AHA at MIT Media Lab

Congratulations to Dreaming Objects — winners of HARD MODE! 🏆 They imagine a future where AI lives in the things around us. Objects everyone can interact with, have fun with, and grow alongside in real life. They take home a $50K SAFE investment. Watch this space. 🚀 #HARDMODE

Huge thanks to platinum sponsors @AnthropicAI , @Akamai , and @Qualcomm — and to @MarcRaibert from @BostonDynamics for bringing Spot and showing us where intelligent hardware is headed. This is what advancing humans with AI looks like. 🤖

HARD MODE: what a weekend. 🔧🤘 200+ builders. 40+ teams. 48 hours. One mission: prototype the future. The challenge: rethink how AI helps humans connect, learn, reflect, work, play, and thrive. Demo day was something else. 🥹 #HARDMODEhackathon #AdvancingHumansWithAI

We analyzed aggregated insights from people's 2025 AI chat histories — here's what we're seeing (exploratory findings, small sample): Emotional support themes showed up across nearly all users, regardless of how they used AI.

🧠 Is AI making us better thinkers — or doing our thinking for us? TOMORROW: AHA Seminar Series featuring Valdemar Danry on AI & the future of critical thinking. 📅 Thurs, March 5 | 4–5pm ET | Free & virtual 🔗 Zoom link: zoom.us/j/91647096870 #AI #CriticalThinking #HumanAI

@MIT 🔗 media.mit.edu/projects/the-o…

Built a benchmark measuring AI's impact on human wellbeing? Submit it to AHA's Open Benchmark for the Human Impact of AI — a collaboration between researchers at @MIT, USC, and UC Berkeley. We'll run it on datasets you can't access elsewhere. Link in comments.

Link: media.mit.edu/projects/repor…

Most AI benchmarks measure performance. We measure impact on people. New from AHA @MITMediaLab: a framework for benchmarking AI's effect on human flourishing. 80 experts. 40+ institutions. One question: does it help humans thrive? Read the report - Link in comments.

@TheAtlantic read the article here: theatlantic.com/technology/202…

AI can now apologize, advise, and persuade — fluently, convincingly, at scale. But no one stands behind the words. AHA's Deb Roy on what this means for language, dignity, and the social contract → link in comments via @TheAtlantic

Volunteer at HARD MODE — MIT's hardware × AI hackathon, March 6–8. 200 builders. 48 hours. One design brief: hardware for human flourishing. Wanna join? apply here: forms.gle/DUDAvunyihmgbS…

Proud AHA moment 🌍 Our co-director Pat spoke at the UN ECOSOC Chamber for Women and Girls in Science Day on "AI and the Future of Human Flourishing", joined by an all-women MIT delegation. He honored the women who shaped his work: Dr. Pattie Maes, Dr. Sherry Turkle, and his mom!

How do AI systems actually impact human behavior? And can we create a new paradigm for accountability?Join our AHA Seminar featuring Erika Anderson & Yaoli Mao on Humane AI Evaluation! Thu Feb 19 | 4-5pm ET 🔗 zoom.us/j/91647096870

We don't need better AI engagement metrics. We need better human flourishing metrics. At the HumanConnections.AI Salon in SF, one thing became clear: measuring clicks ≠ measuring whether AI helps people thrive. Time to build benchmarks that actually matter!

🚨 New research challenges the hype around human-AI collaboration Are humans + AI actually better together? MIT's Michelle Vaccaro analyzed 106 studies to find out—and the results are surprising 👀 📅 Feb 6 | 4pm ET 🔗 zoom.us/j/91647096870 Don't miss this. #AI #FutureOfWork

APPLICATIONS OPEN for HARD MODE 🔧 48hrs to build AI hardware that matters. Not apps. Not chatbots. Real devices you can hold and use. March 6-8 @ MIT Media Lab 200 spots. Cash prizes. Premium hardware. Apply: hardmode.media.mit.edu

🤖💭 Can AI provide emotional support like humans? What changes when we know we're talking to AI? Join @Harvard Prof. Amit Goldenberg THIS FRIDAY exploring LLMs, emotional intelligence & human-AI interaction 📅 Jan 23 | 2pm ET 🔗 zoom.us/j/91647096870

Recent @nytimes article by Brian X. Chen looks into a series of studies from @WhartonSchoolPR @medialab @UCSF exploring A.l. search tools, chatbots, social media and their association with lower cognitive performance, including our recent paper "Your Brain on ChatGPT"

For everyone interested in learning more about what the AHA program has accomplished during our inaugural year, please have a look at our latest update: mailchi.mp/d4472146fa31/a…

Happy New Year from AHA! 🎉 2025 was just the beginning — 20+ publications, real-world policy impact, and a growing community committed to human flourishing. 2026 brings: Our Annual Symposium, expanded collaborations and research. Here's to many AHA moments ahead! ✨