Stony Brook University Launches New Institute for AI Discovery

Today Stony Brook University launched the Institute for AI-Driven Discovery and Innovation to advance AI research and apply the transformative power of innovation driven by AI across disciplines. The AI Institute will focus on four grand challenges: health care; infrastructure; education; and, finance. It will also focus on five foundational research areas: automated and scalable knowledge acquisition; predictive intelligence; explainable AI; trustworthy AI; and, ethical AI.

The goal of this initiative is to foster innovative collaboration across departments and verticals to bring together teams of students who are early in their educational journey — from engineering, humanities and a slew of other disciplines — to tackle important and challenging projects that will have real societal impact through technology and entrepreneurship,” said Samuel L. Stanley Jr., President of Stony Brook University at the official launch event held at Bloomberg’s headquarters in Manhattan yesterday evening.

At the AI Institute launch event, left to right, Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD; Steven Skiena, Director of the Institute for AI-Driven Discovery and Innovation; Fotis Sotiropoulos, Dean, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

The AI Institute for AI-Driven Discovery and Innovation will support efforts centered on the overarching vision of Human-Machine Symbiosis, based on the idea that AI technology should amplify human intelligence, instead of replacing it. In this way, it will serve as an intellectual hub to coordinate and encourage faculty AI research and educational initiatives across the University and beyond.

Already, researchers and faculty at Stony Brook are implementing projects across numerous departments including cutting edge work that is:

  • Improving the accuracy of cancer diagnosis and developing personalized therapies

  • Using social media postings to diagnose depression

  • Understanding how to treat mental illness and degenerative diseases of the brain

  • Developing strategies to protect endangered penguin populations in Antarctica

The Institute was established with two grants totaling $4.5 million from SUNY’s Empire Innovation Program as well as funding from the State of New York and private donations. These funds will be used to recruit world-class faculty researchers in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity to drive the aforementioned vision of Human-Machine Symbiosis. The AI Institute will serve as a hub for the AI research effort at Stony Brook University and will fuel the workforce for the AI-driven economy of the future through programs ranging from core tech to science communication, technology policy, and entrepreneurship programs.

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