In delayed November, faculty, staff, and students from across MIT participated in MIT Generative AI WeekThe program included a full-day Flagship Symposium as well as four thematic symposia, all aimed at fostering dialogue on the capabilities and potential applications of generative AI technologies across disciplines.
“These events are an expression of our belief that MIT has a special responsibility to help society grapple with the tectonic forces of generative AI — to understand its potential, mitigate its risks, and harness its power for good,” MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in an email announcing the week of coding earlier this fall.
Generative AI Week activities at MIT, many of them can be viewed on YouTubeattached:
MIT Generative AI Symposium: Shaping the Future
The week began with the flagship symposium, MIT Generative AI: Shaping the Future. The day-long symposium included welcome remarks by Kornbluth as well as two keynote speakers. The morning keynote speaker, Professor Emeritus Rodney Brooks, co-founder of iRobot, former director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), and founder and CTO of Stalwart.AI, spoke about how robotics and generative AI intersect. The afternoon keynote speaker, renowned media artist and filmmaker Refik Anadol, discussed the interplay between generative AI and art, including approaches to sculpting data and digital architecture in our physical world.
The symposium included panels and roundtables on topics such as the foundations of generative AI; science fiction; applications of generative AI; and generative AI, ethics, and society. The event concluded with a performance by saxophonist and composer Paul Winter. It was chaired by Daniela Rus, the Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and director of CSAIL, and co-chaired by Cynthia Breazeal, MIT Dean of Digital Learning and Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, and Sertac Karaman, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Director of the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems.
Screening of the film “Another Body”
The first day of MIT Generative AI Week concluded with a special screening of the documentary “Another Body.” The SxSW Special Jury Prize-winning documentary follows a college student’s search for answers and justice after discovering deepfake pornography of herself online.
The screening was followed by a panel discussion with the film’s editor Rabab Haj Yahya; David Goldston, director of MIT’s Washington office; Catherine D’Ignazio, assistant professor of urban studies and planning and director of the Data + Feminism Lab; and third-year MIT student Ananda Santos Figueiredo.
Generative AI + Education Symposium
Drawing on MIT’s broad community of faculty, staff, students, and collaborators, the Generative AI + Education Symposium offered thought-provoking keynotes, panel discussions, and live demonstrations on how generative AI is transforming the learning experience and teaching practice from K-12, postgraduate education, and professional development. The symposium included a fireside chat titled “Will Generative AI Transform Learning and Education?” as well as sessions on learner experience, teaching practice, and gigantic ideas from MIT.
The half-day symposium concluded with an innovation showcase, where attendees were invited to engage firsthand with demonstrations of MIT’s latest research and ingenuity. The event was co-chaired by Breazeal and Christopher Capozzola, senior associate dean for open learning and professor of history.
Generative AI + Health Symposium
The Generative AI + Health Symposium highlighted AI research focused on human and planetary health. Lectures illustrated advances in molecular design and sensor applications to improve human health, as well as work to improve climate change predictions, escalate mobility efficiency, and design fresh materials. A panel discussion by six MIT researchers explored the anticipated impacts of AI in these areas.
Co-chairs of the half-day symposium were Raffaele Ferrari, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Oceanography in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and director of the Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate Program; Polina Golland, Sunlin and Priscilla Chou Professor in the Department of EECS and principal investigator in CSAIL; Amy Keating, Jay A. Stein Professor of Biology, professor of biological engineering and head of the Department of Biology; and Elsa Olivetti, Jerry McAfee (1940) Professor of Engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, associate dean of the school of engineering, and director of the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium.
Generative AI + Creativity Symposium
During the Generative AI + Creativity Symposium, faculty experts, researchers, and students from across MIT explored questions that look to the future and imagine a world in which generative AI-assisted systems and techniques improve the human condition. Topics covered included how combined human and AI systems can make more original and better decisions than either can make alone; how lifelong creativity, supported by a fresh generation of tools, methods, and experiences, can benefit society; visualizing, exploring, and implementing a more gleeful, artistic, meaningful, and equitable future; how to make AI readable and trustworthy; and how to engage an unprecedented combination of diverse stakeholders to inspire and support original thinking, expression, and computation that empowers all people.
The half-day symposium was co-chaired by Dava Newman, Apollo Professor of Astronautics and director of the MIT Media Lab, and John Ochsendorf, Class of 1942 Professor of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and founding director of the MIT Morningside Academy for Design.
Generative AI + Impact on Commerce Symposium
The Generative AI + Impact on Commerce Symposium explored the impact of AI on management practice. The event featured a carefully selected group of MIT researchers; policymakers actively working on legislation to ensure that AI is implemented in a fair and fit way for the consumer; venture capitalists investing in cutting-edge AI technology; and private equity investors looking to leverage AI tools as a competitive advantage.
The co-chairs of this half-day symposium were Vivek Farias, the Patrick J. McGovern Professor (1959) at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and Simon Johnson, the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship (1954) at the MIT Sloan School of Management.