Carnegie Mellon University has received a $20 million commitment from the U.S. National Science Foundation and other federal agencies to create one of seven new National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes. It's part of a larger $140 million investment over the next five years that looks to advance AI research on ethical and trustable uses for the powerful technical tool that has grown increasingly more popular and powerful over the past few years.
For its part, CMU will lead the AI Institute for Societal Decision Making (AI-SDM), which will look to identify and assess AI tools being used by emergency responders, health officials and others who operate in intense and time-sensitive environments. AI-SDM, directed by CMU’s School of Computer Science Professor Aarti Singh, also will look to create human-centric AI tools to aid these professionals with their rapid response needs and provide training on how to use such technologies.
“The best applications of artificial intelligence in societal domains will come when we not only advance AI for decision-making, but also better understand human decision-making, and when we can bring the two together," Singh said in a prepared statement. "For maximal impact of these technologies, we need to have social scientists and AI researchers collaborate to come up with solutions that will leverage AI capability while ensuring social acceptance."
AI-SDM will receive input from faculty at CMU's School of Computer Science and its Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Other experts from Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard University, Howard University, the MITRE Corp., Navajo Technical University, Penn State University, Texas A&M University, the University of Washington and the Winchester Thurston School also will aid in AI-SDM's research and development efforts.
"Foundational research in AI and machine learning has never been more critical to the understanding, creation and deployment of AI-powered systems that deliver transformative and trustworthy solutions across our society," NSF Assistant Director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering Margaret Martonosi said in a prepared statement. "These recent awards, as well as our AI Institutes ecosystem as a whole, represent our active efforts in addressing national economic and societal priorities that hinge on our nation’s AI capability and leadership."
The establishment of a national AI research institute at CMU builds on the university's — and, more broadly, the region's — growing AI prowess. AI-SDM is the fifth AI-focused institute staffed with CMU-based experts to receive funding from the NSF. Its establishment also follows the recent news that a startup working to develop products that will place safety guardrails on popular AI platforms relocated its headquarters from Los Angeles to downtown Pittsburgh due to the region's ability to attract and retain AI experts.
