In what could be termed as a breakthrough development in the field of ever evolving computing as also artificial intelligence (AI) & related fields, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will set up an computing & AI college, it stated recently on its blog.
The tech college’s US $1 billion commitment for an computing & AI college comes in the wake of a US $350 million “foundational gift” from Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman, CEO & co-founder of Blackstone, a leading global asset manager. Hence, it has decided to name the college as the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing.
Of the US $1 billion needed for the MIT computing & AI college, MIT has raised an additional US $300 million totaling US $650 million. MIT’s senior administration is pursuing additional fundraising.
Terming the initiative, as a single largest investment in computing & AI by an American academic institution, MIT stated that this could propel US to head the world in readying “for the rapid evolution of computing & AI.”
The MIT computing & AI college, to be built on MIT campus itself, will offer learning in AI, data science & related fields. It is scheduled to start in Sep 2019, while the construction of the new building is slated to be completed in 2022.
As computing reshapes our world, MIT intends to help make sure it does so for the good of all.
MIT President L. Rafael Reif said, adding,
In keeping with the scope of this challenge, we are reshaping MIT. The MIT Schwarzman College of Computing will constitute both a global center for computing research and education, and an intellectual foundry for powerful new AI tools. Just as important, the College will equip students and researchers in any discipline to use computing and AI to advance their disciplines and vice-versa, as well as to think critically about the human impact of their work.
The new college aims to empower the pursuit of MIT’s mission:
- Application from other disciplines will power computing & AI.
- Creation of 50 new faculty positions, which will be located within the college & jointly with other departments across MIT. Also, a new deanship will be established.
- Shared structure for collaborative education for MIT’s 5 schools.
- Students will be educated in every discipline to incorporate & also develop AI & computing technologies.
- Transformation of education & research in public policy, ethical considerations relevant to the said fields.
