Day of AI Celebration
This spring, thousands of students around the world are participating in Day of AI: a curriculum of lessons and hands-on activities designed to teach kids of all ages and backgrounds the basics and responsible use of artificial intelligence, designed by researchers at MIT. On May 18, MIT RAISE is hosting a global Day of AI celebration featuring a flagship local event: a human rights and data policy-focused event at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate.
Students from the Warren Prescott Middle School and New Mission High School will gather in the Senate Chamber to hear from MIT President Sally Kornbluth, Yo Deshpande, Technologist for the Public Realm from the Boston Mayor’s Office, Michael Lawrence Evans, Program Director at Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, and Adam L’Italien, Liberty Mutual Chief Innovation Officer on the growing importance of AI literacy in today’s world and future careers, with a particular focus on the ethical and policy implications of the increasingly complex technology landscape.
Then, former US OSTP chief of staff Marc Aidinoff will lead the students in a discussion about human rights and AI, followed by breakout groups for the middle and high schoolers on the Blueprint for the AI Bill of Rights and the SMART Act. Cynthia Breazeal, Dean for Digital Learning at MIT Open Learning, head of the Personal Robots group at the MIT Media Lab, and Director of MIT RAISE, will offer closing remarks.
About the speakers
Sally Kornbluth is MIT's 18th president. She is a cell biologist whose eight-year tenure as Duke University’s provost has earned her a reputation as a brilliant administrator, a creative problem-solver, and a leading advocate of academic excellence. As Duke’s provost, Kornbluth served as the university’s chief academic officer, with broad responsibility for carrying out its teaching and research missions; developing its intellectual priorities; and partnering with others to achieve wide-ranging gains for faculty and students.
Among other honors, in 2012, Kornbluth received the Basic Science Research Mentoring Award from the Duke School of Medicine and in 2013, the Distinguished Faculty Award from the Duke Medical Alumni Association. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Inventors, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Yo Deshpande is the Technologist for the Public Realm in the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics (MONUM). MONUM is the City of Boston’s civic research and design team, working with communities and city departments to explore, experiment with, and evaluate new approaches to government. Yo’s work crosses community empowerment and co-design, surveillance technology accountability, environmental sensing, and broadly how technology can make cities more connected and caring without compromising people’s freedoms. He practices Vipassana meditation and roots for the Celtics. Both are beloved rollercoasters.
Michael Lawrence Evans is a Program Director with the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics. Previously, he was a design technologist with Stamen Design, a design and technology studio in San Francisco, and in 2011, was a member of the inaugural class of fellows at Code for America, where he collaborated on civic engagement tools for the City of Philadelphia and served as a Google Summer of Code mentor.
Adam L’Italien is Liberty Mutual’s Chief Innovation Officer and head of Solaria Labs, Liberty’s Enterprise Incubator. Solaria partners with teams from across Liberty to stay on the forefront of disruption, incubating new products, services, and experiences to better serve our customers, agents, and partners today and in the future. Prior to joining Liberty, Adam led efforts at BAE Systems (f.k.a. AlphaTech) and established a product development lab at The Analytic Sciences Corporation (TASC). Adam holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering and a M.S. in Engineering Management from Tufts University. He and his wife Amelia live in Boston with their growing family of ficuses, enjoy making and eating pizza, and are currently renovating a 200+ year old home on the Northshore.
Marc Aidinoff works at the intersection of technology policy and social policy. Aidinoff’s current research traces the computerization of the welfare state. He argues that digitization of government services has shaped expectations about what liberal government can and should be. Most recently, Aidinoff served as Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where he helped lead a team of 150 policymakers on key initiatives including the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights and guidance to ensure federally funded research is publicly accessible. A graduate of MIT’s doctoral program in History, Anthropology, Science, Technology and Society (HASTS), Aidinoff was previously a senior strategist at Civis Analytics, a policy advisor for then Vice-President Biden, and an affiliate of MIT’s Internet Research Initiative (IPRI). He is currently a visiting lecturer at the University of Mississippi and the Monell Foundation Fellow in Technology and Democracy at the University of Virginia Jefferson Scholars Foundation.
Cynthia Breazeal is the dean for digital learning at MIT, leading Open Learning’s business and engagement units. Breazeal is the director of MIT RAISE, a cross-MIT research effort on advancing and democratizing AI education through K-12 and vocational education. Under her leadership, RAISE launched FutureMakers and the inaugural Day of AI, an annual educational event wherein teachers across the country will introduce students of all backgrounds to foundational concepts in artificial intelligence and its role in their lives.
Breazeal is the head of the Personal Robots research group at the MIT Media Lab, where she is a professor of media arts and sciences. She also founded the consumer social robotics company, Jibo, Inc., where she served as Chief Scientist and Chief Experience Officer. An international award–winning innovator, designer, and entrepreneur, Breazeal has spoken at prominent venues such as TED, the World Economic Forum, the UN, SXSW, and CES. She is a recipient of the National Academy of Engineering’s Gilbreth Lecture Award; Technology Review's TR35 Award; and TIME magazine's Best Inventions.
About MIT RAISE
Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education (RAISE) is an initiative from MIT to provide free AI literacy resources, activities, and opportunities to people of all ages around the world. A collaboration between the MIT Media Lab, the Schwarzman College of Computing, and MIT Open Learning, RAISE’s research and impact mission is to advance equity in learning, education and computational action to rethink and innovate how to holistically and equitably prepare diverse K-12 students, an inclusive workforce, and lifelong learners to be successful, responsible, and engaged in an increasingly AI-powered society.