Innovating Through Artificial Intelligence
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, state economic development and technology leaders, and other officials visited Northeastern to learn from faculty how AI can solve some of the most pressing issues in the state and the world. CEE Distinguished Professor Auroop Ganguly, ECE/Khoury Distinguished Professor Jennifer Dy, and ECE Professor Taskin Padir were in attendance.
This article originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Cyrus Moulton. Main photo: Event attendees learned about how Northeastern professors and students are applying AI to everything from diagnosing skin cancer to sorting scallops. Photos by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
‘AI will transform every aspect of our life,’ Gov. Healey says at artificial intelligence task force meeting at Northeastern
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, state economic development and technology leaders and other officials visited Northeastern’s Boston campus on Thursday to learn from university professors how artificial intelligence can solve some of the most pressing issues in the state and the world.
“AI is a technology with the potential to transform—not just the potential, it will transform—every aspect of our life,” Healey said during an event at the EXP research complex. “Massachusetts innovators, as we’ll see in today’s presentations, are already at the forefront.”
Provost David Madigan said Northeastern was the “exactly the right place to talk about AI,” pointing out that AI research at the university is being used to detect cancers, track infant health, prevent climate change and more.
“And all with an eye on ethical AI and responsible AI,” Madigan said. “That has been a key theme of everything we do here at this university—how do we harness this extraordinary technology to do good.”
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Gov. Maura Healey greets guests including University Fellow for Public Life Robert DeLeo and AI for Impact co-op students at an event prior to the AI Task Force Meeting at Northeastern University on Thursday. Photos by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
The event occurred prior to a meeting at Northeastern of the Artificial Intelligence Strategic Task Force commissioned by Healey, who also attended the session.
The taskforce was established in February to study AI and generative artificial intelligence technology and its impact on the state, private businesses, higher education institutions and constituents. It is made up of leaders from large companies, startups, academia, investors and nonprofits.
Northeastern’s Usama Fayyad is a member of the task force, and described his work as executive director of The Institute for Experiential AI at the university to those in attendance.
Rupal Patel, a professor in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences and the Bouve College of Health Sciences, showcased her work using AI to create bespoke synthesized voices for individuals with various health conditions.
Auroop Ganguly, director of AI for climate and sustainability at The Institute for Experiential AI, gave a presentation on how AI can help predict local flooding—particularly flooding around Boston’s Logan Airport—from extreme precipitation events.
College of Engineering Distinguished Professor Jennifer Dy explained her research with hospitals in New York City and Boston using AI to detect skin cancer and to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“The nice thing about being an AI person in Massachusetts, and in Boston in particular, is that we have world-leading hospitals that are highly concentrated in the area,” Dy said.
“And with advances in AI, there’s a lot that we can do together.”
Taskin Padir, director of the Institute for Experiential Robotics at Northeastern, finished the presentations by showcasing a robotic arm with a gripper inspired by chopsticks that can help seafood processors sort and grade scallops.
Read full story at Northeastern Global News