George Mason University’s AI Strategies team gather at the AI & Tech Policy Summer Institute: Antonios Anastasopoulous, Manpriya Dua, Jesse L. Kirkpatrick, Caroline Wesson, Vasilii Nosov, Amarda Shehu, Michael Hunzeker, and J.P. Singh (Not pictured: William “Webby” Applegate)
Just days following Mason’s spring commencement ceremonies, a cohort of 20 selected AI and Tech fellows gathered at the Mason Square campus for George Mason University’s AI Strategies first AI & Tech Policy Summer Institute. Apart from AI Strategies, the three-day event was co-sponsored by Mason’s Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, the Schar School of Policy and Government, the Institute for Digital Innovation, and the Center for Advancing Human-Machine Partnership. The event brought together scholars, industry experts, government officials, and civil society activists from multiple academic disciplines, backgrounds, and research interests.
The cohort convened to introduce master’s and doctoral students in the social sciences, humanities, and select professional schools to the fundamental engineering concepts about how AI works, policy and regulatory frameworks that are evolving to govern AI, debates on AI ethics, and issues surrounding security, economic, and human rights concerns from local to global levels.
AI Strategies is funded by a three-year, $1.39 million grant to study the economic and cultural determinants for global artificial intelligence infrastructures—and describe their implications for national and international security. The grant was awarded by the Department of Defense’s esteemed Minerva Research Initiative, a joint program of the Office of Basic Research and the Office of Policy that supports social science research focused on expanding basic understanding of security.
Researchers from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy (i3p) have played a key role in the project from the pre-proposal stage to the present, providing insight on the ethical, social, and policy implications of emerging technologies. Research Associate Professor of Philosophy and i3p Acting Director Jesse Kirkpatrick, a member of the AI Strategies team, presented at the event. His presentation, “Responsible Innovation and National Security,” addressed existing efforts, challenges, and opportunities in responsible AI, and drew on his involvement in responsible AI research, policy, and practice across such sectors as academia, industry, and government.
“It’s no secret that there is a vital need for transdisciplinary mentorship and training in AI for our graduate students. What may be less obvious is that this must occur across disciplines, Kirkpatrick said. “By engaging nearly 30 speakers and faculty, our 20 AI & Tech fellows got just that—a broad and deep look at the cutting-edge of AI, inclusive of numerous perspectives.”
Kirkpatrick said that from the composition of the research team to the design and structure of the project and its research outputs, the people, process, and products have been thoroughly transdisciplinary. “This is a testimony to the team’s leadership, the support we have from our respective academic units, schools, and colleges, and the wonderful constellation of research centers and institutes,” he said.
J.P. Singh, Distinguished University Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government, leads Mason’s transdisciplinary AI Strategies team. Following the event, Singh commented, “We have received positive feedback in superlatives for the transdisciplinary training our masters and doctoral students received in AI, including engineering, social science, and policy frameworks,” he said, adding, “I work with an excellent and creative transdisciplinary team. Mason in general is such an exciting and innovative university.”
At the conclusion of the event, the cohort of fellows will participate in a year-long fellowship through Mason’s Center for Advancing Human Machine Partnership, a faculty-driven transdisciplinary research center.
June 15, 2023