MIT pledges $1B to address the opportunities, challenges of AI

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced its $1 billion commitment to “address the global opportunities and challenges presented by the prevalence of computing and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).” The initiative will be spearheaded within the new MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, named after the chairman, CEO and co-founder of investment firm Blackstone.

“The MIT Schwarzman College of Computing will constitute both a global center for computing research and education, and an intellectual foundry for powerful new AI tools,” MIT President L. Rafael Reif said in a prepared statement “Just as important, the College will equip students and researchers in any discipline to use computing and AI to advance their disciplines and vice-versa, as well as to think critically about the human impact of their work.”

The College, slated to open in 2019, will educate students on how to responsibly and ethically develop and implement AI in multiple disciplines and will “give MIT’s five schools a shared structure for collaborative education, research and innovation in computing and AI.”

“There is no more important opportunity or challenge facing our nation than to responsibly harness the power of artificial intelligence so that we remain competitive globally and achieve breakthroughs that will improve our entire society,” Schwarzman said. “We face fundamental questions about how to ensure that technological advancements benefit all—especially those most vulnerable to the radical changes AI will inevitably bring to the nature of the workforce. MIT’s initiative will help America solve these challenges and continue to lead on computing and AI throughout the 21st century and beyond.”