Carnegie Mellon University is one of the world’s greatest talent hubs for realizing the transformative potential of AI and ensuring its safe and secure use for the benefit of humankind. These same opportunities and challenges are highlighted in President Joe Biden’s recent executive order(opens in new window), which CMU is uniquely positioned to address.   

Our efforts in this field are intentionally interdisciplinary, spanning all colleges across the university to not only advance the frontiers of science and technology but also tackle important policy and societal implications of AI. Some of the many drivers in Carnegie Mellon’s comprehensive AI toolkit(opens in new window) include:   

Our Block Center for Technology and Society(opens in new window) is a university-wide hub for research, thought leadership and policy impact that evaluates how emerging technologies, such as AI, can alter the future of work, benefit the social good, and promote inclusion and quality of life improvements for all.   

CyLab(opens in new window), the university’s security and privacy research institute, is dedicated to creating a world where technology can be trusted. With a deep and diverse lineup of faculty scholars — experts in everything from engineering and computer science to financial information risk management and the humanities — CyLab breaks beyond traditional academic boundaries to study the human factors required to get security and privacy right. 

Our AI Institute for Societal Decision Making(opens in new window), funded by the National Science Foundation, bundles together the fields of AI and social science to generate human-centric AI tools. These tools assist with critical decision making and ultimately improve responses to societal challenges, such as natural disasters and public health outbreaks.   

Our Software Engineering Institute(opens in new window) is devoted to developing AI capabilities that are reliable, responsible, safe, fair and transparent. It supports government partners in securely adopting AI to realize leap-ahead mission capabilities for the greater good.    

Beyond our integrated approach to AI research, the executive order also prioritizes comprehensive education, training and technology transfer efforts that will help more Americans access and excel in the emerging AI economy.  

As part of this national effort, Carnegie Mellon University is excited to: 

• Aid companies and organizations in recruiting, reskilling and upskilling AI-ready workers.
• Prioritize AI research that opens doors of opportunity and efficiency for America’s workforce.   
• Support schools in developing and adopting K-12 curricula that will imbue American culture with a foundational understanding of AI technology.
• Empower community colleges to embrace AI in their programming to help their students reach their fullest potential.
• Develop new and next-generation certificate and degree programs in AI technology.   
• Provide scholarly support and guidance in utilizing AI at the intersection of disciplines.
• Explore new ways to directly partner with workers, including unionized workers, to engage them in developing AI tools for the workplace. 

Theresa Mayer is Carnegie Mellon University’s Vice President for Research.