The 2020 MIT IDE Annual Report is here!
In early 2020, we began to refresh our approach and accelerate in new directions.
After co-founding the IDE in 2014, Professor Erik Brynjolfsson handed over the reins to our new director, Professor Sinan Aral, who along with co-director Andrew McAfee will now lead our organization. Aral’s energy, fresh vision, and expertise position the IDE to continue our cutting-edge research on the most prevalent and pressing issues facing the digital economy today.
In addition, during our annual conference in May, the IDE introduced six new Research Groups led by familiar rock stars (Andrew McAfee, Sandy Pentland) and rising stars (Renée Richardson Gosline, David Rand, Dean Eckles, and John Horton). Then. the global pandemic set in. While no one could have anticipated its upending effects, we were prepared to engage and support stakeholders as the growth of the digital economy gained explosive prominence. We mobilized resources and formed the COVID-19 Research Hub to lead new research that would aid in the prevention and spread of the virus.
Through timely research, insightful events (now virtual), and educational offerings, the IDE continues to reinvent the digital future when the world will move beyond the challenges of 2020 and into a more economically, socially, and politically healthy era. Staying ahead of the curve requires reinvention.
Read the full report below.