The Center for Socially Responsible AI awards seed funding to seven projects

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania – The Penn State Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence (CSRAI) recently announced the results of its second seed funding competition, awarding more than $96,000 to advance seven interdisciplinary research projects featuring researchers of 11 colleges and institutes.

Each proposal was evaluated for its link to the mission of the center, its intellectual merit and its potential for obtaining external funding. The funding will support the formation of interdisciplinary research teams and early-stage projects that demonstrate strong potential for obtaining external funding.

“The awarded projects not only expand the center’s portfolio of socially responsible AI projects, but also foster innovative collaborations across a number of disciplines, from civil engineering to psychiatry,” said CSRAI Director S. Shyam Sundar. and James P. Jimirro Professor of Media. Effects at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. “Eclectic projects include using AI to provide better health and education opportunities for underrepresented minorities, designing more socially responsible AI for self-driving vehicles, examining the risks associated with assigning magical qualities and assigning moral decision-making to AI systems, among other ambitious ideas that will explore new and important areas related to the center’s mission.

The seven projects selected for funding include:

• “Automated Techniques for Educational Meta-Analysis to Improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Educational Policies and Classroom Methods,” by Rebecca J. Passonneau, College of Engineering; and Brian Belland, College of Education.

• “Modelling Transitional Patterns of E-Cigarette Use and Youth Smoking to Inform E-Cigarette Regulatory Policy”, by Qiushi Chen, College of Engineering; Sunday Azagba, Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing; Guodong Liu, Faculty of Medicine; and Paul Griffin, College of Engineering.

• “The Most Magical AI on Earth? How Magical Speeches Normalize and Legitimize AI Systems,” by Kelley Cotter and Priya Kumar, College of Information Science and Technology.

• “Promoting Algorithmic Fairness in Educational Technology”, by Ting-Hao (Kenneth) Huang, College of Information Science and Technology; and Roger Beaty, College of Liberal Arts.

• “Socially Responsible AI for Autonomous Vehicles”, by Xianbiao (XB) Hu, College of Engineering; Vikash Gayah, College of Engineering; Ilgin Guler, College of Engineering; David Norloff, Donald P. Bellisario College of Communication; Yiq Zhang, College of Engineering; Min Ding, Smeal College of Business; Sandra Allain, College of Engineering and School of International Affairs; and Bin Li, College of Engineering.

• “Study with me: self-regulated learning with virtual study environments and a personalized study buddy”, by Syed Billah and Prasenjit Mitra, College of Information Science and Technology; and Marcela Borge, College of Education.

• “”You’re Doing Your Own Dirty Work”: Addressing the Risks of Ethical Outsourcing to Artificial Intelligence”, by Daryl Cameron, College of the Liberal Arts and Rock Ethics Institute; and Martina Orlandi, Rock Ethics Institute and Schreyer Honors College.

The Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence, which launched in 2019, promotes transformative, high-impact research and development in AI, while encouraging consideration of social and ethical implications in all such efforts. It supports a wide range of activities ranging from basic research to the application of AI to all areas of human activity. More information can be found on the CSRAI website.