Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Project Kickoff
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The project was now officially underway.
The main lab was located in the fourth-floor Urban Mobility Lab at MIT Media Lab's E14 building (East 14).
Dean Whitman was the overall director, with Deputy Director Allen as co-director.
Yoo Seo-ha had taken charge of overseeing the entire massive project.
Late in the afternoon, sunlight streamed into the lab along the river. The conference room, surrounded by transparent glass, was filled with personnel from MIT, Harvard, and the Boston Transportation Department seated in a semicircle.
Click.
As Seo-ha connected his laptop to the docking station, the 180-degree curved screen on the wall lit up, displaying the road network across greater Boston.
"Alright, let's get started."
Dean Whitman announced the beginning of the meeting with a gentle smile.
"As you all know, today marks the official launch of the 'Boston Adaptive Signal Project.' This is the first attempt to bring together mathematics, urban engineering, artificial intelligence, and policy studies in one place.
With researchers and politicians not just from Boston but around the world watching closely, I hope you'll all give this project 100% of your abilities."
Whitman scanned the room.
After meeting with the "familiar professor," Mayor Patrick had given Allen just one condition.
The project couldn't be run solely by MIT.
Having one university control the entire city's traffic network could be politically risky.
He acknowledged MIT's technical superiority but strongly insisted on Harvard's involvement for balance and transparency.
MIT had pushed back, but they couldn't argue against the rationale of "America's two intellectual powerhouses collaborating for the public's benefit."
If the city hadn't guaranteed MIT's stake, the research might have fallen apart entirely.
"Then let's start with introductions from the Harvard team."
At Whitman's words, a woman seated on the left stood up.
Black tailored jacket, neatly tied blonde hair, cool blue eyes. She embodied Harvard's image in human form.
"I'm Sophie Adler from Harvard Kennedy School.
I'll be handling social acceptability and policy ethics for this project."
The researchers frowned at the word "ethics."
Technology and ethics had never gotten along well. And neither had Harvard and MIT.
Sophie brushed off the researchers' familiar gazes and continued calmly.
"As a policy ethics scholar, my role is to analyze how the algorithms we create will operate in citizens' daily lives, who they affect, and what responsibilities they leave behind.
I look forward to working with you all."
Clap, clap, clap.
After the perfunctory applause, the next researcher stood—a lean man with a stern expression.
"I'm Michael Kelman from Harvard's Data Science Lab.
I'll be responsible for citizen data anonymization, pedestrian identification restrictions, and AI ethics audits."
Silence fell.
Whitman glanced at Allen, who awkwardly looked away. Even he couldn't do much about it.
"What if unethical behavior occurs during the research? It could ruin me."
He fully understood Mayor Patrick's concerns.
Whitman pointed to the others.
"Now, introductions from the Transportation Department, please."
A middle-aged man in a leather jacket stood up.
Broad shoulders, rough hands—he exuded field experience.
"I'm Tom Riley from the Boston Transportation Department.
Every signal in this city has passed through my hands. Our team will handle the network integration for actual signals and sensors, plus field testing."
Seo-ha smiled.
He held a deep respect for hands-on types like this. People who fixed broken systems with their own hands.
It was the dream of every guy.
Besides them, MIT data engineers, city government tech staff, and interns dispatched from various universities filled the seats quietly with their laptops and notes.
Whitman nodded toward Seo-ha.
"Finally, let me introduce Yoo Seo-ha from MIT's Math Department, who will oversee the research for this project."
All eyes turned to Seo-ha at once.
He gave an awkward smile and stood.
"In this project, I'll be handling the mathematical framework design and the autonomous adjustment algorithms for the signal systems. Nice to meet you all."
Seo-ha bowed politely.
The researchers clapped but didn't hide their unease.
'Too young...'
'Is it really okay to put him in charge?'
'I've heard he's brilliant, but...'
The city hall and Harvard researchers exchanged skeptical glances. Finally, AI expert Michael Kelman raised his hand first.
"I read your paper thoroughly. But reality isn't a simulation. Real data is far more incomplete and nonlinear. For example, pedestrian density doesn't change periodically with time. Factors like school semesters starting, weather, stadium events, construction schedules—can you really model all that with a single function?"
Whitman frowned. From his vast experience, projects starting with this vibe rarely succeeded. A city engineer raised his hand next.
"I agree. The paper approximated traffic volume data with Gaussian processes. But real traffic data is overwhelmed with noise. Especially GPS-based vehicle tracking—signal loss, delays, calibration errors accumulate endlessly. Your 'topological alignment' relies on averages, right? At that level, the topology itself could destabilize."
Pointing out obvious issues in a project meant to solve problems was unreasonable. Whitman's face flushed with anger. MIT researchers looked grim too. Starting like this was clearly an attempt to seize control early. Nominally collaborative, but the design and core tech were all MIT's. 'Trying to shake our technical leadership?' They'd claim credit later by "finding solutions together."
As Whitman was about to snap at them, he noticed Seo-ha's eyes sparkling excitedly. Seo-ha responded with genuine delight.
"You all had the same thoughts!"
His voice welcomed the questions sincerely.
"Pardon?"
"Ah... no, I mean, from now on..."
The two who'd nitpicked stammered, caught off guard.
"That was the part I was most excited about too. My paper model couldn't reflect the real traffic network. But now we can plug in the real data! I'm not planning to remove errors—I'll treat them as patterns and find the repeating structures..."
Seo-ha looked around. Whitman quickly caught on.
"Bring the board!"
His roar made everyone flinch. Ellie and Jason, dozing in the back corner as assistants prepping supplies, jumped up. They'd been huddled in the corner taking notes since the meeting started—until the dean's command.
"Y-yes, sir!"
Jason hurriedly dragged the whiteboard from the next room. Rumble rumble roll— The large wheels scraped across the floor. Ellie scurried around gathering markers by color. Whitman handed a marker to Seo-ha.
"Seo-ha! Explain it so they get it. Nicely."
Whitman grinned.
"Yes!"
Seo-ha nodded eagerly. Co-director Allen, watching, rubbed his forehead. Whitman glared at them.
"Listen well. If you can't understand the answers, there's no reason for you to be here." Gulp. Under Whitman's icy stare, the two straightened up tensely. Scribble scribble. Seo-ha's marker flew across the board with dynamic speed. Complex symbols connected, curves and graphs emerged. Soon, equations filled the entire board. From Seo-ha's hand, Boston's road network was born as a single grand equation.
"This is the topological equation for this city."
The researchers crowded closer to decipher it. They stared wide-eyed, but without deep study of Seo-ha's theory, it was too much. Even industry heavyweight Allen had needed a full day to grasp it fully. Seo-ha drew a curve with the marker.
"Topology isn't the absolute traffic volume—it's the relative timing of when each intersection makes its next decision."
Seo-ha wrote more equations and graphs.
"This axis is the rate of change in traffic volume. The algorithm reads stress in each segment by how fast or slow it changes. Convert that rate to topology, and all the city's nodes vibrate like one massive wave. I call it 'topological alignment.'" At some point, the external researchers couldn't keep up. Unaware, the thrilled Seo-ha pressed on.
"I looked at the data yesterday thanks to the Transportation Department opening the lines, and it sparked a few ideas."
'Even more here?'
'In just one day?'
'Did he even touch it right?'
The outsiders paled. Seo-ha casually set down the spent marker, uncapped a fresh one.
"Existing algorithms sorted traffic flow only chronologically, but reactions come first in reality. I applied the propagation speed of those decisions to the algorithm."
His blue marker added a new curve beside the old graph. The original smooth wave kept a steady rhythm, but the new one was far more intricate. The room's air grew heavy. Scribble, scribble. Seo-ha's marker showed no sign of stopping. Michael scribbled on paper, mouth agape, then crumpled it seconds later. The city engineer who'd questioned looked dazed. Whitman stepped forward, eyeing them.
"Answering questions sincerely until the asker understands—that's an MIT virtue. Kids, lock the door."
MIT interns and researchers desperately stifled laughs as they blocked the exit.
"It doesn't make sense if the project's core members don't grasp the key algorithm."
Transportation staff glared at their own engineer. Harvard wasn't much better off.
"Seo-ha?"
"Yes!"
"They still don't seem to get it."
Seo-ha nodded with resolve. MIT folks were on the verge of passing out from holding in laughter. Two hours passed. The board had been swapped multiple times; the floor littered with marker caps and worn-out pens. Seo-ha brimmed with enthusiasm still. Whitman sipped coffee, smirking. 'He's fully immersed now.' Power plays or dominance grabs probably never crossed his mind. He was simply pondering how to perfect his algorithm. The external engineers, who'd seen it as a hostile retort at first, gradually warmed to his passion. Soon, they actively contributed opinions and joined the debate. 'Not everyone, though...' Some still clearly didn't get it. Whitman chuckled inwardly. 'Who do they think they're messing with!' As he set down his coffee cup, he muttered to himself. From now on, they'd show Seo-ha the respect due his position as research lead.