MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

10/20/2026

Reflecting on why SHASS matters

At the SHASS 75th Anniversary Symposium, we asked members of the community what makes the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences an essential part of MIT.

In this video:

Norvin Richards, Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Linguistics

David Autor, Daniel (1972) and Gail Rubinfeld Professor; Head, Department of Economics

Ankita Reddy ’19, a double major in anthropology and biology; currently an MD/PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania

10/20/2026

In this 75th Anniversary Symposium video, narrated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) president Sally Kornbluth, we present session, speaker, and performance slices from the Symposium.

10/20/2026

In an interview with WIRED’s Steven Levy, MIT professor Sherry Turkle discusses how she witnessed chatbots with human-like features becoming “dangerously enmeshed” with people. “When you’re bathing in the warm soup of total acceptance, talking to chatbots becomes the endgame,” Turkle says. https://www.wired.com/story/maybe-chatbots-shouldnt-get-to-say-i-or-me/ MIT | Program in Science, Technology, and Society

MIT professor Sherry Turkle warns that people have become dangerously enmeshed with chatbots.

10/20/2026

This year's Arthur Miller Lecture on Science and Ethics, presented by the MIT Program in Science Technology and Society, features a panel discussion on AI and its use in children's toys. The discussion is being held on Monday, October 26 at 4 pm in the MIT Welcome Center. You can register to attend today. https://bit.ly/4s43inG

The Program in Science, Technology, and Society invites you to the annual Arthur Miller Lecture in Science and Ethics on Monday, October 26th from 4:00-5:30 pm in the MIT Welcome Center, for a panel lecture on the use of chatbots in children's toys. The panel features Professor Mimi Ito, Director of...

10/20/2026

MIT political scientist Charles Stewart spoke with NPR about elections and the false narratives that can accompany them. "California just has a big target on its back," Stewart said. https://www.npr.org/2026/10/19/nx-s1-5982027/california-vote-counting-margins MIT Political Science MIT Election Data and Science Lab

Hint: It's not only because California counts slowly.

10/20/2026

A Forbes story about proposals to offer Americans a market-based, stock-supported form of universal income cites MIT economist and department head David Autor, who told The Atlantic that “giving Americans at all income levels at least some investments that will appreciate over time is better than nothing.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2026/10/19/elon-musk-giving-out-spacex-shares-as-universal-basic-income-becomes-a-major-proposal-to-tackle-ai/ MIT Economics

The policy has attracted support from both sides of the aisle on how to respond to AI, but economists still have concerns.

10/19/2026

10/19/2026

SHASS celebrated its 75th Anniversary with a two-day symposium that gathered scholars, students, and performers to explore ideas, research, and impact across the humanities, arts, and social sciences.

These efforts often occurred in partnership with colleagues from across the Institute, in the sciences, and elsewhere.

In this video, Agustín Rayo, the Kenan Sahin Dean of SHASS and Professor of MIT Philosophy, explores the importance of the humanities in arriving at a better understanding of the human experience.