MIT Media Lab

The founding director of the lab was Nicholas Negroponte, who directed it until 2000. Later directors were Walter Bender (2000–2006), Frank Moss (2006–2011),{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/science/26lab.html|title=M.I.T. Media Lab Names a New Director|author=John Markoff|date=April 26, 2011|access-date=2011-04-25|newspaper=New York Times}} and Joi Ito (2011-2019) who resigned in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Dava Newman took the position in July, 2021,[https://physicsworld.com/a/space-engineer-takes-over-as-head-of-the-mit-media-lab/ Space engineer takes over as head of the MIT Media Lab] the first woman to do so.

{{as of|2014}}, the media lab had roughly 70 administrative and support staff members. Associate directors of the lab were Hiroshi Ishii and Andrew Lippman. Pattie Maes and Mitchel Resnick were co-heads of the program in media arts and sciences, and the lab's chief knowledge officer was Henry Holtzman.

The media lab has at times had regional branches in other parts of the world, such as Media Lab Europe and Media Lab Asia, each with their own staff and governing bodies.{{cite web |url=http://india.media.mit.edu|title=Design Innovation Workshop 2015|author=MIT Media Labs, India|access-date=2015-01-23}}{{cite web |url=http://thenewcon.com/mit-design-innovation-workshop/|title=MIT Media Labs Design Innovation Workshop Report|author=Aniruddha Mysore|access-date=2015-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222094844/http://thenewcon.com/mit-design-innovation-workshop/|archive-date=2015-02-22|url-status=dead}}

File:Nicholas Negroponte USNA 20090415 cropped.jpg|Nicholas Negroponte

File:Walter Bender in 2011.jpg|Walter Bender

File:Joichi Ito Headshot 2007.jpg|Joi Ito

File:Dava Newman in 2023 02.jpg|Dava Newman

File:Andy Lippman.jpeg|Andy Lippman

File:Hiroshi Ishii cropped 2 Hiroshi Ishii 20130406 1.jpg|Hiroshi Ishii

File:Dubai Future Forum 2024 - Pattie Maes.jpg|Pattie Maes

The lab's primary funding comes from corporate sponsorship. Rather than accepting funding on a per-project or per-group basis, the lab asks sponsors to fund general themes; sponsors can then connect with media lab research. Specific projects and researchers are also funded more traditionally through US government institutions including the NIH, NSF, and DARPA. Also, consortia with other schools or other departments at MIT are often able to have money that does not enter into the common pool.

MIT Media Lab has an approximately $75 million annual operating budget.{{Cite web |url=https://www.media.mit.edu/about/funding-and-support/|title=Funding and Support|website=MIT Media Lab|access-date=2019-08-21}}

Companies sponsoring the lab can share in the lab's intellectual property without paying license fees or royalties. Non-sponsors cannot make use of media lab developments for two years after technical disclosure is made to MIT and media lab sponsors. The media lab generates approximately 20 new patents every year.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}

Some recurring themes of work at the media lab include human adaptability,{{Cite web |url=http://h20.media.mit.edu/|title=MIT Media Lab: h2.0 Symposium Archive|website=h20.media.mit.edu|access-date=2018-01-11}} human computer interaction, education and communication, artistic creation and visualization, and designing technology for the developing world. Other research focus includes machines with common sense, sociable robots, prosthetics, sensor networks, musical devices, city design, and public health. Research programs all include iterative development of prototypes which are tested and displayed for visitors.{{cite web |url=https://www.media.mit.edu/research/?filter=groups|title=MIT Media Lab Featured Research}}

Each of these areas of research may incorporate others. Interaction design research includes designing intelligent objects and environments. Educational research has also included integrating more computation into learning activities – including software for learning, programmable toys, and artistic or musical instruments. Examples include Lego Mindstorms, the PicoCricket, and One Laptop per Child.{{cite web |url=http://picocricket.com |title=Picocricket.com |access-date=2011-10-23}}

The lab has over twenty research groups.{{cite web |url=https://www.media.mit.edu/research/?filter=groups|title=MIT Media Lab Research Groups}}

The media arts and sciences program is a part of MIT's school of architecture and planning, and includes three levels of study: a doctoral program, a master's of science program, and a program that offers an alternative to the standard MIT freshman year as well as a set of undergraduate subjects that may form the basis for a future joint major. All graduate students are fully supported (tuition plus a stipend) from the outset, normally by appointments as research assistants at the media laboratory, where they work on research programs and faculty projects, including assisting with courses. These research activities typically take up about half of a student's time in the degree program.

The media arts and sciences academic program have a close relationship with the media lab. Most media lab faculty are professors of media arts and sciences. Students who earn a degree in media arts and sciences have been predominantly in residence at the media lab, taking classes and doing research. Some students from other programs at MIT, such as mechanical engineering, or electrical engineering and computer science, do their research at the media lab, working with a media lab/Media Arts and Sciences faculty advisor, but earn their degrees (such as MEng or an MS in EECS) from other departments. Over 1,000 students apply to the MAS program and the admission is less than 5% per year.

{{Further|Wiesner building}}

File:MIT Media Lab (E14).jpg

In addition to the media lab, the combined original Wiesner building (E15) and new (E14) buildings also host the List Visual Arts Center, the School of Architecture and Planning's Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT), and MIT's Program in Comparative Media Studies.

In 2009, the media lab expanded into a new building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki.{{cite news | url=http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2009/12/06/mit_media_lab_elevates_transparency/ | work=The Boston Globe | title=Media Lab aims to elevate transparency | first=Robert | last=Campbell | date=December 6, 2009}} The local architect of record was Leers Weinzapfel Associates, of Boston. The Maki building has predominantly glass walls, with long lines of sight through the building, making ongoing research visible and encouraging connections and collaboration.{{cite web |url=http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/media-lab-building.html |title=Web.MIT.edu |date=2006-09-26 |access-date=2011-10-23}}

Media arts and sciences faculty and academic research staff are principal investigators/heads of the media lab's various research groups. They also advise media arts and sciences graduate students and mentor MIT undergraduates. "Most departments accept grad students based on their prospects for academic success; the media lab attempts to select ones that will best be able to help with some of the ongoing projects."Timmer, John. "Building The Next Big Thing: 25 Years of MIT's Media Lab". Wired News. October 24, 2010.

{{as of|2014}}, there are more than 25 faculty and academic research staff members, including a dozen named professorships. A full list of media lab faculty and academic research staff, with bios and other information, is available via the media lab website.{{cite web |url=http://www.media.mit.edu/people/faculty.html |title=Media.MIT.edu |access-date=2011-10-23}}

{{as of|August 2019}}, Alex Pentland is professor of media arts and sciences, Toshiba Professor and Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program Director.{{cite web |url=https://www.media.mit.edu/people/sandy/overview/|website=MIT|title=Alex 'Sandy' Pentland|access-date=31 August 2019}}

In August 2019, director Joi Ito said that the organization had received funding from multimillionaire convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein through foundations Epstein controlled; that Ito had visited several of Epstein's residences; and that Epstein had invested "in several of my funds which invest in tech startup companies outside of MIT".{{Cite web |url=https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/my-apology-regarding-jeffrey-epstein/|title=My apology regarding Jeffrey Epstein|last=Ito|first=Joi|website=MIT Media Lab|access-date=2019-08-21}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/16/business/media/ito-mit-epstein-apology.html|title=Director of M.I.T. Media Lab Apologizes for Ties to Jeffrey Epstein|last1=Tracy|first1=Marc|date=2019-08-16|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-08-21|last2=Hsu|first2=Tiffany|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} Ito later admitted to taking $525,000 in funding from Epstein for the lab. In 2019, media lab founder Nicholas Negroponte expressed support for Ito's decision to accept the funding from Epstein.{{cite web |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614264/mit-media-lab-jeffrey-epstein-joi-ito-nicholas-negroponte-funding-sex-abuse/|title=MIT Media Lab founder: Taking Epstein's money was justified|first1=Angela|last1=Chen|first2=Karen|last2=Hao|publisher=MIT Technology Review|date=2019-09-05|access-date=2020-09-24}} Also in 2019, a federal court deposition was unsealed in which Virginia Giuffre stated that Epstein's associate directed her to have sex with former media lab professor Marvin Minsky.{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2019/08/09/jeffrey-epsteins-alleged-sex-slave-reveals-the-men-she-claims-she-was-forced-to-sleep-with/|title=Jeffrey Epstein's alleged 'sex slave' reveals the men she claims she was forced to sleep with|access-date=8 August 2019}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/9/20798900/marvin-minsky-jeffrey-epstein-sex-trafficking-island-court-records-unsealed|title=AI pioneer accused of having sex with trafficking victim on Jeffrey Epstein's island|access-date=8 August 2019}}{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epstein-unsealed-documents-name-powerful-men-in-sex-ring|title=Jeffrey Epstein Accuser Names Powerful Men in Alleged Sex Ring|access-date=8 August 2019}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-09/epstein-sent-girl-to-governor-and-senator-for-sex-she-testified|title=Jeffrey Epstein Sent Girl to Governor and Senator for Sex, She Testified|access-date=8 August 2019}}

In September 2019, it was revealed by emails leaked to Ronan Farrow of The New Yorker that Ito and Peter Cohen, the MIT Media Lab's director of development and strategy at the time, have worked for years to solicit anonymous donations from Epstein despite Epstein being marked as Disqualified by the university as a donor. Ito has referred to Epstein as "fascinating".{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-an-elite-university-research-center-concealed-its-relationship-with-jeffrey-epstein|title=Pedophile Fundraising|magazine=The New Yorker|date=7 September 2019|access-date=2019-09-07}}

Ito resigned due to the scandal shortly after the New Yorker article. L. Rafael Reif, the president of MIT, announced an "immediate, thorough and independent" investigation to be led by an outside law firm into the "extremely serious" allegations.

On January 10, 2020, the executive committee of the MIT Corporation, the institute's governing board, released the results of Goodwin Procter's fact-finding regarding interactions between Jeffrey Epstein and the Institute.{{Cite web |url=http://factfindingdec2019.mit.edu/|title=MIT and Jeffrey Epstein|website=MIT and Jeffrey Epstein|access-date=2020-01-11}} The report revealed that Epstein made 10 donations through various entities to MIT totaling $850,000, including nine donations, totaling $750,000, made after his 2008 conviction. In 2002, four years before Epstein's first arrest for a sex offense, Epstein made a $100,000 donation to MIT through a charitable foundation to support the research of Professor Marvin Minsky (former Toshiba Professor of media arts and sciences, media lab). Epstein's $100,000 donation in May 2013 was intended to be used at Joi Ito's discretion. His donations in November 2013 and in July and September 2014, totaling $300,000, were made to support research by Joscha Bach, a media lab research fellow from Germany whom Epstein introduced to Ito in 2013. Bach declined to be interviewed for Goodwin Procter's fact-finding.{{Cite journal |date=January 10, 2020|title=Report Concerning Jeffrey Epstein's Interactions with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology|url=http://factfindingjan2020.mit.edu/files/MIT-report.pdf|pages=10|via=Report}} Epstein's other donations to the media lab between 2015 and 2017, totaling $350,000, were made to support Professor Seth Lloyd (Professor of Mechanical Engineering, $225,000), and Professor Neri Oxman (associate professor of media arts and sciences, $125,000).

Shortly after signing a petition in support of Ito, attorney and political activist Lawrence Lessig argued that the undesirable nature of donations to academic institutions from criminals like Epstein, whose fortune does not derive from their crimes, is partially mitigated if the donations are anonymous. He argues that it was "a mistake to take this money, even if anonymous," but that "if you take them, at least don't give the criminal a chance to publicly launder his reputation". "Everyone seems to treat it as if the anonymity and secrecy around Epstein's gift are a measure of some kind of moral failing," Lessig wrote. "I see it as exactly the opposite."{{cite web |last=Lessig |first=Lawrence |title=On Joi and MIT |url=https://medium.com/@lessig/on-joi-and-mit-3cb422fe5ae7 |access-date=2019-09-12}}{{cite web |last=Piper |first=Kelsey |date=11 September 2019 |title=Why MIT Media Lab thought it was doing right by secretly accepting Jeffrey Epstein's money |url=https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/9/11/20860717/mit-media-lab-joi-ito-epstein |access-date=2019-09-12}}

The Boston Globe reported it had seen emails indicating Bill Gates had donated $2.2 million to the media lab through Epstein.[https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/05/10/nation/melinda-gates-began-meeting-with-divorce-lawyers-2019-when-reports-bills-ties-jeffrey-epstein-surfaced-according-report/ Melinda Gates began meeting with divorce lawyers in 2019, when reports of Bill’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein surfaced, according to report]

On March 24, 2018, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited MIT and prompted protests.{{Cite news |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-a-Saudi-Prince-s-Visit/243174|title=Why a Saudi Prince's Visit to Harvard and MIT Drew Protests|date=April 19, 2018|work=The Chronicle of Higher Education}} Salman's non-profit foundation MiSK was a member company of the lab until 2018.{{Cite web |url=https://misk.org.sa/en/blog/misk-foundation-collaborates-mit-media-lab/|title=MiSk Foundation|date=23 April 2017}} According to The New York Times, a sizable part of the annual budget of the lab comes from corporate patrons, who pay at least $250,000 each year. Prince Mohammed's personal foundation was among the roughly 90 members at their time of membership.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/03/magazine/saudi-arabia-american-universities.html|title=Why Is There So Much Saudi Money in American Universities?|last=Sokolove|first=Michael|date=2019-07-03|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-09-08|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

Books

• {{cite book |last=Hidalgo |first=Cesar A. |date=June 2, 2015 |title=Why Information Grows |publisher=Basic Books |page=256 |isbn=9780465048991 |author-link=Cesar A. Hidalgo }}
• {{cite book |last=Breazeal |first=Cynthia L. |date=May 2002 |title=Designing Sociable Robots |publisher=MIT Press |page=282 |isbn=9780262025102 |author-link=Cynthia L. Breazeal }}
• {{cite book |last1=Bar-Cohen |first1=Yoseph |last2=Breazeal |first2=Cynthia L. |date=May 13, 2003 |title=Biologically Inspired Intelligent Robots |publisher=SPIE Press |page=406 |isbn=9780819448729 |author-link1=Yoseph Bar-Cohen | author-link2=Cynthia L. Breazeal }}
• {{cite book |last=Ariely |first=Dan |date=2008 |title=Predictably Irrational |url=https://archive.org/details/predictablyirrat00arie |url-access=registration |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |page=349 |isbn=9780061353246 |author-link=Dan Ariely }}
• {{cite book |last1=Shrobe |first1=Howard |last2=Shrier |first2=David L. |last3=Pentland |first3=Alex |date=2018 |title=New Solutions for Cybersecurity |publisher=MIT Press |page=504 |author-link3=Alex Pentland }}
• {{cite book |last=Moss |first=Frank |date=June 7, 2011 |title=The Sorcerers and Their Apprentices: How the Digital Magicians of the MIT Media Lab Are Creating the Innovative Technologies That Will Transform Our Lives |publisher=Crown Business |page=272 |isbn=9780307589101 |author-link=Frank Moss (technologist) |url=https://archive.org/details/sorcererstheirap0000moss |url-access=registration }}
• {{cite book |last=Harel |first=Idit |date=August 1991 |title=Children Designers |publisher=Ablex Publishing |isbn=9780893917883 |author-link=Idit Harel }}
• {{cite book |last=Maeda |first=John |date=August 21, 2006 |title=The Laws of Simplicity |publisher=MIT Press |page=128 |isbn=9780262134729 |author-link=John Maeda }}
• {{cite book |last=Maeda |first=John |date=May 7, 1999 |title=Design by Numbers |publisher=MIT Press |page=256 |isbn=9780262133548 |author-link=John Maeda }}
• {{cite book |last1=Ito |first1=Joi |last2=Howe |first2=Jeffrey |date=December 6, 2016 |title=Whiplash: How to Survive Our Faster Future |publisher=Grand Central Publishing |page=320 |isbn= 9781455544592 |author-link1=Joichi Ito |author-link2=Jeffrey Howe }}
• {{cite book |last1=Minsky |first1=Marvin |last2=Papert |first2=Seymour |date=January 1969 |title=Perceptrons: An Introduction to Computational Geometry |publisher=MIT Press |page=258 |isbn=9780262130431 |author-link1=Marvin Minsky |author-link2=Seymour Papert }}
• {{cite book |last=Minsky |first=Marvin |date=November 13, 2007 |title=The Emotion Machine: Commonsense Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of the Human Mind |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=400 |isbn=9780743276641 |author-link=Marvin Minsky }}
• {{cite book |last=Minsky |first=Marvin |date=March 15, 1988 |title=Society of Mind |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=[https://archive.org/details/societyofmind00mins/page/336 336] |isbn=9780671657130 |author-link=Marvin Minsky |url=https://archive.org/details/societyofmind00mins/page/336 }}
• {{cite book |last=Resnick |first=Mitchel |date=January 10, 1997 |title=Turtles, Termites, and Traffic Jams: Explorations in Massively Parallel Microworlds |publisher=MIT Press |page=184 |isbn=9780262680936 |author-link=Mitchel Resnick }}
• {{cite book |last=Gershenfeld |first=Neil |date=January 12, 1999 |title=When Things Start to Think |url=https://archive.org/details/whenthingsstartt00gers |url-access=registration |publisher=Henry Holt and Co. |page=[https://archive.org/details/whenthingsstartt00gers/page/225 225] |isbn=9780805058741 |author-link=Neil Gershenfeld }}
• {{cite book |last=Negroponte |first=Nicholas |date=January 3, 1996 |title=Being Digital |publisher=Vintage |page=272 |isbn=9780679762904 |author-link=Nicholas Negroponte }}
• {{cite book |last=Picard |first=Rosalind W. |date=July 31, 2000 |title=Affective Computing |publisher=MIT Press |page=306 |isbn=9780262661157 |author-link=Rosalind W. Picard }}
• {{cite book |last=Papert |first=Seymour |date=April 29, 1994 |title=The Children's Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer |publisher=Basic Books |page=256 |isbn=9780465010639 |author-link=Seymour Papert }}
• {{cite book |last=Papert |first=Seymour |date=August 4, 1993 |title=Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas |publisher=Basic Books |page=252 |isbn=9780465046744 |author-link=Seymour Papert }}
• {{cite book |last1=Benton |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Bove |first2=V. Michael Jr. |date=April 2008 |title=Holographic Imaging |publisher=Wiley |page=288 |isbn=9780470068069 |author-link1=Stephen A. Benton }}
• {{cite book |first1=Eric |last1=Resnick |last2=Mitchel |date= 11 July 2001|title=Adventures in Modeling: Exploring Complex, Dynamic Systems with StarLogo |publisher=Teachers College Press |page=192 |isbn=9780807740828 |author-link2=Eric Klopfer }}
• {{cite book |last=Mitchell |first=William J. |date=March 9, 2007 |title=Imagining MIT: Designing a Campus for the Twenty-First Century |publisher=MIT Press |page=152 |isbn=9780262134798 |author-link=William J. Mitchell }}
• {{cite book |last=Mitchell |first=William J. |date=September 17, 2004 |title=Me++: The Cyborg Self and the Networked City |publisher=MIT Press |page=269 |isbn=9780262633130 |author-link=William J. Mitchell }}

Some media lab-developed technologies made it into products or public software packages, such as the {{Citation needed-span|date=June 2014|text=Lego Mindstorms, LEGO WeDo and the pointing stick in IBM laptop keyboards}}, the Benton hologram used in most credit cards, the Fisher-Price's Symphony Painter,{{cite web |url=http://www.media.mit.edu/sponsorship/getting-value/collaborations/symphonypainter |title=Media.MIT.edu |access-date=2011-10-23 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120805060226/http://www.media.mit.edu/sponsorship/getting-value/collaborations/symphonypainter |archive-date=2012-08-05 |url-status=dead }} the Nortel Wireless Mesh Network,{{cite web |url=http://www.media.mit.edu/sponsorship/getting-value/collaborations/nortel |title=Media.MIT.edu |access-date=2011-10-23 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120805112346/http://www.media.mit.edu/sponsorship/getting-value/collaborations/nortel |archive-date=2012-08-05 |url-status=dead }} the NTT Comware Sensetable,{{cite web |url=http://www.media.mit.edu/sponsorship/getting-value/collaborations/ntt |title=Media.MIT.edu |access-date=2011-10-23 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804164709/http://www.media.mit.edu/sponsorship/getting-value/collaborations/ntt |archive-date=2012-08-04 |url-status=dead }} the Taito's Karaoke-on-Demand Machine.{{cite web |url=http://www.media.mit.edu/sponsorship/getting-value/collaborations/taito |title=Media.MIT.edu |access-date=2011-10-23 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120805052039/http://www.media.mit.edu/sponsorship/getting-value/collaborations/taito |archive-date=2012-08-05 |url-status=dead }} A 1994 device called the Sensor Chair used to control a musical orchestra was adapted by several car manufacturers into capacitive sensors to prevent dangerous airbag deployments.{{cite web | url=https://sensor.cs.washington.edu/jrs.html | title=Joshua R. Smith, Ph.D | access-date=2016-02-11 | archive-date=2018-11-06 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106053405/https://sensor.cs.washington.edu/jrs.html | url-status=dead }}http://resenv.media.mit.edu/pubs/papers/2003-05-JoeP-NIME03-final.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}

The MPEG-4 SA project developed at the Media Lab made structured audio a practical reality{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209080817/http://sound.media.mit.edu/mpeg4/sa-intro.html|archive-date=2007-12-09|title=MPEG-4 Structured Audio|url=http://sound.media.mit.edu/mpeg4/sa-intro.html}} and the Aspen Movie Map was the precursor to the ideas in Google Street View.

In 2001, two research centers were spun off: Media Lab Asia and Media Lab Europe. Media Lab Asia, based in India, was a result of cooperation with the Government of India but eventually broke off in 2003 after a disagreement. Media Lab Europe, based in Dublin, Ireland, was founded with a similar concept in association with Irish universities and government, and closed in January 2005.

Created collaboratively by the Computer Museum and the media lab, the Computer Clubhouse, a worldwide network of after-school learning centers, focuses on youth from underserved communities who would not otherwise have access to technological tools and activities.{{cite web |url=http://www.computerclubhouse.org/ |title=Computerclubhouse.org |access-date=2011-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511193636/http://www.computerclubhouse.org/ |archive-date=2011-05-11 |url-status=dead }}

Launched in 2003, Scratch{{cite journal |first1=Mitchel |last1=Resnick |first2=John |last2=Maloney |first3=Andrés |last3=Hernández |first4=Natalie |last4=Rusk|author-link4=Natalie Rusk |first5=Evelyn |last5=Eastmond |first6=Karen |last6=Brennan |first7=Amon |last7=Millner |first8=Eric |last8=Rosenbaum |first9=Jay |last9=Silver |first10=Brian |last10=Silverman |first11=Yasmin |last11=Kafai |title=Scratch: Programming for All |url=https://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/Scratch-CACM-final.pdf|journal=Communications of the ACM |volume=52 |issue=11 |pages=60–67 |year=2009 |doi=10.1145/1592761.1592779|s2cid=9390203 }} is a block-based programming language and community developed for children 8–16, and used by people of all ages to learn programming.{{cite magazine|last1=Shapiro|first1=Jordan|title=Your Five Year Old Can Learn To Code With An IPad App|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/08/06/your-five-year-old-can-learn-to-code-with-an-ipad-app/|magazine=Forbes}} Millions of people have created Scratch projects in a wide variety of settings, including homes, schools, museums, libraries, and community centers.

In January 2005, the lab's chairman emeritus Nicholas Negroponte announced at the World Economic Forum a new research initiative to develop a $100 laptop computer. A non-profit organization, One Laptop per Child, was created to oversee the actual deployment, MIT did not manufacture or distribute the device.

The Synthetic Neurobiology group created reagents and devices for the analysis of brain circuits are in use by hundreds of biology labs around the world.

In 2011, Ramesh Raskar's group published their femto-photography technique, that is able to image the movement of individual light pulses.{{cite web |url=http://web.media.mit.edu/~raskar/trillionfps/ |title=Media.MIT.edu |access-date=2013-03-30}}

In 2013, the Media Lab launched E14 Fund as a program to support and invest in MIT Media Lab startups.{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/search?q=e14+fund+mit+press+2013 |title=Search results |website=www.google.com}} {{Better source needed|date=August 2022}} In 2017, E14 Fund{{cite web |url=http://www.e14fund.com/ |title=Home |website=e14fund.com}} launched its first seed stage venture fund to invest in the MIT Media Lab startup community. It invested in companies like Formlabs, Affectiva, Tulip, Wise Systems, Figur8 and more.{{Cite web |url=https://www.e14fund.com/portfolio|title=Portfolio}}

{{Cleanup section|reason=A list drawn directly from the MIT site; this should be more selective and worked into paragraphs|date=January 2018}}

Media Lab industry spin-offs include:{{cite web |title=Media Lab spinoff companies|url=https://www.media.mit.edu/about/spin-off-companies/|website=MIT Media Lab|access-date=2018-01-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203200328/https://www.media.mit.edu/about/spin-off-companies/|archive-date=2017-12-03|url-status=dead}}

• Affectiva, commercializing software that detects emotions in pictures of faces{{Cite web | url=http://www.affectiva.com/company/about-us/ | title=About Us}}
• Ambient Devices, which produces glanceable information displays
• Dimagi, a company that develops software for healthcare in the developing world.
• E Ink, which makes electronic paper displays that power the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook.
• Elance
• EyeNetra, which makes eye tests as $2 clip-ons for mobile phones, including potential use to correct vision for virtual reality displays.{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2015/10/19/eyenetra-wants-to-create-prescription-virtual-reality-screens/ |title=EyeNetra Wants To Create Prescription Virtual Reality Screens |website=forbes.com |access-date=2015-10-19}}
• First Mile Solutions, bringing communications infrastructure to rural communities{{cite web |url=http://www.firstmilesolutions.com/about.php |title=Firstmilesolutions.com |access-date=2011-10-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024160720/http://www.firstmilesolutions.com/about.php |archive-date=2011-10-24 }}
• Formlabs makes high-resolution, desktop 3D printers (spin out from Center for Bits and Atoms)
• Groundhog Technologies, global leader in mobility intelligence and its applications on geo-analytics, geo-marketing, and network optimization.
• Harmonix, game company creator of Rock Band and Guitar Hero.
• Holosonics selling "audio spotlight" speakers using sound from ultrasound technology
• Nanda, a company that markets the Clocky alarm clock
• Oblong Industries, creators of the digital screen used by Tom Cruise in Minority Report{{cite web |url=http://oblong.com |title=Oblong.com |date= 2016-10-09|access-date=2011-10-23}}
• One Laptop per Child's XO laptop{{Cite news |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/12/25/mit_spinoffs_green_laptop_a_hit_in_remote_peruvian_village/?page=3|title=MIT spinoff's little green laptop a hit in remote Peruvian village|last=Bajak|first=Frank|date=2007-12-25|work=Boston.com|access-date=2018-01-29}}
• Physiio International, merged with Empatica; manufacturer of wearable medical sensors{{cite web | url=http://affect.media.mit.edu/projectpages/iCalm/iCalm-2-Q.html | title=From iCalm to Q Sensor to Physiio to Empatica}}{{cite web | url=https://www.empatica.com/science | title=Real-time physiological signals | E4 EDA/GSR sensor}}
• Potion Design, an interactive design firm
• RadioSherpa, an online guide for HD Radio stations. acquired by Tune-in.
• reQall, a memory aid company.{{Cite web |url=https://www.media.mit.edu/about/spin-off-companies/|title=Spinoff Companies – MIT Media Lab|website=MIT Media Lab|access-date=2018-01-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203200328/https://www.media.mit.edu/about/spin-off-companies/|archive-date=2017-12-03|url-status=dead}}
• Salient Stills, a video resolution enhancement and video forensics company founded in 1996, acquired by DAC in 2013.{{Cite news |url=https://www.xconomy.com/boston/2013/07/15/salient-stills-sold-to-audio-tech-firm-dac/|title=Xconomy: Salient Stills Sold to Audio-Tech Firm DAC|date=2013-07-15|work=Xconomy|access-date=2018-01-01|language=en-US}} The combined entity has been rebranded Salient Sciences.
• Sifteo, a company that has developed a tabletop gaming platform that grew out of Siftables.
• Squid Labs, engineering consulting company
• Supermechanical, manufacturer of Twine, a wifi interface for various environmental sensors; and Range, a smartphone-connected thermometer"Founded in 2011, Supermechanical grew out of designer/software developer John Kestner's graduate work at the MIT Media Lab, where he explored ways to incorporate connectivity into the physical interfaces of everyday objects." [http://supermechanical.com/about/]
• The Echo Nest, a music intelligence platform{{Cite web |url=http://the.echonest.com/|title=The Echo Nest|website=the.echonest.com|access-date=2016-10-24|archive-date=2016-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007172655/http://the.echonest.com/|url-status=dead}}
• Wireless 5th Dimensional Networking, Inc.{{cite web |url=http://wi5d.net |title=WI5D.net |access-date=2011-10-23}} (acquired in 2006),{{cite web |url=http://panthaen.com |title=Panthean.com |website=Panthaen.com |access-date=2011-10-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928120045/http://panthaen.com/ |archive-date=2011-09-28 }} which developed the first hybrid search engine
• Zebra Imaging, a digital holographic display company

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• Bates's chip
• Computer lab - Academic software bundles
• Digital art education
• Living lab
• Object-Based Media Group
• SixthSense (device)
• Wiesner building

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• {{Official website|url=https://www.media.mit.edu/}}

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