Through a grant program and a new minor focused on data analytics, the Data Driven Discovery Initiative is using new tools and technologies to directly address societal challenges.

Work from Dolores Albarracín and Man-pui Sally Chan of the University of Pennsylvania suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) can facilitate theory- and evidence-based message selection.

Second-year student Jessica Mach discovers the potential of AI tools through creating several projects, including an interactive game.

TED-style talks on crowdfunding in ancient Greece, gender gaps in political tolerance, shyness, opera singers and language, and how to know what you don’t know, took home the day’s top prizes.

Whether decoding medieval manuscripts or analyzing national polling numbers, Penn’s 100-plus data scientists have plenty to talk about, and Penn Arts & Sciences’ Data Driven Discovery Initiative is leading the charge in fostering collaboration.

There’s more hype than ever around artificial intelligence, but Assistant Professor of Sociology Benjamin Shestakofsky says it’s important to fully examine how the new technology fits into broader society.

Scholars across Penn Arts & Sciences are exploring memory. What they’re learning may change how we understand our minds, bodies, and histories.

Faculty across Penn are designing assignments that enhance student learning with LLMs, while also empowering students to challenge those same tools using the knowledge they are developing in that specific subject area. Students are encouraged to develop their own thinking, engage critically with the outputs they receive, and challenge or defend those outputs in order to learn more about their field of study.

Generative AI poses new questions for student learning. Professor of Classical Studies Cam Gray is embracing new ways to think about these possibilities. “When you're in a conversation with smart people who are thinking about this stuff in thoughtful ways, it stimulates all kinds of ideas.”

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.

In order to know what the right questions are for using AI with something like coding, Masao Sako, Arifa Hasan Ahmad and Nada Al Shoaibi Presidential Professor of Physics and Astronomy, believes it is crucial for students to understand the basic structure and terminology of Python: “If they don’t know what an array is, they can’t ask how to use it.”

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.