Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC)
United States · PhD/Postdoc/Undergraduate
MIT SERC is the core interdisciplinary initiative of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, studying the social and ethical responsibilities of computing technologies, particularly AI. SERC embeds AI governance research into MIT's technology education and research system, providing a complete governance research chain from the classroom to policy for AI alignment.
学术历史
SERC was established in 2019, alongside the founding of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing (established in 2019 with a $350 million gift from Stephen Schwarzman). SERC's creation responded to MIT's systematic attention to the societal impact of AI technology, deeply integrating MIT's leadership in computer science with social responsibility research. MIT has a long-standing accumulation in technology ethics: Judith Donath's social computing research, Harold Abelson's technology education policy, and others. SERC integrates these dispersed research efforts into a unified platform and develops AI ethics education modules embedded in MIT's curriculum. SERC also collaborates with research institutions including MIT CSAIL and the MIT Media Lab.
当前状态
SERC currently operates multiple research directions: AI ethics education, algorithmic fairness and accountability, AI social impact assessment, and AI policy research. SERC has developed Computing Ethics course modules for all MIT undergraduates and runs a Research Fellowship program. SERC regularly organizes AI governance workshops and publishes research reports on the societal impact of computing technologies. It shares resources with the MIT Technology and Policy Program (TPP) to cultivate interdisciplinary talent in technology and policy.
实验室 / 研究中心
关键人物
David Kaiser
Professor / SERC Co-Director
Science historian and physicist, and Professor in MIT's Department of the History of Science. As SERC Co-Director, he studies the social responsibility and historical dimensions of science and technology, providing historical and institutional perspectives for AI governance.
Julie Shah
Professor
Expert in robotics and human-AI collaboration, and Professor in MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She researches safe human-robot collaboration in industrial robotics and AI decision transparency, extending AI safety from software to physical systems.
Catherine D'Ignazio
Associate Professor
Expert in data visualization and data feminism, at the MIT Media Lab / Department of Urban Studies and Planning. She researches power structures and bias in data, and is the author of 'Data Feminism.'
标志性成果
- Established a systematic education framework for the social responsibilities of computing: embedding AI ethics across MIT's curriculum
- Human-robot collaboration safety framework: safety design principles from industrial robotics to AI decision systems
- Data Feminism research framework: examining power structures in data and AI through a gender lens
- Schwarzman College of Computing's interdisciplinary governance paradigm: embedding AI governance research at the core of technology education
学术资源
证据
师资
8 位相关教师
知名：David Kaiser、Julie Shah、Catherine D'Ignazio、Judith Donath、Harold Abelson
研究产出
SERC-affiliated researchers consistently publish AI ethics, governance, and social impact research at conferences including AIES, FAccT, and CSCW
就业去向
Graduates join technology company policy teams, government agencies, and NGOs, or take faculty positions in academia. Some pursue further study in the MIT Technology and Policy Program
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