MIT Media Lab director resigns amid financial ties with Jeffrey Epstein

Joichi Ito, director of MIT’s interdisciplinary Media Lab, resigned over the weekend after he faced backlash over his financial relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, who killed himself in federal prison last month while facing sex trafficking charges, gave Ito nearly $3 million in funding. Nearly half of that, according to The New York Times, was for Ito’s own investment funds outside MIT. A New Yorker story late last week also described how Ito and others worked to conceal their ties to Epstein. Since resigning from MIT, Ito has also left several other prominent positions, including a visiting professorship at Harvard. Ito is the latest scientist to have to grapple with his history with Epstein, who patronized scientific institutions and individual researchers. Just last month, Harvard biologist George Church apologized for having “nerd tunnel vision,” when it came to his dealings with Epstein.