The Crucial Role of Federal Support in Curiosity-Driven Research
Without federal support for curiosity-driven research, the innovation and talent pipeline that has contributed to our nation’s prosperity and security could dry up, President Sally Kornbluth warned during a live Washington Post event.
The Next Generation: Preparing for a Technological Future
During “The Next Generation,” a panel discussion at The Washington Post’s Building America Summit moderated by Washington Post reporter Zachary Goldfarb, Kornbluth and Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow joined forces for a lively discussion about the importance of curious research and examined how universities are preparing the next generation of scientists to lead in America’s rapidly changing technology landscape.
“A lot of the things that we have in our daily lives, whether it’s medical or technological advances, a lot of these things are the result of 30, 40, 50 years of scientists just trying to figure out how things work,” Kornbluth emphasized.
Kornbluth pointed to MIT’s curriculum, which focuses on teaching fundamental skills that can be applied to a variety of technological advances, skills that will be essential for leadership in an AI-powered world.
“I don’t think any of our traditional themes are now outdated [by AI]. It’s how you approach it that matters,” Kornbluth said. “In our new curriculum, we’re not just focusing on basic STEM subjects. We really feel like we need to revive some of the old moral, civic and ethical educational goals much more, because we want all of these kids who are learning to be cutting-edge technologists to approach it from a moral, civic and ethical perspective.”
Artificial Intelligence: A Human-Centered Approach
Key to Kornbluth’s mission is maintaining a human-centered approach to AI. Inspired by MIT’s motto, “mens et manus” (mind and hand), she shared, “We really want students to be able to use physical AI. We want our students to still be able to build things, but use AI as an augmentation tool.”
Kornbluth emphasized the importance of teaching interested faculty and students how to best use AI as a tool and emphasized her commitment to fostering student collaboration.
“We value things like teamwork. [students] You need to be able to use these tools and work together towards goals, because you could imagine a situation where AI becomes your buddy and not your study group. “We don’t really want that,” said Kornbluth.
Using AI effectively requires writing strong prompts. Kornbluth discussed how basic knowledge of areas such as mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry, as well as teaching clear and effective writing and communication, will enable students to use AI responsibly when it comes to applying these new technologies in scientific research.
Students need to be able to “take that knowledge and think about how to get the most out of AI and also learn to write the right prompts,” Kornbluth said.
Kornbluth noted the unique role of the MIT Sloan School of Management in researching AI. “This is because the students all have business experience and the real-world demand for truly in-depth AI knowledge is very high,” she said.
The Impact of Frozen Funds on Innovation
Federal funding supports curiosity-driven research – the foundation for medical, technological and countless scientific breakthroughs.
“It’s very difficult to make a groundbreaking discovery that will revolutionize human life because that’s what you want to do. You really have to figure out how things work, and traditionally in this country this kind of research is funded by the government because it doesn’t provide immediate benefit,” Kornbluth said.
Kornbluth discussed issues with federal funding, saying that while money was earmarked for universities, it had largely not been disbursed.
“We’re really trying to figure out what the funding streams will look like going forward,” Kornbluth said.
When asked about the impact of these frozen funds, Kornbluth pointed to the long time frame required to develop life-saving treatments.
Kornbluth pointed to diabetes treatments as an example.
“[Treatments] It started with injecting insulin-sparing people and now it’s automated pumps and CGMs [Continuous Glucose Monitors]” said Kornbluth. “The next phase will be an actual functional cure, namely the implantation of stem cells – masking the cells so that they are not rejected by the immune system.” But it takes a lot of fundamental work to get there.”
“The [diabetes] is just one area. This can be transferred to cancer therapy,” said Kornbluth.
Investments in basic research can advance treatments such as immunotherapy.
“Immunotherapy is still in its infancy – it doesn’t currently work on every possible type of cancer. But all the modifications that are currently being made in basic research laboratories through to pharmaceutical companies and biotech are making it more and more widely applicable, so that pancreatic cancer is not necessarily a death sentence now,” emphasized Kornbluth.
National Impact and the Future of Education
Beyond research and AI, the president concluded by highlighting the strength of MIT’s student body, programs and spinouts.
Kornbluth emphasized the value of an MIT education for students and the broader economy.
Twenty percent of MIT’s Class of 2029 were first-generation students. Education “is the best path to economic mobility,” Kornbluth said.
She continued, “MIT has spawned more than 30,000 companies. MIT’s economic impact on this country is equivalent to the 14th largest GDP in the world. We have a tremendous impact on the economy and are producing the next generation of talent.”
Although MIT is highly selective, Kornbluth pointed out that it is financially accessible through its free tuition program for students with parental incomes of less than $200,000. She also highlighted MIT for America, an initiative that expands access to calculus, a required course for institutions like MIT, in underfunded high schools across the country.
Kornbluth and Crow concluded the panel by highlighting how their respective universities learn from each other.
“What we [ASU] “Learn from MIT, where is the edge in technology,” Crow said. “We learn how master technologists and master scientists work in small groups.” For ASU, which has more than 150,000 students, “it is educational to learn and then act on a different scale and in a different way.” There’s a lot of back and forth,” he said.
Kornbluth expressed her hope that MIT will continue its long tradition of research and education in service of the country’s next 250 years.
“As a smaller private institution, we leave a much stronger impact on how we can influence people far beyond the walls of MIT,” Kornbluth said, “and we also make a scientific impact on society through our discoveries.”
For more detailed insights, you can access the original discussion Here.
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