New Partnership Will Scale Up Investment in Ethical AI Research and Innovation

UT Austin and the MITRE Corporation, a nonprofit dedicated to solving problems for a safer world, have formed a partnership that promises to accelerate ethical AI research as part of UT Austin’s Good Systems research grand challenge.

“Good Systems is honored to partner with MITRE to work toward our shared goal of ensuring that AI will serve the public interest,” said Kenneth R. Fleischmann, founding chair of Good Systems and a professor in the School of Information. “AI innovation should be leveraged to enhance our economic competitiveness and national security, and it is also critical that we harness the benefits of AI to steer toward a more equitable and just society.”

In 2019, the university launched Good Systems, one of three Bridging Barriers research grand challenges that bring together researchers from dozens of disciplines to address major issues affecting our world.

Since then, technologists, social scientists and humanists participating in Good Systems have been working to define, evaluate and build ethical AI systems in six core areas:

• Enhancing middle-skill work with smart hand tools
• Designing responsible AI to curb disinformation
• Developing AI systems for smarter cities
• Embedding ethics in public camera AI technologies
• Designing AI to advance racial equity
• Living and working with robots

MITRE’s investment will help build capacity in these core areas and serve as a model for an ongoing flagship partnership with UT Austin. Read the full press release here.