UChicago gets $50M gift to run AI challenge
The University of Chicago has received a $50 million gift from Rika and Joe Mansueto to support the launch of the Mansueto Faculty of Mind and Machine Challenge.
The challenge, according to an announcement made by the university last week, will seek to generate nearly $200 million to recruit and support 20 scholars from a “wide range of fields who are exemplary in the use of the computational lens of thought in their disciplines.”
“The match challenge will catalyze additional philanthropy from donors who are inspired by the University’s distinctive approach to AI. In addition to the 20 faculty positions, the complete program will also foster investments in the broader academic ecosystem of research and education as it relates to the topics of mind and machine,” read a recent post to the university’s website.
The challenge reportedly builds on the institution’s AI Initiative, which supports 10 faculty-led AI research projects, along with a dozen other projects “seeking to expand and leverage machine learning and AI in the classroom—or to deliberately limit the use of AI.”
“This extraordinary commitment reflects Rika and Joe Mansueto’s deep belief in the University of Chicago’s distinctive approach to inquiry—one that prizes groundbreaking scholarship, intellectual freedom and dialogue across disciplines,” President Paul Alivisatos said in the announcement. “This is a signal period in intellectual history, and this gift will greatly advance the University as it seeks to shape advances in human thought during this era of AI and machine learning.”
