A project at the University of California - Davis has secured funding to launch a center focused on developing solutions to complex problems brought on by the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and imagining a future where it is utilized in innovative, ethical and accessible ways.  

Today, the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded a $500,000 grant to launch and fund the UC Davis Center for Artificial Intelligence and Experimental Futures (CAIEF). The award will support three years of research activities.  

Recognizing that CAIEF will be a hub of interdisciplinary AI research, education, and outreach, the UC Davis College of Letters and Science, the Office of the University Provost, the Office of Research, and the Office of Graduate Studies have committed voluntary matching funds to extend the impact of NEH support both during the start-up period and for two years afterward. 

“AI is playing a more dominant role in our society today so the UC Davis Center for Artificial Intelligence and Experimental Futures couldn’t come at a more critical time,” said Dean Estella Atekwana. “It is a true interdisciplinary effort and reflects our belief that preparing for a better, more just future requires collaborating across different disciplines and backgrounds.” 

CAIEF will promote the democratic governance of AI systems by engaging diverse stakeholders in processes of creative worldmaking — crafting the world of tomorrow, together. It will experiment with new AI systems and community-design methods to prototype democratic modes of AI governance and responsible innovation. 

The center plans to launch in October 2024.  

CAIEF’s long-term vision underscores the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, democratic participation, and creative imagination in navigating the complex challenges and opportunities presented by AI technologies.  

An expert on literature, media and the history of science, Colin Milburn will direct the center. At UC Davis, he is chair of the Department of Science and Technology Studies and director of the ModLab, an experimental humanities laboratory. Milburn is also the Gary Snyder Chair in Science and the Humanities and a professor of Science and Technology Studies, English, and Cinema and Digital Media. He has previously led large collaborative projects funded by the Mellon Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and other sponsors.  

The NEH’s new Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence grant program is part of the agency’s Humanities Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence initiative, which supports humanities projects that explore the impacts of AI-related technologies on truth, trust, and democracy; safety and security; and privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. A total of $2.72 million was awarded to five colleges and universities to create AI hubs.

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