AI Made This Image

USC’s Center for Generative AI and Society opens amid buzz about AI tools such as ChatGPT and DALL-E.

In March, USC formed the Center for Generative AI and Society to explore the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on culture, education, media and society.

The new $10 million center will seed research, convene experts and expand the university’s national leadership with a special focus on generative AI’s ethical use and innovation.

“USC is uniquely positioned to understand and influence how this emerging technology is changing the ways we live, work and play,” President Carol L. Folt says.

“Our 22 schools are long-standing leaders in fields like the creative arts, media, health, education, engineering and business. Working across disciplines, USC will vigorously explore the intersection of ethics and the use and evolution of generative AI.”

The timing of the center’s opening comes amid the buzz over generative AI technology such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and DALL-E, the former of which launched with the aid of USC alumni.

Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize our work and daily lives. Because AI-based tools are advancing so quickly, USC leaders say they are forming the center at a critical point in the technology’s development.

The center aims to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow by giving them access to the latest AI technology, reinforcing USC’s historical influence on computing and its reputation for nurturing generations of engineers, entrepreneurs, scientists and creative artists.

Already, AI technology is used to augment film editing, screenwriting and cinematography. Many filmmakers use machine learning to create new kinds of computer-generated animation, images and whole story worlds, as James Cameron achieved with Avatar: The Way of Water

“The genie is out of the bottle, and we’re not going back,” says Ishwar K. Puri, senior vice president for research and innovation at USC. “Our students are going to use this technology, and we need to teach them how to use it responsibly. We want to harness the power of AI for the public good.”

This USC image was generated with the DALL-E 2 AI system, which was cocreated by USC alumni. It’s the kind of work that the USC Center for Generative AI and Society seeks to nurture and support.

The center will mobilize the expertise of USC’s schools to explore themes across multiple industry sectors and professions and support further research and the development of educational programs. A core group of leaders and faculty from the following USC schools will spring the university into an immersive exploration of generative AI, its benefits and its challenges: the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, the USC Rossier School of Education, the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

The center will be co-directed by Holly Willis, a professor and chair of the Media Arts + Practice division at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and Bill Swartout, a computer science research professor at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and chief technology officer for USC Viterbi’s Institute for Creative Technologies.

The center’s realm of influence will span the disciplines of arts, media, education and beyond, with the potential to influence the economy, health care, law, medicine, policy and science.

Puri anticipates that USC researchers involved with the center may also tap AI technologies to solve problems in drug discovery and develop new diagnostic techniques.

“We have a duty to develop solutions that are ethical and that benefit society as a whole,” Puri says, adding, “We’re looking forward to working with our faculty and students to explore the possibilities of generative AI.”

PAUL MCQUISTON