Public Engagement

USA AI Olympiad 2025

On April 27, the USA Artificial Intelligence Olympiad (USAAIO) held the second round of its USA-North America competition at MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, bringing together nearly 80 of the brightest high school students from the United States and Canada. The event rigorously assessed participants’ comprehensive skills in artificial intelligence, encompassing mathematical reasoning, practical coding abilities, and interdisciplinary understanding of AI applications. Twelve top scorers from Round 2 were invited to participate in the intensive, week-long USAAIO training camp. IAIFI helped to host the event, including coordinating a career panel of postdocs working at the intersection of AI and Science to discuss their experience using AI in their research, as well as offer career advice.

Cambridge Science Festival 2024

IAIFI is excited to participate for the third year in a row at the 2024 Cambridge Science Festival!

In the Neighborhood: Understanding the Universe with AI+Physics: An Interactive Introduction to IAIFI

Wednesday, September 25, 2024, 1:00–2:30 pm

Location: Boston Museum of Science

The NSF Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI) teamed up with the Museum of Science to give a kid-friendly introduction to what we can do when we combine scientific knowledge with the power of AI! Featuring an overview presentation followed by interactive demonstrations of concepts, this event gave learners of all ages a glimpse into the future of science…AI+Science!

Carnival: Science Showdown: Combining AI Tools with Science Expertise

Sunday, September 29, 2024, 12:00–4:00 pm

Location: Kendall/MIT Open Space

The NSF Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI) demonstrated the power of AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E in science–and also challenged those tools! Attendees had the opportunity to ask our virtual Marie Curie a science question and then ask an IAIFI scientist the same question and compare their answers! They also tested their skills at spotting the difference between photos taken by the James Webb Space Telescope and simulated images of the same objects generated by Dall-E! This was a family-friendly opportunity to see how AI can support science and also how it doesn’t always get things right.

Learn More

Cambridge Science Festival 2023

IAIFI was pleased to participate in the 2023 Cambridge Science Festival with a Lunch and Learn on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, and as part of the Carnival on Sunday, October 1, 2023. Both events were free and open to the public.

IAIFI Lunch & Learn: Ethics in AI and Art

Wednesday, September 27, 2023, 12:00–1:30 pm

Location: MIT Media Lab, 6th Floor (75 Amherst St, Cambridge, MA 02139)

In recent years there has been a surge in tools that facilitate creative works using AI (such as DALL-E and Chat-GPT) and with that has come both creative uses for those tools and ethical questions around artist ownership and copyright. The NSF Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI) will host a workshop to share how these tools work and what ethical concerns arise in relation to them. Attendees will then be invited to submit AI-generated poetry and prose to be read and displayed at a reception. Anyone who submits will be entered to win a gift card.












Generative AI Overview from Carol Cuesta-Lazaro

Ethics Overview from Hope Schroeder

Workshop Leaders

Carolina Cuesta-Lazaro is an IAIFI Fellow interested in developing robust and interpretable Machine Learning models that can guide us towards future discoveries in physics. Her main research interests lie on the intersection of cosmology and AI.

Hope Schroeder is a PhD student at the MIT Media Lab and the MIT Center for Constructive Communication. She is interested in the spread and impact of ideas through information and media networks.

Lunch provided.

This event was co-sponsored by the MIT Media Lab and made possible with funds from the MIT School of Science Quality of Life program.

Carnival: Spot the Difference: AI vs Reality in Physics

Sunday, October 1, 2023, 12:00–4:00 pm

Location: Kendall/MIT Open Space

With the rising popularity of generative AI tools such as Chat-GPT and DALL-E, it can be increasingly difficult to tell the difference between AI-generated content and human-generated content. Join the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI) to learn about how generative AI works and see if you can spot the difference. Ask the same question to a virtual physicist and a real live physicist and see what answers you get! Then test your skills by comparing galaxy images from the James Webb Space Telescope with Dall-E generated galaxy images—can you tell which ones are real?























K–12 Education

The IAIFI has partnered with Northeastern’s Theorynet program to coordinate visits to high school classes in the Boston area.

Sign up for a classroom visit.

This activity is coordinated by the IAIFI Public Engagement Committee.

Summer Programs for High Schoolers

Depending on the program you’re interested in, you may have the opportunity to indicate interest in working with someone from the IAIFI community. Take a look on IAIFI’s People Page to see current members!

MIT

Harvard

Northeastern

Tufts

Winter Family Day

IAIFI was pleased to participate in MIT’s Winter Family Day on Saturday, February 25, 2023. We presented three demonstrations of a robot dog that has been trained using reinforcement learning, which trains machines to take action without explicit instructions or corrections. IAIFI Fellow Ge Yang and MIT undergrads delighted adults and children alike with their robot dog running, spinning, and hopping!

View Winter Family Day schedule




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IAIFI is galvanizing AI innovation and advancing physics knowledge. Learn more about IAIFI, public events, and research.

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