Cornell University

Cornell AI Initiative

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

Want your news listed here? Email us.

AI Headlines from Around the University

Project to rebuild trust in AI era lands Laude’s $10M ‘moonshot’ award

A $10 million “moonshot” grant from Laude Institute will help Cornell researchers realize the potential of artificial intelligence, while giving online communities control over AI’s role.

Read More

New initiative will explore AI’s role in society, humanities

With AI transforming how societies function, a new program in the College of Arts and Sciences aims to meet the urgent need to understand AI’s implications for culture, governance, ethics, communication, creativity, labor and social organization.

Read More

New CoPAIR program connects Cornell researchers with AI tools, training and community

The new Communities of Practice for AI-enabled Research (CoPAIR) program gives researchers access to emerging AI tools, hands-on training and collaborative communities where they can share best practices, develop disciplinary norms for appropriate AI use and non-use, and evaluate new tools for research. 

Read More

‘A seat at the table’: Cornell expands access to multiple AI tools for faculty, staff, students

Most faculty, staff and students will have free access to a range of AI platforms – an effort to level the playing field, spur exploration and reduce the costs and vulnerabilities of individual consumer licenses.

Read More

Cute robots, historical chatbots: AI in the classroom grows more sophisticated

Instructors across Cornell are working to strike a balance in the classroom – using AI as a teaching tool but also making choices to prevent its use and preserve the learning experience.

Read More

Via:

Can AI boost open-mindedness? Team wins $1.49M grant to find out

September 14, 2026

A $1.49 million award from the John Templeton Foundation will enable Cornell researchers Gordon Pennycook and David Rand ’04 to explore whether artificial intelligence can be used to understand and increase open-mindedness.

Feet of people wearing scrubs

Via:

How Will AI Impact the Future of the Clinical Workforce?

September 12, 2026

Contrary to some predictions, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) agents could lead to more, not fewer, health care professionals working in the United States, according to a new article by a physician and health policy researcher at Weill Cornell Medicine who surveyed economic theory and the history of technology in health care.

Image from news story

Via: Associated Press

Anthropic Says It Blocked Efforts to Use Its AI for Weapons Research

September 11, 2026

John Thickstun, an assistant professor of computer science, addressed the challenges AI companies face in making societal value judgments without democratic oversight.

Via:

Good vibes: Phones promote shared space, not silos, in Arts Quad installation

September 10, 2026

“Vibe Coating” integrates green-screen technology and AI to visualize participants’ prompts as an immersive, continuously changing environment.

From article, vote button as globe

Via: Axios

September 10, 2026

Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell’s Tech Policy Institute, comments on voters’ desire for authenticity and skepticism toward AI-generated content in political ads.

Title and details of the meeting

Via:

Cornell AI Initiative Town Hall Scheduled for Sept. 25

September 9, 2026

Faculty and staff are invited to a town hall on Friday, September 25, from 9 to 10 a.m. to learn more about the Cornell AI Initiative and help shape its future. The session will provide updates on programs designed to address the opportunities and challenges of AI across research, education, operations, and engagement. Leadership will also share the initiative’s strategy, discuss plans to expand access to AI tools, and seek feedback on a draft mission statement.

Via:

Cornell Unplugged encourages mindful tech use, social connection

September 9, 2026

New event asks the community to decrease technology use, increase face-to-face interaction and consider that every AI chat, doomscroll and text message has a water, energy and carbon footprint. 

Via:

Cornellians to address AI, NY energy future at Climate Week NYC

September 9, 2026

Cornell and global leaders will come together at Climate Week NYC Sept. 20-27 to discuss some of the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges, including harnessing AI’s power while mitigating its negative impacts.

Via:

AI reveals new class of cellular ‘off switch’ linked to cancer pathways

September 9, 2026

Cornell researchers have used artificial intelligence to uncover a previously unknown way cells control how proteins move inside them, a process essential for growth, communication and movement, and one that is often disrupted in cancer.