In January 2025, Chris Hedges interviewed MIT PhD students Prahlad Lyengar and Richard Solomon about MIT’s documented links to Israeli military research, including work involving mathematical compression algorithms, artificial intelligence and Elbit Systems. The students argued that this research was being developed for drone-swarm technology capable of automated mass killing in Gaza.
Solomon had previously worked as a U.S. State Department diplomat. In the Hedges interview, he explained that the contrast between his privileged position as a diplomat and the consequences of U.S. violence in the Middle East “propelled me to leave the State Department.”
The students challenged Professor Daniela Rus, Director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, over her research and military connections. Rus had also served in a U.S. government advisory role involving the Pentagon.
What happened afterwards is revealing. Lyengar was expelled by MIT in October 2025. Solomon was not expelled and remains an MIT PhD student. Rus remains Director of CSAIL.
Ian Curr
2 September 2026