• Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania received $20 million in federal funding to create a new AI Institute for Societal Decision Making.
• The institute will foster the improvement of AI tools to assist in decision-making procedures in social circumstances, such as natural disasters and public health events.
• Researchers at the institute will consult public health officials, emergency managers and community workers while developing and training new technology with an emphasis on ethical use of AI.
Carnegie Mellon Gets $20M Funding For New AI Institute
Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania recently received $20 million in federal funding to create a brand new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute for Societal Decision Making. The institute aims to shape public policy by fostering the improvement of AI tools to assist decision-makers during social crises like natural disasters or public health emergencies.
Aarti Singh To Lead The Institute
Aarti Singh, a professor at CMU’s machine learning department, is set to serve as director of the institute. She stated that one of the primary goals is to build “human-centric” AI that works for people based on vetted data and algorithms along with feedback from all stakeholders involved.
Consultation With Public Health Officials & Emergency Managers
The development and training process involves consulting with professionals such as public health officials, emergency managers, community workers, behavioral scientists and cognitive scientists. They are also emphasizing the ethical use of AI so that it can be deployed when needed without any negative consequences or bias.
Government Regulation Of AI Usage
Governments around the world have been examining how best to regulate the usage of AI for policies. Romania has already unveiled an AI chatbot which crowdsources public engagement and needs for better informed policy decisions. Other countries including the US and China are contemplating similar regulations while the European Union is finalizing their own version of an Artificial Intelligence Act focused on guidelines for generative AI tools.
Final Thoughts
The new Carnegie Mellon Institute could prove instrumental in helping decision-makers make more informed decisions during different scenarios by using artificial intelligence responsibly and ethically while catering to human needs first and foremost. This is especially important now considering government regulations around this technology are being enacted on both a local and global level.