MIT Media Lab recalls 1979 footage used to open Astra launch

MIT Media Lab @medialabOriginally posted 2026.09.05

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In 1979, MIT researchers said "put that there" to a computer, and it listened. Yesterday, OpenAI launched GPT-6 Astra, the most powerful AI model ever built, opening with 47-year-old footage from our Media Room to show exactly where the idea came from. The premise that Richard Bolt, Chris Schmandt, and Eric Hulteen proved nearly five decades ago still holds: machines should adapt to human language, not the other way around. The best ideas don't expire...they compound. READ THE STORY: https://mitmedialab.info/4zTwbXb