Exploring the societal impacts of AI | MIT News

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At the recent AI and Society Forum at MIT, experts from across the Institute discussed the potential benefits and dangers of technological innovation on labor, the nature of work, civil discourse, election administration, and other topics.

The event featured individual research presentations and panel discussions, as well as a musical performance exploring the use of generative artificial intelligence in the arts.

The forum was co-organized by the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) and the Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC). It was presented in collaboration with two of MIT’s strategic initiatives: the MIT Generative AI Impact Consortium (MGAIC) and the MIT Human Insight Collaborative (MITHIC).

Agustín Rayo, the Kenan Sahin Dean of SHASS, and Dan Huttenlocher, dean of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, provided opening remarks.

Rayo said bringing scholars from across MIT together was intentional because understanding AI’s impact requires expertise from disciplines throughout the Institute.

“Paying attention to the societal consequences of AI is not a departure from MIT’s mission; it’s a way of ensuring that our technical leadership has maximum impact,” Rayo said.

Huttenlocher added that computing and AI’s rapid growth makes it critical to support interdisciplinary conversations and research.

“Understanding where AI excels and where it falls short is essential not only to unlocking its benefits, but also to avoiding critical errors, overreliance, and unintended consequences,” Huttenlocher said.

Jobs and AI

Held in the Tull Concert Hall in MIT’s Linde Music Building, the May 12 forum opened with a keynote presentation from economist David Autor, the Daniel (1972) and Gail Rubinfeld Professor in the MIT Department of Economics. Autor challenged the common narrative that AI will simply eliminate jobs by proposing instead that technology’s impact depends on how it affects…

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