By Amada Diehl

On April 30, the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing’s Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC) initiative hosted a full-day research symposium examining how artificial intelligence is shaping the world and its implications for society. 

The symposium included research talks by SERC’s latest seed grant recipients on topics such as air pollution forecasting and responsible computer vision deployment, panels on AI alignment and AI in education, and a keynote address by Jon Kleinberg PhD ’96, the Tisch University Professor of Computer Science and Information Science at Cornell University. The event also featured a poster session, where student researchers showcased projects they worked on throughout the year as SERC Scholars.

Moderator Justin Reich, director of the Teaching Systems Lab and an associate professor in the Comparative Media Studies Program/Writing, noted that while teens know that AI is bad, it doesn’t necessarily stop their AI usage. However, by inviting them into the discussion on how AI is implemented and incorporating a more reflective exchange with instructors, students could be more equipped to choose how they use these tools and why.

Regardless, AI tools and their implementation should not be treated as a one-size-fits-all policy. Pat Pataranutaporn, the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation Career Development Professor of Media Arts and Sciences and head of the Cyborg Psychology research group at the MIT Media Lab, said, “AI is not just one thing. It can and should be designed differently to promote things like creativity and critical thinking. What we measure, and how, shouldn’t be about getting the answer right. We should think about it would really mean for a student to learn these days.”