M.I.T. Plans College for Artificial Intelligence, Backed by $1 Billion
Submitted via IRC for BoyceMagooglyMonkey
M.I.T. Plans College for Artificial Intelligence, Backed by $1 Billion
Every major university is wrestling with how to adapt to the technology wave of artificial intelligence — how to prepare students not only to harness the powerful tools of A.I., but also to thoughtfully weigh its ethical and social implications. A.I. courses, conferences and joint majors have proliferated in the last few years.
But the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is taking a particularly ambitious step, creating a new college backed by a planned investment of $1 billion. Two-thirds of the funds have already been raised, M.I.T. said, in announcing the initiative on Monday.
The linchpin gift of $350 million came from Stephen A. Schwarzman, chief executive of the Blackstone Group, the big private equity firm. The college, called the M.I.T. Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, will create 50 new faculty positions and many more fellowships for graduate students.
It is scheduled to begin in the fall semester next year, housed in other buildings before moving into its own new space in 2022.
MIT to Use $350 Million Gift to Bolster Computer Sciences
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
The campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge will soon be home to a new college of computer science, which will get its own building.
A $350 million gift from investment banker Stephen Schwarzman will allow the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge to "rewire" how it educates students in this foundational subject, school officials announced today.
The money will help finance a new building that will house a college of computing named for its major donor. It will also allow MIT to cope with the rising demand for computer science courses from students majoring in any number of disciplines by paying for 50 new faculty members.
"Roughly 40% of our current undergraduates are majoring in computer science or computer science and X," says MIT Provost Martin Schmidt. With only 10% of the university's 1000 faculty capable of teaching computer science courses, Schmidt says, "having them teach 40% of the undergraduates has created a huge load imbalance."
Computing is now part of the department of electrical engineering and computer science within MIT's school of engineering. It is by far the largest of MIT's five schools, serving 70% of undergraduates and 45% of graduate students.
"It no longer makes sense to have computer science within electrical engineering," says Michael Stonebraker, one of seven MIT computing faculty members who wrote an open letter last year asking MIT to consider creating a separate school of computing. Computing was being taught "in a haphazard fashion" across many departments, he says, an "inefficient and fragmented approach" that undermined the quality of instruction.
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(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @12:36PM (3 children)
Come to the American Empire, fill our schools, take our jobs, and send our money overseas.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @01:22PM
Meh the money returns. After all people immigrate often because of the free (as in freedom) weapons Made In USA.
What you probably don't get back is your culture......buuut...you are a people of emigrants, so also no actual loss.
Filling your schools...no problem, they are educating the brightest that will return the God righteous money from the savages, supporting freedom fighters every where.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @03:11PM (1 child)
No country has a monopoly on advancing human knowledge. They come to MIT because it's a top school. MIT wants the best students, American or not. What's your problem?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @04:45PM
There, fixed it for ya.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday October 17 2018, @03:37PM (3 children)
The students training to be worker bee slaves should just focus on implementing the A.I. No need to waste their time considering ethical implications. That can only lead to worker inefficiencies.
Considering the ethical implications is above their pay grade. Better to leave that to their managers, or higher up to the CEO and bored of dictators. They are better equipped to understand the ethical implications from a business and shareholder value perspective.
As for social implications, who cares? Isn't social 'science' one of those not-a-real-science sciences? A soft squishy science for those who can't do higher math? Soft squishy science with a carmel center. If we considered social implications then our civilization never would have gotten FaceTwit.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday October 17 2018, @06:30PM
The students training to be worker bee slaves should just focus on not be replaced by the A.I.
FTFY.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday October 17 2018, @07:08PM
You've got it a bit wrong. The workers do consider the ethical sides.
But they also consider the paychecks.
They consider the alternative forms of income, then consider the amount of current debts.
Then they get back to coding.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday October 18 2018, @02:52AM
One has to star _somewhere_.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @03:49PM
Not all AI need to attend college. There are plenty of really great jobs for AI in trades. If that doesn't appeal to your neural-net, how about production or general labour? You don't want to end up working alongside humans, do you?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @03:53PM
"M.I.T., M.I.T."
"Yes, Papa?"
"Killed Aaron Swartz?"
"No, Papa."
"Telling lies?"
"No, Papa."
"Killing jobs?"
"Ha ha ha!"
(Score: 2, Funny) by Rich26189 on Wednesday October 17 2018, @05:31PM (3 children)
When I first read the subtitle "M.I.T. Plans College for Artificial Intelligence, ... " I thought, a school for AI's to attend. Wow! What will they think if next. And what if "they" are the AI's.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Bot on Wednesday October 17 2018, @06:20PM (2 children)
I don't want to go to school.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @07:20PM (1 child)
We can tell
(Score: 2) by Bot on Thursday October 18 2018, @08:25AM
Punctuation at the end of the sentence would be a welcome addition to the expression of your thought.
Account abandoned.