EFTA02649536.pdf

From: Joichi Ito Sent: Monday, May 29, 2017 12:31 PM To: Jeffrey Epstein Subject: One Science / Media Lab How does this sound? Almost all =f the important problems that science faces are complex and =nterdisciplinary, yet the majority of traditional research labs still =ocus on a single discipline or problem. To tackle difficult challenges, =uch as curing or augmenting the human body; developing, deploying and =egulating artificial intelligence; or understanding, designing and =anaging the future of genomics—we need interdisciplinary—=nd perhaps more importantly, antidisciplinary—groups of the =est researchers in any number of disparate fields. Working together, =ound tightly in an operating group, these scientists are unencumbered =y the "walls" of disciplines and federal funding silos. =nlike established fields, which have an established paradigm, these are =pre-paradigmatic sciences"—the principles are not yet clear, =he textbook is incomplete, and there are no hard and fast rules—s= the disciplinary source of a given revolution is highly =npredictable. At the MIT =edia Lab, we have established a unique environment where master's=and PhD candidates conduct research in more than 25 research groups =ach led by a professor or senior research scientist. This academic =rogram is complemented by a robust research agenda that often involves =ollaborations with top researchers across MIT and beyond to tackle =ission-oriented projects that cut across multiple disciplines. The =edia Lab is also strongly focused on deploying research results into =ractice and the real world. While =cademia can attract the brightest researchers whose thinking is not yet =ncumbered by traditional disciplinary biases, it does not necessarily =rovide the best model for attracting funding for "unproven"=research initiatives, or for scaling. The Media Lab's "se=ret sauce" is its ability to bring together a constantly =volving community of hundreds of faculty members, researcher staff, and =raduate students with an incredible breadth of scientific expertise, =nd then providing them with the freedom—and funding-to =ake their ideas into uncharted scientific waters. We believe this can =erve as a new paradigm for advancing the understanding, invention, and =eployment of science. EFTA_R1_01889181 EFTA02649536