Announcing the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity
By ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ News
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The Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity will be a step forward in ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿’s growing engagement in this breakthrough technology, and ensure that students graduate well prepared to lead in a world reshaped by AI.
Funding and fellowships will allow current and new faculty to explore the pedagogical and scholarship opportunities—and challenges—generated by the vast AI revolution.
Initial priorities include:
- hiring ten new faculty members in a range of disciplines;
- supporting current faculty who want to incorporate and interrogate AI in their teaching, research, and artistic work;
- and leading conversations about the uses of AI and the changes and challenges it will bring, including workshops, symposia, and support for student research.
“This donation seeks to advance ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿’s mission of cultivating wisdom for the common good by deepening the College’s engagement with one of humanity’s most transformative developments: artificial intelligence,” said Hastings, who followed his graduation from ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ in 1983 by earning his MSc in artificial intelligence at Stanford.
“We aim to develop leaders who can be ‘at home’ in both the present and future technological landscape.”
“Just as ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿'s mission emphasizes the formation of complete individuals who can navigate a world in flux, this initiative will empower students and faculty to critically examine, thoughtfully utilize, and ethically shape AI's trajectory. I know ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ can make a significant contribution to these fundamental issues and that President Zaki, a cognitive scientist, can lead the way.”
–Reed Hastings ’83
³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ president Safa Zaki, whose research focuses on building and testing computational models of mind, believes that a world recast by AI needs an infusion of humanity.
“³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ is ideally positioned to meet the challenges and opportunities of AI,” said Zaki. “Our deep commitment to the liberal arts and the common good position us to think together about what we are going to value in human cognition, and what we will want our AI systems to do—or not do—going forward in service to humanity.”
“Ethics, human values, and human understanding inform the technological progress, scientific advancements, and new norms that will emerge from this revolution,” said Zaki. “As educators, we have a moral imperative to do this work.”
“We are thrilled and so grateful to receive this remarkable support from Reed, who shares our conviction that the AI revolution makes the liberal arts and a ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ education more essential to society.”
–President Zaki
Advisory Committee Members
President Zaki has announced the following members of an advisory committee that will help lead the next steps in this transformational initiative.
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• Martin Abel, assistant professor of economics
• Aliosha Barranco Lopez, assistant professor of philosophy, member of the Committee on Teaching and Classroom Practice and its AI subcommittee.
• Eric Chown, Sarah and James ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ Professor of Digital and Computational Studies [faculty director of the initiative]
• Allison Cooper, associate professor of Romance languages and literatures and cinema studies
• Willi Lempert, assistant professor of anthropology [will join the committee in Fall 2025]
• Fernando Nascimento, assistant professor of digital and computational studies
• Beth Stemmler, James Stacy Coles Professor of Natural Sciences
About Reed Hastings
Reed Hastings cofounded Netflix in 1997 and built the company into the world’s leading internet television network. He became executive chairman in 2023 after twenty-five years as CEO.
Hastings is an active educational philanthropist and served on the California State Board of Education from 2000 to 2004. He is currently on the board of several educational organizations including KIPP and Pahara. He is also a board member of The City Fund and Bloomberg.
Hastings earned his BA in mathematics at ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ and a master of science degree in artificial intelligence at Stanford University. While at ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿, Hastings was a calculus peer tutor and a leader of the ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ Outing Club.
He was first encouraged to study artificial intelligence as an undergraduate by the late professor of mathematics Steve Fisk, as they walked by the Maine Hall dormitory talking about careers related to mathematics.
“His provocative thinking was infectious—Steve was about forty years too early, but his perspective was life-changing for me,” says Hastings.
Between ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ and Stanford, Hastings served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Swaziland. He taught primarily high school math and one introductory course in beekeeping.
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A nationwide project involving faculty from fifteen colleges and universities aims to design new courses that address the ethical implications of artificial intelligence technologies. -
Music and artificial intelligence (AI) both provide modern students with tools for exploration and creativity, says math and computer science major Brian Liu ’25, who is also a gifted concert pianist.
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Faculty members collaborated to teach a multidisciplinary class exploring the crucial role that the study of ethics plays in world of artificial intelligence. The course was partially funded by a grant from the National Humanities Center. -
The three-year, $250,000 award is funding a variety of efforts to equip faculty and staff with the knowledge and skills to more fully understand the applications, implications, and potential of AI in the classroom.