MIT President, Sally Kornbluth, and Provost, Cynthia Barnhart, recently solicited research proposals on the topic of generative artificial intelligence (AI). The response was overwhelming, with 75 proposals submitted from across MIT. Consequently, due to the level of interest and quality of the proposals, a second call for papers was announced, which led to an additional 53 submissions.
From these submissions, a faculty committee selected 27 proposals in the first round and 16 in the second round for funding to enable further research. The researchers behind the selected projects include faculty and researchers across several disciplines and all five of MIT’s schools and the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing. The papers cover a broad range of topics, demonstrating the potential impact of generative AI across diverse fields.
The selected research teams will each receive between $50,000 and $70,000 to create 10-page impact papers based on their proposals. These papers will be published by the MIT Press as part of the MIT Open Publishing Services program.
The wide range of topics covered in the proposals include but are not limited to: privacy in generative AI, the discovery of AI in physical sciences, the value of AI-generated art, improving human-to-human interactions with a focus on negotiations, AI impact on biomedical innovation and drug discovery, and generative AI in live music performances.
Funding to support the call for papers was provided by Thomas Tull, a member of the MIT School of Engineering’s Advisory Council and former innovation scholar at the school.
This initiative truly encapsulates the interdisciplinary approach to understanding generative AI’s potential. It not only serves as a demonstration of the faculty’s range of innovative ideas about the future of generative AI, but also fosters collaboration among researchers in different disciplines working on similar concepts. The goal is to accelerate the understanding and application of generative AI across a wide range of disciplines.
