Proposals due Aug. 15 re. generative AI impact papers

August 8, 2023

Sally Kornbluth, President | Cynthia Barnhart, Provost |

Dear colleagues,

Last month, we wrote with a call for proposals to develop impact papers that articulate effective roadmaps, policy recommendations, and calls for action across the broad domain of generative AI.

With the August 15th deadline coming up, we write now to encourage you to submit a proposal, as an individual or as a group. Multidisciplinary teams are particularly welcome.

The papers developed from the selected proposals will be widely distributed to industry leaders, other academic institutions, policymakers, and the public.

Proposals may bear on core generative AI methods and applications or the potential impact of generative AI on nearly any aspect of our society, including education, scientific discovery, the arts, business, and government.
Brief abstracts (maximum length of one page) summarizing the proposal are due August 15.
The authors of selected abstracts will receive funding to prepare 10-page impact papers that will be due by November 15. (See further details below.)

Sincerely,

Sally Kornbluth
President

Cynthia Barnhart
Provost

Call for impact papers: Generative AI

Submission Process

Please submit a one-page abstract outlining your idea for a 10-page impact paper and a brief budget request and rationale (between $50,000 and $100,000) to genaiimpact@mit.edu.

Timeline

August 15: Abstracts due for review by a committee of faculty from all five schools and the college
September 1: Abstracts selected and funding decisions conveyed
November 15: Final papers due

Topics

Topics of interest include uses of generative AI in education, scientific discovery, the arts, business, and government, as well as the broader implications for society and policy. Illustrative topics include generative AI and:

Materials synthesis for climate and sustainability
Human health, medicine, and the life sciences
The workforce
Cybersecurity and privacy
K–12 and higher education
The ethical deployment of products
The impact on the global economy
The impact on specific job sectors (e.g., software development, customer care, manufacturing)

Funding and Publication

The projects selected to move forward will each receive funding of between $50,000 and $100,000, and the final papers will be disseminated widely via a publication venue managed and hosted by the MIT Press and the MIT Libraries.

Questions?

If you have questions or require more information, please contact infogenaiimpact@mit.edu.