Cornell launches initiative to study AI’s effects on society and culture

Cornell wants humanities and social science scholars to help shape AI’s future, not simply study its consequences. Its College of Arts and Sciences announced a new initiative on October 29, with recruitment open for five postdoctoral fellows. A university-wide AI & Society minor is also part of the effort, but remains under development.

Called Humanities, Social Sciences + AI, the program will connect research, teaching and public engagement across subjects including governance, ethics, communication, creativity and labor. The college will administer it. Dean Peter John Loewen described the ambition as extending Cornell’s technical work in AI into humanistic and social scientific scholarship, with students learning to shape the technology critically and constructively.

The postdoctoral fellowship program will form the initiative’s intellectual core. Cornell is recruiting five researchers for appointments lasting up to two years, with applications accepted through November 15. Their work will examine AI’s social, political, ethical, cultural and economic implications. The positions also include contributions to undergraduate and graduate teaching, linking the research program directly to the classroom.

The initiative’s first year is funded through the Cornell AI Initiative and a gift from John Josephson and Carolina Zapf. Alongside the appointments, Cornell plans research workshops and professional development opportunities for postdoctoral scholars. These activities sit within a larger program intended to bring faculty, students, researchers and outside practitioners into sustained work across disciplines.

We’re building an intellectual community dedicated to ensuring that AI advances in ways that strengthen society, democracy and human flourishing.

Peter John Loewen, dean of Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences

A Distinguished Visitors and AI Practitioners-in-Residence program supplies the connection to people working beyond campus. Cornell plans to host five to six practitioners for one to two weeks each. They will come from industry, government, civil society, and cultural and creative fields, giving the program a remit that extends beyond technology companies.

The planned visits involve more than public appearances. Practitioners will deliver lectures, take part in workshops and seminars, advise faculty and student research, and collaborate across disciplines. Loewen said the visits are intended to keep Cornell’s academic work connected to current AI developments and applications in society. Public talks will also give students and faculty access to the visitors’ experience.

The first distinguished visitor was Paul Graham, the Y Combinator founder and Viaweb co-founder. During the week of October 26, he visited campus, gave a public talk titled “How to Turn Yourself Into a Startup Founder,” and joined a faculty forum examining AI’s implications for the humanities and social sciences. His visit provided an early example of the initiative’s exchange between academic inquiry and outside practice.

The proposed AI & Society minor would give the initiative a university-wide undergraduate component. Cornell says courses will explore what AI means for people and institutions through political science, philosophy, history, literature, economics and sociology. The minor is still under development, distinguishing this part of the announcement from the fellowship recruitment already underway.

Beyond degree requirements and research appointments, the initiative plans an annual AI and Society symposium, along with outreach and communications. That public programming is part of its stated mission: bringing questions about AI’s effects on culture, institutions and social organization into teaching, scholarly research and public engagement.