Artificial intelligence is transforming the world as we know it. AI has the potential to influence every aspect of our lives and our civilization, from social bonds and ethics to the economy and healthcare, education and government. The mission of the DePaul AI institute is to capitalize on the expertise of DePaul faculty from across many colleges and programs to promote interdisciplinary research and educational programs centered around the promises and the challenges presented by AI. By leveraging interdisciplinary collaboration, the Institute connects experts across diverse fields like healthcare, law, business, natural and social sciences, computing, and the arts, while also focusing on ethical, societal, and legal aspects of AI. The institute supports advanced research addressing real-world challenges, promotes interdisciplinary collaborations, and offers unique educational programs, including potential new AI-related degrees, certificates, and other educational activities geared toward AI workforce training. The DePaul AI Institute is committed to applying AI for the greater social good, fostering partnerships with industry, government, and nonprofit organizations to address pressing societal challenges. These collaborations provide a platform for the responsible and impactful development of AI-driven solutions that can improve social outcomes in areas such as healthcare access, sustainable development, criminal justice, economic development, and education. The institute will also serve as a central hub for faculty and students to access internal and external resources, as well as educational and training materials related to AI.

Below are a list of some recent and ongoing activities of the Institute.

• AI in Teaching Symposiums: The institute has been organizing an ongoing series of symposium where faculty members from across disciplines propose and present specific use-cases of integrating AI in courses and educational activities. These presentations are recorded and added to a developing repository of AI use cases in education together with resources and materials related to each use case. The first symposium was attended by over 150 DePaul faculty members, and featured four presentations from faculty in Writing, Sociology, Business, and Design. Faculty can apply to present for future symposiums here. Resources from previous symposiums can be found here.
• Symposium on AI in Healthcare and Scientific Discovery: The institute, working with an interdisciplinary team of faculty from computing, sciences, and other disciplines, organized this symposium in October 2024. The symposium highlighted external keynote speakers, panels and presentations on collaborative AI related research projects with industry partners, and networking sessions to promote collaboration among faculty and with external industry and educational partners. The institute will be developing similar AI-related thematic Symposiums, including one focusing on AI, Ethics, and Society, and anther focusing on AI in the Arts.
• AI for Migrant Services: In one of the first examples of interdisciplinary research collaborations on AI for social good, the AI Institute brought together an interdisciplinary team of faculty members and the DePaul Migrant Collaborative, to propose an AI-enabled technology platform for assisting migrants and migrant serving organization in the onboarding and integration process. The project proposes a new community-centered design and development framework leading to the creation of a holistic AI-powered platform that integrates real-time translation services, information extraction capabilities, and a personalized recommendation system to match migrant with relevant educational, healthcare, and financial resources. The community-centered design framework will involve the creation of a community board representing community and migrant organization and service provider agencies to oversee the development and evaluation of the proposed platform. The proposal has already received significant financial support from the National Science Foundation.
• Scholarship Learning Community on AI, Ethics, and Society: With support from the Office of Research Services, the AI Institute is organizing this AI, Ethics, and Society Scholarship Learning Community (SLC) is to bring together an interdisciplinary group of scholars to explore focused research questions related to the societal impact of AI technologies and ethical considerations for the development and deployment of these technologies in different domains. The activities of this learning communities will lead to further cross-college and cross-program collaboration on AI-focused research projects or grant proposals, especially those with a societal impact. The SLC involves faculty members from across nine different colleges and schools.
• AI in the Arts: The institute invites you to a one-day symposium exploring the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence in the arts. Join us for a series of discussions, workshops, and exhibits on how AI is reshaping artistic creation, interpretation, and consumption, alongside the ethical, cultural, and legal considerations it brings.
• Corporate and Employer Outreach (CEO): The institute has partnered with DePaul’s Office of Corporate and Employer Outreach (CEO) to offer a series of targeted AI webinars for 2025.

For questions or more information about the Institute please contact Professor Bamshad Mobasher, AI Institute Director, at: mobasher@cs.depaul.edu.