Education & Outreach
The impact of our research efforts can only be sustained by a diverse workforce trained at the intersection of AI and human decision science. To that end, we are reforming training and upskilling by creating interdisciplinary curricula at the intersection of AI and liberal arts in partnership with universities, community colleges, and K-12 schools. The institute also provides AI enrichment and leadership activities for under-represented students along with public engagement initiatives designed to raise awareness of AI’s societal impacts.
Education & Workforce Development
To both broaden and deepen our educational reach, we propose a grassroots-up approach that starts in the K-12 educator space, devotes substantial effort to empowering project-based learning in community colleges and universities, and builds unique interdisciplinary graduate degrees that will position the recipients to be the next generation of leaders.
High school students at Winchester Thurston engage with Michael Naragon and David Nassar. Photo credit: Jason Cohn.
High School
Our AI and Societal Decision-Making workshops for educators in the K-12 space engage teachers in designing modules on AI and society that can be incorporated in their local programming while also exposing them to cutting-edge research at partner institutions.
Undergraduate
To bridge the gap between demand and supply for CS technologists, while also helping to shrink the divide between urban and rural areas, we are partnering with a geographically and culturally diverse set of community colleges and educational partners to co-design a project-based curriculum at intersection of AI and liberal arts. Additionally, we provide opportunities for undergraduates to engage with our research efforts.
Graduate
At the graduate level, AI-SDM is developing new courses and a master's/Ph.D. degree at the intersection of AI and Human Decision Science. We are also working towards developing joint courses and degrees co-taught by faculty across multiple institutions.
Outreach & Knowledge Transfer
As part of our work, we aim to increase the representation of underserved communities at all levels and in all activities, engage with the public to create awareness about AI, and transfer knowledge across academia, industry, and society to advance and innovate with AI.
Hoda Heidari works with students during an OurCS event.
Inclusion
In addition to building an all-inclusive culture within the institute, we are engaged in AI training, leadership and networking efforts for underserved communities via AI4all, AI Scholars, OurCS at CMU, Changemakers in Computing at UW, Bridge Programs at PSU, L.E.A.P. at Navajo Tech as well as Women in Data Science, Women in Machine Learning, Women & Drones, and Women in Network Science.
Public Engagement
In collaboration with public libraries and other venues, we host seminars and discussions designed for the general public. These interactive sessions provide opportunities to learn about AI advancements and engage in meaningful conversations about its ethical implications and real-world applications.
The Institute's student-run podcast, AI IRL: Real Talk with Real Experts, features interviews with leading AI and social science experts. Each episode tackles complex topics in an accessible way, making AI understandable for everyone. Listen and learn how AI is shaping the world around us!
Upskilling
In addition to collaborating with our partner NGOs, companies, and government organizations for research development and deployment, we are also developing modular certificate courses to upskill their workforce and training modules on AI-assisted decision making for emergency managers.
AI-SDM is one of the National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes funded by the NSF. Award number: 2229881. More information on existing AI institutes and related efforts is available at aiinstitutes.org.