Weekly Briefing: Was This MIT Media Lab Research Science or Fantasy?

A new investigation reveals that a hyped research project may have been too good to be true. [Weekly Briefing] By Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz When does the next big thing become too good to be true? [Image] Tony Luong It started with a tip. Something wasn’t quite right at one of the country’s most celebrated idea incubators, the MIT Media Lab. So our Nell Gluckman traveled to Cambridge, Mass., to learn more. ADVERTISEMENT [advertisement]( Her work started before the Media Lab was embroiled in another controversy. Last week, an exposé in The New Yorker unearthed emails that showed the lab had received major donations from Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. The emails showed how Joi Ito, the lab’s director, and others had tried to conceal the full extent of the lab’s relationship with Epstein. Ito resigned after the emails came to light. Nell’s story wasn’t about Epstein, however. It was about the Media Lab and some lofty rhetoric that may have gone too far. Caleb Harper, a principal research scientist at the lab, has developed what he called a “food computer.” It’s a machine that was said to control its own climate, grow plants, and collect data on how the crops were doing. If they proved effective, the devices promised to change how food is grown forever. Harper, a trained architect, received red-carpet treatment for his idea. A few examples: a viral TED Talk, a BBC segment, and a write-up in The Wall Street Journal. But some researchers who worked with Harper weren’t convinced, and said that many of the claims made about food computers were a fantasy. To put a finer point on their skepticism: Researchers told Nell that they were instructed to buy plants from a store, and place them in the machine to stage that they had grown there. Former employees also said that Harper’s presentations about the work have described research projects that they either didn’t know about or thought were exaggerated. Harper didn’t respond to Nell’s questions about the allegations made about his work. He did, however, say that there’s a need in plant science for his big-picture vision. This is where the story turns from shocking to complicated. The Media Lab encourages unconventional research. It even gives out a $250,000 prize to people who “engage in responsible, ethical disobedience.” This all happens under the lab’s nontraditional funding structure, in which “member” companies, like Google and Nike, pay an annual fee to access the technology developed in the lab. “Initiatives” like Harper’s get funding to start out, but are expected to be self-sufficient after two years, and raise money on their own. It's a structure that’s been praised and criticized. Given the lab’s unconventional nature, and the university’s preoccupation in dealing with the Epstein fallout, it’s uncertain whether the two controversies are freight trains running on two parallel tracks, or if they’re on a collision course. What is certain is that both situations offer an opportunity for MIT to examine its practices around fund raising, its relationships with seemingly visionary leaders, and the lab’s apparent distaste for more traditional scientific methods. Harper was without a doubt a visionary. He dazzled Media Lab donors and outside observers, but he did so at a cost. [Read Nell’s investigation here.]( Best of the rest. [Image] Tony Luong - ‘Spyami.’ Miami University wants its faculty members [to tell its office of general counsel about any police reports]( charges, and indictments, and whether they have committed the alleged crime, witnessed it, were told about it, or were victimized by it. Faculty members would also have to report any knowledge of a colleague’s criminal activity to the institution’s lawyers. - A whistle-blower speaks out. Our sister publication, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, interviewed Signe Swenson, a former development associate at the MIT Media Lab, who helped make Ronan Farrow’s New Yorker exposé possible. [This is why Swenson came forward.]( Lagniappe. [Image] Getty Images - Learn. Do you ever find yourself working on a big project and your web browser is cluttered with about a million tabs? [This Google Chrome extension]( converts all of your tabs into a list. - Watch. There’s something wonderful about peeking inside the homes of the rich and famous, but looking at a luxurious Brazilian compound –– [that’s even better](. - Listen. The New York Times’ new audio series [“1619”]( that examines America’s relationship and history with slavery is as illuminating as it is tragic. With only three episodes in the series thus far, there’s plenty of time to catch up. - Read. Why is the internet [so obsessed with fat cats]( Coming soon. About 80 years ago, the University of Chicago dumped its football program. Why didn’t more institutions follow its lead? Look out for Will Javis’ story, which examines why so many colleges can’t quite break up with the sport. I’ll be back in your inbox in just one short week, but in the meantime, I want to hear from you. What detail from Nell’s investigation most surprised you? Why? Before her story, I confess that I didn’t understand how the Media Lab was funded. Tell me your thoughts: fernanda@chronicle.com. Cheers, –– Fernanda Subscribe Today Without premium access, you are missing critical reporting and analysis on the news, policies, and controversies that are shaping the academic landscape. [Subscribe Today]( This Week's Top Reads Faculty [‘Spyami’? Professors at Miami U. Decry Proposed Mandate to Report Criminal Activity of Colleagues]( Some faculty members at the Ohio institution say the “draconian” policy would allow administrators to discipline or fire them without reason. (PREMIUM) ADVERTISEMENT [advertisement]( Administration [A Whistle-Blower Tells the Backstory of Jeffrey Epstein and MIT Media Lab]( Signe Swenson, a development associate at the lab, raised concerns with her supervisors that she says were ignored. Paid for and Created by Sodexo [Skills for the Work of the Future]( Employers want more people who can think creatively and critically, and who can supplement the burgeoning new technologies they use with tasks only humans can perform. 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