MIT in the media: Innovating and educating for the next 250 years of America

During a "Washington Post Live" panel discussion with ASU President Michael Crow, President Sally Kornbluth explored how universities are preparing the next generation of scientists to lead in America's rapidly changing technological landscape. During a "Washington Post Live" panel discussion with ASU President Michael Crow, President Sally Kornbluth explored how universities are preparing the next generation of scientists to lead in America's rapidly changing technological landscape. Publication Date : July 1, 2026 Press Inquiries Press Contact : Media Relations Email: expertrequests@mit.

edu Close Without federal support for curiosity-driven research, the innovation and talent pipeline that has helped ensure our nation's prosperity and safety could run dry, warned President Sally Kornbluth during a Washington Post Live event. "Many of the things we have in our everyday lives, whether they be medical advances, technological advances, a lot of these things came from 30, 40, 50 years of scientists just trying to figure out how things work," emphasized Kornbluth. Kornbluth pointed to MIT's curriculum that focuses on teaching foundational skills that can be applied to a myriad of technological advances, skills that will be indispensable to leading in an AI-enabled world.

We really feel we have to resurrect some of the old, moral and civic and ethical educational goals much more strongly because we want all these kids that are learning to be leading-edge technologists, to come at it from a moral, civic and ethical perspective. " Artificial intelligence Key to Kornbluth's mission is maintaining a human-centric approach to AI. Inspired by MIT's motto, "mens et manus" (mind and hand), she shared: "We really want students to be able to use physical AI.