Last year, a request from MIT President Sally Kornbluth and Provost Cynthia Barnhart for research proposals concerning generative AI initiatives resulted in 75 submissions. Out of these, 27 were selected for initial funding. Inspired by the impressive response, Kornbluth and Barnhart issued a second call for papers last fall. This resulted in 53 more proposals, with a faculty committee selecting 16 to receive exploratory funding. This cohort was collaborative and interdisciplinary, representing all five of MIT’s schools and the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing.
Each of the chosen research groups will obtain between $50,000 and $70,000 to create 10-page impact reports. These reports will be circulated widely through a publication channel managed by the MIT Press under the purview of the MIT Open Publishing Services program.
The selected papers span various subjects, such as privacy and verifiability in generative AI, artificial Cambrian intelligence that generates new types of visual intelligence, potential of generative AI’s implications in digital textile engineering, generative AI’s impact on biomedical innovation, drug discovery, etc. They also include AI’s use in developing robust and reliable systems, supporting older populations, and understanding language science in a generative AI era.
As in the first call, Thomas Tull, a member of the MIT School of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council and a former innovation scholar at the School of Engineering, has provided funding for these studies. This initiative highlights the increasing interest and developments in the field of generative AI, gathering perspectives and insights on its potential impact and applications across a broad range of topics and disciplines.
