The New York Academy of Sciences Announces First Cohort of Post-Doctoral Fellows in Inaugural Artificial Intelligence and Society Fellowship Program with Arizona State University

The AI & Society Fellowship was developed to address the unmet need for scholars who are trained across technical AI and social sciences and the humanities.

New York, NY | August 14, 2023 – Three post-doctoral scholars have been named as the first cohort of Fellows for the Artificial Intelligence and Society Fellowship program.

Launched by The New York Academy of Sciences and Arizona State University in April 2023, the fellowship was developed to address the unmet need for scholars who are trained across technical AI and social sciences and the humanities. This innovative training program will produce the next generation of scholars and public figures who are prepared to shape the future use of AI in ways that will advance the public good.

The Fellows are:

Nitin Verma, PhD, University of Texas at Austin, School of Information

Nitin studies the ethical, societal, and legal impacts of deepfakes and other generative AI technologies. His multidisciplinary research interests include misinformation, trust, human values, and human-computer interaction. He is a native of India, and attended the University of Delhi, graduating with a B.Sc. in electronic science.

Akuadasuo Ezenyilimba, PhD, Arizona State University (ASU), The Polytechnic School; Human Systems Engineering

As a National Science Foundation Research Trainee, Akuadasuo has worked on citizen-centered solutions for real-world problems. Currently, she is researching the relationship between human-computer interaction and traumatic brain injury, executive function, and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation.

Marjorie Xie, PhD, Columbia University Medical Center, Center for Theoretical Neuroscience

Marjorie’s work combines AI, mental health, and education. She interned at Basis Research Institute, building AI tools for reasoning about collaborative intelligence in animals. Marjorie completed her Ph.D. in Neurobiology & Behavior at Columbia University, where she used AI tools to build interpretable models of neural systems in the brain.

Developing the Next Generation of AI Researchers

“AI now permeates every facet of our society,” said Nicholas Dirks, Ph.D., President and CEO, The New York Academy of Sciences. “The technology holds extraordinary promise. It is crucial that researchers have the training and capacity to bring an ethical perspective to its application, to ensure it is used for the betterment of society. That’s why our with partnership with Arizona State University, where much of the pioneering research in AI and society is being conducted, is so imperative.”

“ASU is very excited to join with The New York Academy of Sciences for this fellowship,” said David Guston, professor and founding director of ASU’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society, with which the post-docs will be affiliated. “Our goal is to create a powerhouse of trainees, mentors, ideas, and resources to develop the next generation of AI researchers poised to produce ethical, humanistic AI applications and promote these emerging technologies for the public interest” he added.

Beginning in August 2023, the promising young researchers will participate in a curated research program and professional development training at the Academy’s headquarters in New York City, Arizona State University, and on-site internships, with seasoned researchers from academia, industry, or public policy organizations.

About Arizona State University

Arizona State University, ranked the No. 1 “Most Innovative School” in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for eight years in succession, has forged the model for a New American University by operating on the principles that learning is a personal and original journey for each student; that they thrive on experience and that the process of discovery cannot be bound by traditional academic disciplines. Through innovation and a commitment to accessibility, ASU has drawn pioneering researchers to its faculty even as it expands opportunities for qualified students.

As an extension of its commitment to assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves, ASU established the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, the world’s first comprehensive laboratory dedicated to the empowerment of our planet and its inhabitants so that all may thrive. It is designed to address the complex social, economic and scientific challenges spawned by the current and future threats from the degradation of our world’s systems.

This platform lays the foundation to anticipate and respond to existing and emerging challenges and use innovation to purposefully shape and inform our future. It includes the College of Global Futures, home to four pioneering schools including the School for the Future of Innovation in Society that is dedicated to changing the world through responsible innovation. For more information, visit globalfutures.asu.edu.

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