AI@SAS

Technology has brought us to a moment of radical transformation. Individuals and industries across society are just beginning the journey into a world that is being reshaped by the powerful tools of AI. How will AI accelerate scientific discovery? How can we maximize its potential? How can we shape it to advance human interests and values? How can we ensure its responsible use?

How do we center humanity in

Driven by perspectives from a range of disciplines, Penn Arts & Sciences is uniquely positioned to provide creative responses to the opportunities and challenges posed by generative AI.

DDDI: The Data Driven Discovery Initiative

Since its inception in 2021, the Data Driven Discovery Initiative (DDDI) has served as the hub for data science education and research at Penn Arts & Sciences. DDDI works to advance scholarship and research by providing opportunities for data science training and awareness, providing a forum for interactions around data science, and sparking discoveries by Penn faculty and students working across disciplinary boundaries.

AI@SAS Highlights

Price Lab for Digital Humanities

The Price Lab supports innovative uses of technology in the study of history, art, and culture.

Computational Neuroscience Initiative

CNI is a research and training program that spearheads the development and use of inter-disciplinary, quantitative approaches to the study of the brain and the mind.

Linguistic Data Consortium

LDC supports language-related education, research and technology development by creating and sharing linguistic resources, such as data, tools and standards.

uAtlas: DDDI’s University Atlas Project

DDDI’s uAtlas mapping project allows visitors to explore Penn’s vibrant research community, as represented through decades worth of faculty publications. Founded by DDDI executive director Colin Twomey, uAtlas leverages recent advances in large language models to automatically organize scholarly publications according to their topics and themes.

Learn More About Research and Initiatives in AI@SAS

Faculty in all disciplines are exploring AI’s potential to accelerate discovery and develop creative solutions to a range of probems; at the same time they are being challenged to envision how AI may alter the landscape of how they teach, and how their students learn.

University Resources

Penn Advanced Research Computing Center (PARCC)

PARCC will be a key platform for computational and data-driven research across campus with hardware, software, system support, and research consulting services.

PennAI

Explore how PennAI the understanding and advancement of artificial intelligence research, applications, and education.

Spotlight: Data Science for Social Good

Since 2022, DDDI has provided seed grants through the Data Science for Social Good program to support projects that address wide-scale societal challenges through innovative data science methods, including applications of generative AI.

Emerson Arehart, Erol Akçay and Joshua B. Plotkin of Biology are examining social-ecological systems, like the Amazon Basin, where human behaviors interact with natural processes in unpredictable ways, with the aim to improve predictions of sudden ecological shifts.

Criminology Professor Maria Cuellar is studying the accuracy and fairness of facial recognition technology, a tool that is increasingly used by police.

AI@SAS News

Bhuvnesh Jain one of five faculty to lead Penn AI Council

As part of the Penn AI initiative, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research has established the Penn AI Council, a group of five faculty crossing an array of disciplines who will lead the effort to map and strengthen Penn’s AI community. This includes Bhuvnesh Jain, Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Natural Sciences and Co-Director of the Data Driven Discovery Initiative.

Data Driven Discovery Initiative Events

The Data Driven Discovery Initiative regularly hosts data-science related events open to the Penn community. These events bring together faculty, staff, and students from diverse fields to explore the intersection of data science, artificial intelligence, and the natural and social sciences. Learn more about upcoming events.