Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society

We are hiring for three positions! Assistant Director - support the Executive Director to manage the operations of the institute and engage a diverse range of stakeholders. https://lnkd.in/gFMK5d92 Program manager - manage our data science and AI postdoctoral training programs. https://lnkd.in/g6VEHWVG Training program specialist - provide administrative support (HR, finance, and many others) for our postdoctoral programs and faculty training programs. https://lnkd.in/g8Scf67r

Congratulations to 19 research teams who have been awarded research funding through our 2024 round of pilot grant program. This year in particular, we have a new focus on AI policy and its responsible use, in collaboration with Microsoft and the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. https://lnkd.in/eV6ZxQwf

To all of our colleagues and friends, we are excited to share that we have just changed our name! We are now the Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society! The new name aligns with our mission more closely, which is focused on enabling the use of data science and AI across research fields to achieve lasting scientific and societal impact.

We are hiring a communications specialist! Come and work with a dynamic, creative, fun and supportive team and support our mission to maximize the scientific and societal impact of data science and AI. https://lnkd.in/g7eY35mA

Thank you to the Harvard Data Science Review for featuring MIDAS leadership in the latest issue! Click to read full article: https://lnkd.in/ehdWNZuY "The article by Jing Liu and H. V. Jagadish (2024) on “Institutional Efforts to Help Academic Researchers Implement Generative AI in Research” hit home for both of us, as academic researchers. Liu and Jagadish discuss how generative AI is (future) shocking “the traditional academic research model in fundamental ways.” Their concerns range from ill-preparedness among researchers who do not know how to responsibly use or apply GenAI technologies to their work, to research outcomes created by rushed adoption that lack in ethics, rigor, and reproducibility. The authors stress that these concerns are not unique to generative AI, “but could also be true for other upcoming and similarly disruptive technologies,” that is, other future shocks. The article calls for research institutions to develop new mechanisms to help researchers more responsibly adopt especially disruptive technologies that can cause seismic changes."

“AI tools are coming so fast, but most faculty members don’t know how to use them,” says Jing Liu, executive director of the Michigan Institute for Data Science at the University of Michigan. The institute ran a survey that found that fewer than one-third of Michigan researchers can effectively run LLMs or adapt them to their own uses. Liu is an author of a recent paper that argued institutions need to do more than wait for each individual researcher to learn the uses of gen AI. She worries that the accelerating pace of AI innovation will pass academic researchers by, even as tech-industry scientists thrive. As a first step toward educating researchers, MIDAS has published an online primer for researchers looking to use gen AI. But institutions need to expand such efforts, Liu says. “It’s too much to expect from researchers— they can’t do this on their own,” she adds. “We’re kind of at the agrarian stage. Universities need to develop a community to build the capacity for this.” Click to read full article from The Chronicle of Higher Education here: https://lnkd.in/e7MjdkXN

🚨 2 WEEKS LEFT! Propose a session for ADSA Annual 2024! 🎉 The meeting will be hosted by the Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS) October 29-31 at the University of Michigan. Learn more and propose a session: https://lnkd.in/egYip9N8 ❗DEADLINE: June 1st

Congratulations to MIDAS affiliate Nicholas Kotov (University of Michigan Chemical Engineering), who has been named one of the 2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellows. This election to one of the world’s largest general scientific societies is considered a distinguished lifetime honor within the scientific community. https://lnkd.in/gF5V5b9c

📝 At the intersection of technology and ethics, the Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS) is forging new pathways in the responsible development and application of artificial intelligence (AI). Faced with AI’s potential to reshape the economy, human lives, advancements of the society, and global security, MIDAS researchers are committed to aligning technological growth with human rights, safety, societal values, and policy integrity. Supporting MIDAS’s ambitious agenda, Microsoft is contributing over half a million dollars in resources which will fuel a diverse slate of research projects. “Core to our mission at Microsoft of advancing AI responsibly is to encourage innovative ideas, spur dialogue, and promote socio-technical approaches to AI development, policy, and governance. We are pleased to support MIDAS and the University of Michigan in this effort.” said Daniel Kluttz, Senior Director at Microsoft’s Office of Responsible AI. Read full article: https://lnkd.in/e6VteEEM

Join us WEDNESDAY, 4/24, at 9AM ET, for a virtual discussion with current Michigan AI Lab Board Member and former Pentagon advisor and speechwriter Kevin Samy about AI National Security Policy. Kevin Samy will deliver a basic briefing on the players and promise of AI national security policymaking - and the perils of failing to get it right. This will be a 40 min. Google Meet virtual briefing, followed by Q&A. Meeting link: https://shorturl.at/qxNVY