About the Institute
AI and data science are transforming our world. Both fields are at the forefront of innovation in robotics, health care, materials science, autonomous vehicles, and countless other areas that are key to the United States’ future economy and security. They offer hope for solving complex problems like detecting fraud buried deep in financial systems, reducing human bias in the judicial system, and efficiently finding the right compound for the safest and most effective medicine.
The Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (IAD) brings together researchers, labs, institutes, and centers of excellence at the University at Buffalo that are focused on advancements in AI, data science, computational science and related areas of research to tackle these complex problems.
Our Mission
Our mission is to bring together educators, researchers, students, and external partners from across the University at Buffalo and beyond to continue to make significant breakthroughs in advancing the promise of true machine intelligence, human-machine partnerships and to be an international leader in creating, curating, and disseminating data and computing-related knowledge and skills.
We are dedicated to providing infrastructure and opportunities, which build relationships, facilitate creative interaction, and support the visionary ideas that are required to address pressing societal issues of today and the future.
Decoding the human genome, modeling natural phenomena, evaluating the impact of major disasters –these efforts all involve computational manipulation of large datasets. Analyzing big data has become vital across virtually all areas of science and engineering. Although computers can process large amounts of information and perform repetitive tasks rapidly and accurately, modern machine learning approaches are still limited to situations that reflect a fixed set of assumptions and cannot match human intelligence in coping with unpredictable real-world complexities. When human creativity, perceptions derived from life experiences, and the ability to learn from mistakes, augment the brute strength of computer processing, then the resulting human-machine team becomes capable of achieving far more than either alone.
Addressing Fundamental Issues
We are addressing fundamental issues to position UB at the forefront of the AI and Data Science fields. We are focused on new scholarly activities to:
- Advance the disciplinary core of AI and Data Science;
- Identify cross-cutting applications in other disciplines;
- Study social and cultural implications and assume leadership in the formulation of policies for ethical and legal considerations,
- Design innovative educational programs and skills training mechanisms to prepare students and retool the workforce for the era and big data and AI;
- Develop strategic partnerships with industry and government;
- Evolve training ecosystems for workforce development.
Our Vision
Our History
The University at Buffalo has a rich history of AI research that dates back decades, to when computer scientists developed a handwriting recognition system that has saved the U.S. Postal Service hundreds of millions of dollars. More recently, UB has made strategic investments in both people and programs to enhance the university’s AI capabilities.
In 2018, UB established both the Artificial Intelligence Institute and the Institute for Computational and Data Science (ICDS). ICDS brought together the Computational and Data-Enabled Sciences and Engineering (CDSE) programs and UB’s Center for Computational Research (CCR), a nationally renowned super-computing facility, to create new modular education offerings to train students as data scientists who deliver knowledge and insight crucial to advancing both scientific knowledge and solving complex business problems.
The AI Institute was established to explore ways to combine machines’ superior ability to ingest, connect and recall information with concepts that humans excel at, such as reasoning, judgment, and strategizing, to develop dynamic human-machine partnerships. The focus was on harnessing UB’s AI capabilities to advance core technologies, apply them in ways that optimize human-machine partnerships, and provide the complementary tools and skills to understand their societal impact.
The Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (IAD) was established in 2021. The IAD combines these two powerhouses of UB research—the AI Institute and ICDS—to leverage the educational and research potential of each and create even greater opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration and innovation.
Contact Us
Inquiry Topic | Contact |
| General Inquiries: Research, Collaboration, Events, Use of IAD Space | |
Academic Inquiries: CDES PhD Program | |
Academic Inquiries: | |
Admissions Questions |
Address
Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science
215 Lockwood Hall
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY 14260
ub-iad@buffalo.edu