The Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Systems and Human-Technology Frontier cluster is organized around the relationships between two topics that are set to have profound impacts in the world around us:
- the changing nature of human-machine teaming and interactions, and
- the rapidly developing technologies of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence.
At the broadest level, these two topics are transforming the nature of human work, the capabilities of robotic systems, the design and governance of cities, the conduct of international relations and conflict management, decision-making processes in legal, public service and commercial realms and the meaning of human identity itself. The technological, social and policy questions associated with these emerging systems, and the ways they reconfigure human-technology dynamics, are some of the most pressing challenges of our times. This cluster offers cutting-edge scholarship and teaching at Syracuse University, positioning us as the premier site for interdisciplinary—that is, STEM, social science, humanities, law and policy—approaches to these topics.
Faculty involved with this cluster represent all schools and colleges at Syracuse University and together work on such topics as autonomous systems and sustainability, the future of work, artificial intelligence and security, emerging technologies and risk management and AI governance and marginalized communities. Faculty associated with this cluster actively contribute to the Autonomous Systems Policy Institute, as well as to interdisciplinary initiatives around artificial intelligence and human-technology interactions across campus. They regularly engage with stakeholders in industry, government and advocacy groups and provide key insight into how these emerging technologies can be designed, regulated and incorporated into the world around us in productive and ethical ways.
Recent Notable Awards
- Krista Kennedy, CUSE grant for “The Disability, Data, and Surveillance Project.”
- Christa Kelleher, “Where does the water go: Improving understanding of stream-aquifer-atmosphere interactions around Beaver Dam Analogues: Collaborative Research,” National Science Foundation.
- Johannes Himmelreich, CNY Humanities Corridor; CUSE Grant Project on administrative error (co-principal investigator); CUSE Grant Seminar series “Democratic Values and Artificial Intelligence.”
- Ferdinando Fioretto, “Core Deep Constrained Learning for Power Systems,” National Science Foundation.
- Kevin Crowston, “Planning to study automation and the future of news production” (with Keren Henderson, Lydia Chilton and Jeffrey Nickerson), National Science Foundation.
- Amit Sanyal, Subcontract from Akrobotix LLC, based on SBIR proposal submitted to National Science Foundation in Summer 2019 on design of an autonomous flight management unit (an autopilot) for small UAV below 25 kg.
- An interdisciplinary team, led by Yutaka Sho (ARC), “Japan in a Global Curriculum,” Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership.
Across schools and colleges, a range of research labs and centers, listed below, play key roles in Syracuse University’s commitment to advancing multifaceted understandings of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence and their impacts. Future plans for this cluster include additional tenure-track faculty hires, post-doctoral positions, and new degree offerings at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Primary Contact
Cluster Hires
Zhenyu Gan
Jasmina Tacheva
Mark Nevitt
Baobao Zhang
Zhenyu Gan
EunJeong Cheon
Yiqi Li
Aaron Benanav
Anparasan Mahalingam
Daniel Traficonte