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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

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. 

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‘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.

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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.

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Any student, any major: ‘Everyday AI’ course to launch spring 2027

In spring 2027, Cornell Bowers will launch a new course that is open to all entitled, “Everyday AI: Learning to use AI effectively and responsibly.” 

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Who is Elias the lighthouse keeper? AI fiction tells the same old story

For AI agents instructed to write fiction, that tale usually involves lighthouses and a keeper named Elias, according to new Cornell research. 

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

artist rendering of robot in office setting

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AI’s Impact on Professional Work to be Examined by CAROW Yang-Tan Incubator Initiative

September 4, 2026

Much attention has been given to artificial intelligence displacing lower-skilled workers, but less is known about AI’s impact on professional work in high-skill fields, such as legal, finance, journalism and design, according to ILR Professor Sarosh Kuruvilla.

woman sitting on couch looking at laptop

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The Science Behind the Scroll: Donghui Li’s Path from Cornell Tech to TikTok

September 3, 2026

When a user discovers TikTok through an ad, a friend’s recommendation, or a chance scroll through the app store, it might feel like a simple moment. For Cornell Tech alumna Donghui Li, though, it’s a complex data problem hiding in plain sight — and solving it at global scale is what drives her.

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Cornell leads project putting robots to work in US orchards

September 3, 2026

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. 

This cartoon contrasts older ways of preventing protein activity with a newer degrader approach, which destroys and recycles the target. Image generated by Kimi AI on Aug. 19, 2026.

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Model Helps Scientists Build Better Protein-Degrading Therapies

September 1, 2026

A team of Weill Cornell Medicine investigators has developed a computer model that will help scientists more efficiently develop protein-destroying therapies, a newer type of treatment that is particularly promising for cancer. The study was published July 13 in Nature Communications.

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What happened when we put AI to work?

August 28, 2026

Thirty participants from 23 units across eight colleges gathered in early August to explore what an AI-enabled future of software development might look like at Cornell.  They expected to share tools, compare approaches, and test new ideas. Instead, many left talking about something else entirely: people.