Artificial Intelligence

Cathy N. Davidson, Visitor in the School of Social Science, has been named a recipient of the 2025 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, for her work as a "leading voice in digital literacy, learning science, and interdisciplinary innovation."

In a recent article for Science, Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science, proposes an approach to artificial intelligence’s unchecked proliferation and escalating harms: a reapplication of the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) program developed for the Human Genome Project.

Does artificial intelligence have a role to play in pure mathematics—the kind of math still worked out on blackboards over decades? To interrogate this question, The New York Times spoke to IAS scholars from diverse disciplinary perspectives: Members Patrick Shafto (2021–23) and Andrew Granville (1989–91, 2007, 2009–10) in the School of Mathematics, and Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science.

Alessio Figalli, Member in the School of Mathematics, investigates optimal transport, a field with deep theoretical roots and far-reaching applications, including to machine learning. Figalli recently sat down with frequent Director's Visitor Siobhan Roberts for a New York Times interview about his work, which also touched on the importance of free thinking in research.

Magdalena Małecka, Deutsche Bank Member (2020–21) in the School of Social Science, has been awarded a Consolidator Grant by the European Research Council for a project titled “Encoded Knowledge: Epistemology of Computer Technology in Modern Economics.” Małecka's time at the Institute, which included visits to the Shelby White and Leon Levy Archives Center, was formative for her project.

Geordie Williamson, Distinguished Visiting Professor (2020–21) in the School of Mathematics, has been announced as the recipient of the 2024 Max Planck–Humboldt Research Award. The award will enable Williamson and his collaborators to address a range of mathematical problems using artificial intelligence.

The 2024 IAS Public Policy Lecture saw Margrethe Vestager, the Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, discuss lessons that can be drawn from the life and legacy of past Director J. Robert Oppenheimer (1947–66) in the age of large digital platforms and artificial intelligence.