Cornell University

Cornell AI Initiative

Latest stories, updates, and announcements that highlight the people, research, and progress of AI throughout Cornell.

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AI Headlines from Around the University

Cornell leads project putting robots to work in US orchards

A Cornell-led research project is developing robots that can perform labor-intensive orchard operations; it’s supported by a four-year, $7.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative. 

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Cornell expands AI Critical Literacy Program for incoming students

After a successful pilot launch in the spring, Cornell’s AI Critical Literacy Program will be offered in the fall to all incoming students as well as other interested students, faculty members and staff.

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Strike a pose: Creating more realistic multi-person images

A Cornell research group has devised a way to generate an image of multiple people, incorporating the poses of all individuals to inform the image generation and make the scene more believable and accurate.

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Weak AI regulation may backfire, making products less safe

A new modeling study finds no regulation of AI products and services may be safer than weak regulation.

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Inside baseball: AI-enabled enforcement tech takes time, testing

Training artificial intelligence to enforce even seemingly straightforward rules – like balls and strikes in Major League Baseball – is a messy, dynamic process that takes time and careful evaluation of the technology.

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Via: Ars Technica

How Much of a Problem Is AI’s Water Use?

August 27, 2026

Fengqi You, energy systems expert at Cornell University, discusses methods to reduce AI data centers’ water use.

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Two Undergrads Are Using AI to Help Students Learn Calc and More

August 27, 2026

The Class of ’26 computer science majors are currently on leave to continue building their successful startup, MathGPT.

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‘Hitting dead ends and rethinking everything’ – BURE summer scholars explore research life

August 26, 2026

This summer, 60 undergraduates participated in the Bowers Undergraduate Research Experience, a 10-week, paid program where undergraduate students do real-world research alongside Bowers faculty.

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Cornell CAT awards support seven new biotechnology partnerships

August 26, 2026

Seven Cornell research teams have received Center for Advanced Technology grants to advance early-stage life science technologies through collaborations with biotechnology companies across New York state.

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Is there an AI bubble? No, but some tech companies show signs

August 25, 2026

The AI sector is not in a bubble market, but the prices of some individual AI companies behave with the price variability and exuberance characteristic of a bubble, according to new Cornell research.

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Research Matters returns, following ideas from the lab to real life 

August 25, 2026

The second season of Research Matters, a Cornell video podcast, drops today, with a way-too-relevant episode on why we don’t always do the things we know we should.

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Where the Beam Points Next: Autonomous Experiments Take Shape at CHESS

August 25, 2026

An X-ray experiment at Cornell recently did something unusual: It decided for itself where to take its next measurement.

Via: Inside Higher Ed

Cornell Hopes to Turn Cheating Into Teachable Moment

August 24, 2026

The university’s new Accepting Responsibility program encourages students to reflect on their academic integrity violations and promotes ethical decision-making.

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At Cornell Bowers, faculty do AI and now staff do too

August 19, 2026

“We Do AI” was the first educational series at Cornell to provide staff across an entire college with advanced training in how to use AI effectively in their daily workflows.