In response to a call for papers by MIT President and Provost regarding generative AI, a massive interest resulted in the submission of 75 proposals. A second call for papers in the Fall resulted in an additional 53 submissions, leading to a total of 43 selected proposals receiving seed and exploratory funding.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth and Provost Cynthia Barnhart, prompted by the significant response from the research community, reiterated the university’s vested interest in understanding the vast potential of generative AI and its applications across various disciplines. Selected proposals, which included submissions from interdisciplinary teams of faculty and researchers across all of the MIT’s academic institutions, were awarded between $50,000 and $70,000 to create ten-page impact papers. These papers will be shared widely through a publication venue operated by the MIT Press and hosted by the MIT Open Publishing Services program.
Notably, Thomas Tull, an MIT School of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council member and a former innovation scholar at the School of Engineering, provided significant funding supporting this initiative.
Received proposals focused on a diverse range of topics: from the application of generative AI in the physical sciences and the creative economy, to redefining the role of generative AI in live music and designing new forms of visual intelligence. One proposal laid out a roadmap for privacy and verifiability concerning AI’s generative aspects by Alex Pentland, Srini Devadas, Lalana Kagal, and Vinod Vaikuntanathan. Another submission, helmed by Philip Harris and Phiala Shanahan, highlighted how generative AI can fuel discovery in the physical sciences.
Moreover, other proposals explored the effects of generative AI on biomedical innovation, drug discovery, and the aging population. For instance, a team led by Manolis Kellis, Brad Pentelute, and Marinka Zitnik addressed the transformative potential of generative AI on biomedical innovation and drug discovery. Pattie Maes’s team focused on deploying generative AI to aid the aging population.
The widespread response to the calls for proposals signals the research community’s pervasive interest in generative AI—undoubtedly becoming a major force in advancing various fields from healthcare, science, the arts, and beyond.
