MIT Schwarzman College of Computing
Daniel P. Huttenlocher | |
Location | , , United States |
---|---|
Website | computing |
The MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing is a college at the
The MIT Schwarzman College of Computing is named after
Headquarters
The 2018 announcement of the college's creation included a 150,000–165,000-square-foot (13,900–15,300 m2) new building to provide enough room on campus for 65 faculty members, plus graduate students and staff (most of which would be funded by the college).[9] The new headquarters was designated as Building 45, reflecting the campus-wide number system and the chosen location on the site of Building 44.[10] Building 44 had been home to MIT's cyclotron and a giant "J" sign celebrating the discovery of the J/psi meson.[11] The Edgerton Student Shop, approximately six members of the Laboratory for Nuclear Science, and two physics classes[12] were relocated to other buildings by summer 2019,[10] and Building 44 was demolished starting in September 2019.[13][14] The new building at 51 Vassar Street is being designed by the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and is expected to be complete in 2023.[15] Plans were released in January, 2021.[13]
History
On October 15, 2018, MIT president
The college was shaped by a several-year-long conversation between Reif and Schwarzman prior to the donation, where the two raised questions on the potential of AI and its future impacts on society. Schwarzman emphasized the global effects of AI and believed that America needed to invest further into developing the technology, and Reif desired a university-wide initiative that funds and promotes collaboration between departments.
On February 21, 2019, MIT announced
On February 26–28, 2019, MIT launched a three-day celebration of the college in an event named "Hello World, Hello MIT". The celebration featured
Academics and research
The Schwarzman College of Computing has one academic department and several research enterprises which also have degree programs:[23]
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS, more commonly known at MIT as Course 6), which is jointly administered with the School of Engineering.[24] Upon creation of the college, the department formerly only in the School of Engineering was reorganized into three "overlapping subunits":[25]
- Electrical Engineering (EE)
- Computer Science (CS)
- Artificial Intelligence and Decision-Making (AI+D)
- Operations Research Center (ORC), jointly administered with the MIT Sloan School of Management[25]
- Institute for Data, Systems and Society (IDSS)
- Technology and Policy Program (TPP, adegree program)
- Sociotechnical Systems Research Center (SSRC)
- Center for Computational Science and Engineering (CCSE, renamed from Center for Computational Engineering upon formation of the college)[25]
The non-degree-granting research labs that are part of the college are:[24][23]
- MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)
- MIT Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS)
- Quest for Intelligence
- MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab
- MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health
The establishment of the college added 50 new faculty positions to the university. Half of these positions focus on
The creation of the College of Computing also started the development of three additional programs meant to integrate closely with other MIT computing activities, for which plans have not been finalized:
- Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC) aims to develop "responsible habits of mind and action" regarding computing technology.[24] SERC facilitates the teaching of ethics throughout MIT courses, conducts research in social, ethical, and policy implications of technology, and coordinates public forums regarding technology and public policy.[26] SERC has also published case studies [27]
- Common Ground for Computing Education coordinates interdepartmental teaching in computing, supporting interdisciplinary courses, majors, and minors on computing and its applications.[26]
- Center for Advanced Studies of Computing hosts research fellows and assists project-oriented programs in computing-related topics.[26]
Reception
Positive responses
MIT professor and AI researcher
Some MIT students spoke positively regarding the college's potential to "better manage the overflowing major" of computer science. At the time of the college's establishment, roughly 40 percent of MIT undergraduates majored in computer science or a joint program involving computer science.[29]
Negative responses
MIT's creation of the Schwarzman College of Computing led to several negative responses. A group of MIT students, faculty, and alumni issued a strong criticism against the university's decision to accept money from Schwarzman, deeming it to be unethical. In an opinion piece in
From another perspective, some students questioned the societal value of MIT's focus on computing and AI. Viewing MIT administrators' emphasis on these technologies as a fad, they argued that MIT should instead promote research and education in areas that they believed to be more impactful. "[Why] aren't we putting this large sum of money into our climate change research, our urban planning department, or our economics and political science departments?" wrote a student in an opinion piece in The Tech.[30] Students also described MIT's initiative to create the college as "very top-down in its approach" and expressed skepticism regarding "buy-in from faculty, staff, and students".[31]
Outside of MIT, the Schwarzman received his bachelor's degree from Yale in 1969.
Notable people
Notable people affiliated with the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing include:[34]
- Daniel P. Huttenlocher, dean, inaugural dean and vice provost of Cornell Tech
- Asuman Özdağlar, deputy dean of academics, head of the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- CSAIL, MIT professor of electrical engineering and computer science
- David Kaiser, associate dean, MIT professor of the history of science
- Julie Shah, associate dean, MIT associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics
References
- ^ a b "Home | MIT Schwarzman College of Computing | Massachusetts Institute of Technology". computing.mit.edu. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ a b c "Letter to the MIT community regarding the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing". MIT News. 15 October 2018. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ "MIT reshapes itself to shape the future". MIT News. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ a b c Kary, Tiffany (18 February 2019). "Schwarzman College at MIT Spurs Outcry by Students, Faculty". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2020-06-14. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
- ^ Sheill, Zoe; Zhang, Whitney (7 March 2019). "Protesters gather against College of Computing celebration". The Tech. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ "Celebrating war criminals at MIT's 'ethical' College of Computing". The Tech. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
- ^ "Group at MIT wants a celebration for a new college canceled". AP NEWS. 2019-02-19. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
- ^ "FAQ on the newly established MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing". 15 Oct 2018. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
- ^ a b "Building site identified for MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing". 19 Dec 2018.
- ^ "Only at MIT - Why is there a "J" sign on MIT Building 44?". Retrieved 2021-01-20.
- ^ College of Computing headquarters to replace Building 44
- ^ a b MIT's College of Computing building takes shape as Alexandria and BioMed make moves in Boston
- ^ "MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing". 14 Nov 2020.
- ^ 3 Questions: Dan Huttenlocher on the formation of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing
- ^ a b c Vincent, James (15 October 2018). "MIT is investing $1 billion in an AI college". The Verge. Archived from the original on 31 May 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ Adams, Susan (15 October 2018). "Stephen Schwarzman Makes Anchor Gift For New $1 Billion School Of Artificial Intelligence At MIT". Forbes. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d Lohr, Steve (15 October 2018). "M.I.T. Plans College for Artificial Intelligence, Backed by $1 Billion". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ "Dan Huttenlocher named inaugural dean of MIT Schwarzman College of Computing". MIT News. 21 February 2019. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ "Hello, World. Hello, MIT. | MIT News". news.mit.edu. 4 February 2019. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ McDonald, Danny (18 February 2019). "MIT group calls for university to cancel celebration of new college, apologize for Henry Kissinger invite - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ Ng, Jonathan (1 March 2019). "Henry Kissinger warns of dangers of AI at MIT, as students protest his presence". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ a b "MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing". Retrieved 2020-01-20.
- ^ a b c "Organization | MIT Schwarzman College of Computing | Massachusetts Institute of Technology". computing.mit.edu. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ a b c Terri Park (4 Feb 2020). "A college for the computing age". MIT News.
- ^ a b c Park, Terri (4 February 2020). "A college for the computing age". MIT News. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ https://computing.mit.edu/cross-cutting/social-and-ethical-responsibilities-of-computing/serc-cases-studies/
- ^ Wahl, Patrick; Gandhi, Anshula; Shi, Jessica (18 October 2018). "MIT to launch $1 billion College of Computing in September 2019". The Tech. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ Chun, Soomin (19 November 2018). "What the College of Computing can do for both MIT and society". The Tech. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ Masroor, Faraz (18 October 2018). "How (not) to spend one billion dollars". The Tech. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ Goldman, Mark (28 February 2019). "Ethical change requires more than a billion dollars". The Tech. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ a b Cho, Serena (20 February 2019). "Schwarzman gift to MIT draws criticism". yaledailynews.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ Sleeper, Jim (12 December 2019). "The Tragedy of the Yale Commons". The New Republic. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ "People | MIT Schwarzman College of Computing | Massachusetts Institute of Technology". computing.mit.edu. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.