presenters. The presentations, ranging from the general to the highly 

specialized, shared common focus areas: digital experimentation, the impact 

of advanced technology, and the benefits of collaboration and shared learning. 

MIT FUTURETECH WORKSHOP ON AI 

SCALING AND ITS IMPLICATIONS 

Vital questions about AI’s limits and challenges were 

explored at the 2023 MIT FutureTech Workshop on AI 

Scaling and Its Implications, held October 12–13 at 

the MIT Museum. This invitation-only event gathered 

over 70 prominent computer scientists, engineers and 

economists to discuss AI development, automation 

and more. Among the questions explored: Can AI 

continue to progress at the same rapid pace we’ve 

seen in the last few years? And if so, should it? 

Neil Thompson, Director of MIT FutureTech and an 

MIT IDE research lead, led a discussion on research 

prioritization with the aim of shaping new research 

project agendas. 

Other speakers at the workshop included Pamela 

Fine Mishkin of Open AI; Eric Drexler of the 

University of Oxford; Dan Hendrycks of the Centre 

for AI Safety; and Jacob Steinhardt of the University 

of California, Berkeley. 

IDE ANNUAL CONFERENCE 

The 2023 IDE Annual Conference, a live and virtual 

event exclusively for IDE stakeholders, was held in May. 

This annual drink-from-the-firehose event included 

summaries from each of our eight research group leads 

and brief presentations of research either underway 

or recently completed. The keynote was provided by 

Yamini Ragan, CEO of Hubspot, who shared highlights 

of her professional journey. 

iQuHACK 

Panels at CoDE were led by IDE 

lead Dean Eckles (top left) and 

IDE fellow David Holtz, (bottom 

left) and included experts from 

Meta, Google, IBM and academia. 

The opening panel of the fourth annual Interdisciplinary 

Quantum Hackathon, or iQuHACK, was held on January 

27. Co-sponsored by the IDE, the event featured IDE 

Research Scientist Jonathan Ruane, who discussed the 

potential market opportunities for quantum computing. 

The event drew more than 300 in-person attendees at 

MIT, plus several thousand developers online—all of 

whom could test their code on both real and simulated 

quantum hardware. 

Education forms the backbone of all that’s 

done at MIT Sloan. Here at the IDE, we 

take great pride in sharing our insights 

and understandings among students, 

stakeholders and the broader community. 

Action Learing and Executive Education are 

perfect vehicles for this interaction. 

MIT ANALYTICS LAB (A-LAB) 

The MIT Analytics Lab empowers IDE stakeholders to 

submit projects and data to teams of MIT graduate 

students. These teams then use analytics, machine 

learning and other methods of analysis to develop 

results that will diagnose, enable or uncover solutions 

to real business issues and opportunities. 

In December, the IDE hosted the 2023 MIT Analytics 

Lab (A-Lab) final presentations with 22 student projects 

representing 21 companies. A panel of judges—Renée 

Richardson Gosline of MIT Sloan/MIT IDE; Jennifer 

Jordan of iGlobe Partners; and Tod Loofbourrow of 

ViralGains—had the difficult task of naming just one 

winner. Ultimately, the trophy went to Team MGSJ, 

mentored by Ravi Doddavaram. The winning team, 

representing Akkodis, included Srikaran Boya, Giorgio 

Demarchi, Jan Girgott and Matea Gjika. 

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION 

In 2023, IDE faculty and researchers continued to launch and 

support a full course load of best-in-class continuing education 

for professionals through MIT Sloan Executive Education. 

A SAMPLING OF 2023 EXECUTIVE 

EDUCATION COURSES 

Breakthrough Customer 

Experience (CX) Strategy 

Leading the AI-Driven 

Organization 

Making AI Work: Machine 

Intelligence for 

Business Strategy 

Systematic Innovation 

of Products, Processes 

and Services 

Digital Marketing 

Analytics 

The MIT student team 

working with Akkodis 

was named the winning 

A-Lab project in 2023. 

Social Media Strategy: 

Creating Engagement, 

Insight and Action 

Machine Learning in 

Business 

AI Implications for 

Business Strategy 

Leading the Future of 

Work 

Digital Business 

Strategy: Harnessing Our 

Digital Future 

VIEW MORE EXEC ED COURSES AT EXEC.MIT.EDU 


LEADING THE WAY 

The IDE is fueled by a wide range of 

scholars, staff and supporters 

THANKS TO OUR 

LOYAL SUPPORTERS 

IDE DIRECTORS 

RESEARCH GROUP LEADS 

Sinan Aral 

Professor, MIT Sloan School of 

Management 

Dean Eckles 

Associate Professor, MIT Sloan 

School of Management 

Renée Richardson Gosline 

Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of 

Management 

John Horton 

Associate Professor, MIT Sloan 

School of Management 

Andrew McAfee 

Co-Director & Principal Research 

Scientist, MIT IDE 

Alex “Sandy” Pentland 

Professor, MIT Media Lab 

David Rand 

Professor, MIT Sloan School of 

Management 

Neil Thompson 

Research Scientist, MIT Sloan School 

of Management and CSAIL 

RESEARCHERS 

Daron Acemoglu 

Institute Professor, MIT Economics 

Department 

Jayson Lynch 

Research Scientist, MIT CSAIL 

Kristina McElheran 

Assistant Professor, Rotman School 

of Management, University of 

Toronto 

Geoffrey Parker 

Professor of Engineering Innovation, 

Dartmouth College 

Georgios Petropoulos 

Research Associate, MIT IDE 

Jonathan Ruane 

Research Scientist, MIT IDE 

Sinan Aral 

Director, MIT IDE; Professor, 

MIT Sloan School of Management 

DIGITAL FELLOWS & 

RESEARCH AFFILIATES 

Elizabeth Altman 

Associate Professor, Manning 

School of Business, University of 

Massachusetts, Lowell 

Matt Beane 

Assistant Professor, Technology 

Management Program, University of 

California, Santa Barbara 

Seth Benzell 

Assistant Professor, Argyros 

School of Business and Economics, 

Chapman University 

Sukwoong Choi 

Assistant Professor, Information 

Systems and Business Analytics, 

Massry School of Business, 

University at Albany, SUNY 

Thomas Davenport 

Professor, Babson College 

Paramveer Dhillon 

Assistant Professor of Information, 

School of Information, University of 

Michigan 

Apostolos Filippas 

Assistant Professor, Gabelli School 

of Business, Fordham University 

Andrey Fradkin 

Assistant Professor of Marketing, 

Questrom School of Business, 


Joshua Gans 

Professor, Rotman School of 

Management & Department of 

Economics, University of Toronto 

Kiran Garimella 

Assistant Professor of Library and 

Information Science, School of 

Communication and Information, 

Rutgers University 

David Holtz 

Assistant Professor, Haas School 

of Business, University of California, 

Berkeley 

Andrew McAfee 

Co-Director & Principal Research 

Scientist, MIT IDE 

John Irons 

Senior VP and Head of Research, 

Siegel Family Endowment 

Eaman Jahani 

Assistant Professor, Robert H. Smith 

School of Business, University of 

Maryland 

Wang Jin, 

Research Scientist, Stanford Digital 

Economy Lab 

Hyo Kang 

Assistant Professor, Marshall School 

of Business, University of Southern 

California 

Paul Kedrosky 

Managing Partner, SK Ventures 

Tod Loofbourrow 

CEO, ViralGains 

Anna Pastwa 

Assistant Professor, University of 

Warsaw 

Amin Rahimian 

Assistant Professor, Swanson 

School of Engineering, University of 

Pittsburgh 

Maria Ressa, 

CEO and President, Rappler 

Daniel Rock 

Assistant Professor, Wharton School, 

University of Pennsylvania 

Michael Schrage 

Visiting Fellow, Department of 

Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 

Imperial College 

Marshall Van Alstyne 

Professor in Information Systems, 

Questrom School of Business, 


John Van Reenen 

Professor, London School of 

Economics 

Irving Wladawsky-Berger 

Visiting Lecturer, MIT Sloan 

POSTDOCS & DEGREE 

CANDIDATES 

Nuruddin Ahmed 

Postdoctoral Associate 

Jennifer Allen 

PhD Candidate 

Mohammed Alsobay 

PhD Candidate 

Michael Caosun 

PhD Candidate 

Ziv Heimlich Shtacher 

MBA 

Harang Ju 


Madhav Kumar 


Wensu Li 


Rebecca Wenjing Lyu 


Benjamin Manning 

PhD Candidate 

Hirotaka Miura 

PhD Candidate 

Alex Moehring 

PhD Candidate 

Zanele Munyikwa 

PhD Candidate 

Robin Na 

PhD Candidate 

Anthony Ou 

MEng Candidate 

Roy Reinhorn 

MBA Candidate 

Hong-Yi Tu Ye 

PhD Candidate 

Ehsan Valavi 


Emma Wiles 

PhD Candidate 

Leon Yao 

PhD Candidate 

Yunhao Jerry Zhang 

PhD Candidate 

VISITING SCIENTISTS 

Tamay Besiroglu 

University of Cambridge 

Leonardo Serra 

Capgemini 

Peter Slattery 

Monash University 

STAFF 

Joanne Batziotegos, 

Finance Administrator 

Tammy Buzzell 

Associate Director, Finance 

Operations 

Aileen Menounos 

Events Coordinator 

Carrie Reynolds 

Assistant Director of 

Communications and Marketing 

Albert Scerbo 

Associate Director 

David Verrill 

Executive Director 

CONSULTING PARTNERS 

Paula Klein 

Contributing Writer and Editorial 

Content Director 

Peter Krass 

Editorial Consultant 

David Weber 

Fundraising Consultant 

ADVISORY BOARD 

Mitchell Baker 

Chairwoman and Co-Founder, Mozilla 

Carl Bass 

Former President and CEO, Autodesk 

Marc Benioff 

Chair, CEO & Co-Founder, Salesforce 

Mary Callahan Erdoes 

CEO, Asset and Wealth Management, 

JPMorgan Chase 

Reid Hoffman 

Partner, Greylock Partners 

James Manyika 

Senior VP, Research, Technology & Society, 

Google-Alphabet 

Marissa Mayer 

Co-Founder, Lumi Labs 

Eric Schmidt 

Former CEO, Google 

Michael Spence 

NYU Professor of Economics and 

Nobel Laureate 

FOUNDATIONS 

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation • 

Google.org • MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab • 

Nasdaq • New Venture Fund • TDF 

Foundation 

CORPORATIONS 

Accenture (Founding Member) • 3M • 

AB InBev • Akkodis • Autodesk • 

Capgemini • General Motors • IRC4HR • 

Meta Platforms • Microsoft • Netflix • 

SAP • Schneider Electric • TechnoPro 

INDIVIDUALS 

Nobuo N. Akiha • Joe Eastin • 

Michael Even • Wesley Chan • 

Junichi Hasegawa • Ellen and Bruce 

Herzfelder • Reid Hoffman • Richard B. 

Homonoff • Edward S. Hyman, Jr. • 

Gustavo Pierini • Gustavo Marini • 

Tom Pappas • Jeff and Liesl Wilke • 

and other individuals who prefer to 

remain anonymous 


LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

INTO THE FRAY 

As AI rises in prominance, the IDE is more necessary than ever 

We remain focused 

on research that 

has a grounding 

and practical 

impact. 

DAVID VERRILL 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MIT IDE 

The year 2023 saw AI, particularly generative AI, come of age, 

helping us improve our resumes and cover letters, increasing 

our productivity and reducing our costs. At the IDE, four of 

our research groups were in the middle of the fray: Renée 

Richardson Gosline’s research group on Human-First AI; John 

Horton’s group on AI, Marketplaces, and Labor Economics; and 

Sinan Aral’s group on Generative AI and Decentralization. Neil 

Thompson’s group on AI, Quantum and Beyond also adds a 

unique perspective on the technology fueling the transformation. 

While AI took center stage, the IDE excelled in other areas of 

research, too. This included work by David Rand (Fake News 

and Misinformation); Dean Eckles (New Data Analytics); Andrew 

McAfee (Technology-Driven Organizations and Digital Culture 

group); and Alex “Sandy” Pentland (Building a Distributed 

Economy). All were busy in 2023, generating one of the largest 

number of refereed and business-journal publications ever. 

Each year, I’m amazed by all we have achieved and our impact 

on the research, technology, policy and business communities 

we serve. One particular strength that we take great pride in 

at the IDE is the fresh flow of PhD and postdoctoral students 

that launch their careers from our base—truly the next generation 

of academic leaders in business and technology. While our 

methods may change over time, the MIT heritage of “mind 

and hand” keeps us focused on research that has a grounding 

and practical impact. We experiment, investigate and analyze 

emerging technologies and their social implications; we highlight 

their potential for positive change; and we help you stay ahead 

of the curve. 

CONNECT WITH THE IDE 

The IDE couldn’t operate without our dedicated staff. I’d like to 

thank Finance Administrator Joanne Batziotegos; Associate 

Director of Finance Tammy Buzzell; Editorial Content Director 

Paula Klein; and Assistant Director of Marketing and Events 

Carrie Reynolds. In 2023 we added two new colleagues: 

Events Coordinator Aileen Menounos and Associate Director 

Albert Scerbo. 

Our team is small, tight-knit and composed of high-quality people 

with unique talents. Throughout the year, they package, promote 

and present the IDE’s ideas to a broad audience. This includes 

our generous stakeholders—the individuals, corporations and 

foundations named above—as well as members of academia, 

public policy groups and the press. 

In an accelerating AI world, the IDE is exceptionally qualified, 

essential and more necessary than ever. We appreciate the 

support of our stakeholders. We also thank the MIT and MIT 

Sloan ecosystems that allow us to work and thrive. 

The journey continues! 

DAVID VERRILL 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

FIND US ON 

MEDIUM 

BROWSE OUR 

WORK 

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Read articles about digital 

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business, the economy 

and society. Read > 

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Browse > 

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Sinan Aral. 

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3 

EDITORIAL CONTENT Paula Klein and Peter Krass 

EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY Andrew Kubica, Valencia Images 

COVER IMAGE Abobe, generated by AI 

MIT IDE ANNUAL REPORT 2023 | 16

2023 MIT IDE Annual Report

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