Description

Founded in 1892, Iliff School of Theology is one of thirteen United Methodist Church seminaries in the United States, with close connections to other denominations as well. Its student body represents more than forty faith traditions. Iliff’s campus is adjacent to the University of Denver, with which it shares a joint PhD program in the study of religion. In early 2019, with support from a Luce Foundation grant, Iliff launched its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute, and it now seeks renewed support for the AI Institute’s work.  Committed to “building a sustainable future for humans and machines,” the AI Institute organizes and hosts gatherings of scholars, activists, and industry leaders; develops and conducts ongoing research and experimental projects; partners with companies and organizations to embed ethical practices into the full lifecycle of AI product development and use; and designs and delivers custom learning opportunities in multiple thematic areas, including, in particular, data citizenship. 
The Institute’s work aims to give people more control over their own data; to counteract unwanted racial, gender, and religious bias in AI systems; to practice a form of knowledge creation that is community-based, culturally responsive, and transparent in its operations; and to deepen partnerships among researchers and practitioners working at the intersection of AI, race, and religion. 
As the Institute’s leaders write in their proposal, “As we create data sets and models that fight bias in computer visual recognition and natural language processing, we model and teach a different approach to data and to the interaction of people with the technology that pervades their lives.” 
Renewed funding from the Luce Foundation will support the AI Institute’s staffing and administration, facilitate its collaborative research with programmers and data scientists, extend its efforts to build new community relationships and industry partnerships, support data storage and computing capacity, and fund a series of workshops and public events. 
Recommendation: That the Directors of the Henry Luce Foundation approve a two-year grant of $250,000 to Iliff School of Theology in renewed support for the Artificial Intelligence Institute.  https://www.iliff.edu/