Cornell University: Cross-cutting initiative to promote AI and digital literacy

Artificial intelligence and other digital technologies have transformed the way that people live and work, bringing unprecedented opportunities and risks.

To help people navigate our increasingly tech-driven world, Natalie Bazarova, professor of communication in the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Qian Yang, assistant professor of information science in the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, have founded the Digital and AI Literacy Initiative. They aim to develop digital literacy resources for underserved communities, to equip all people with the ability to safely and responsibly use these technologies. They also hope these efforts will help prevent AI from deepening existing inequalities.

CALS and Cornell Bowers CIS have equally awarded Bazarova and Yang $300,000 as seed funding for the initiative, bringing together the two colleges’ extensive expertise in communication and AI.