MIT President Sally Kornbluth and Provost Cynthia Barnhart launched a call for papers last summer to create policy recommendations and effective strategies in the realm of generative AI. The duo received 75 proposals, out of which 27 were picked for seed financing. Encouraged by the response, a second call was held in fall, resulting in 53 submissions. A faculty committee selected 16 of these proposals to get exploratory funding.
These proposals were written by cross-disciplinary groups of researchers and professors from all five of MIT’s schools and the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing. They delve into the possible impact and applications of generative AI in various subjects and disciplines.
The selected research teams will be granted funding ranging between $50,000 to $70,000 to produce 10-page impact papers. These reports will be spread widely through a publication venue managed and hosted by the MIT Press under the MIT Open Publishing Services program. Thomas Tull, an MIT School of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council member and previous Innovation scholar at the School of Engineering, gave financial backing to this initiative.
The following are the selected papers:
1. “A Road-map for End-to-end Privacy and Verifiability in Generative AI”
2. “A Virtuous Cycle: Generative AI and Discovery in the Physical Sciences”
3. “Artificial Cambrian Intelligence: Generating New Forms of Visual Intelligence”
4. “Artificial Fictions and the Value of AI-Generated Art”
5. “GenAI for Improving Human-to-human Interactions with a Focus on Negotiations”
6. “Generative AI as a New Applications Platform and Ecosystem”
7. “Generative AI for Cities: A Civic Engagement Playbook”
8. “Generative AI for Textile Engineering: Advanced Materials from Heritage Lace Craft”
9. “Generative AI Impact for Biomedical Innovation and Drug Discovery”
10. “Impact of Generative AI on the Creative Economy”
11. “Redefining Virtuosity: The Role of Generative AI in Live Music Performances”
12. “Reflection-based Learning with Generative AI”
13. “Robust and Reliable Systems for Generative AI”
14. “Supporting the Aging Population with Generative AI”
15. “The Science of Language in the Era of Generative AI”
16. “Visual Artists, Technological Shock, and Generative AI”
Three of the topics deal with enhancing privacy and verifiability, discovering new forms of visual intelligence, and generating art. Others cover improving interactions with a focus on negotiations and the impact of generative AI on the creative economy. Additional issues include the use of AI in biomedical innovation and drug discovery, support for aging populations, and the evolution of languages in the era of generative AI.
