AI4ALL Summer Programs are increasing access to inclusive AI education for 500+ high school students; new sponsorship from SoftBank Group supports the expansion of AI4ALL’s work
“When asked at the beginning of the [AI4ALL Summer] Program if I had role models in robotics and AI, I couldn’t name any. However, now I can say with full confidence that my role models are sitting here next to me. This program has changed my life.” — AI4ALL Summer Program alum
After spending three weeks at the University of Maryland AI4ALL program last summer, Maryland high schooler Lindsay B. had two goals: to work at NASA someday and to continue learning about the machine learning techniques she was introduced to at UMD AI4ALL. She succeeded in pursuing both goals shortly after her time at UMD AI4ALL through an internship she landed at NASA in the fall. Through her internship, she and her team are using machine learning techniques to create an automated way to classify soil samples in space. One key use of this technology is to search for life on Mars.
As an alumna of an AI4ALL Summer Program, Lindsay is part of a vibrant community of emerging leaders in artificial intelligence. Entering into our sixth summer of providing AI summer programs for high school students who are underrepresented in AI, we’re more certain than ever of the importance of preparing our students to change the world — we are not going to be able to live up to the positive potential of AI unless we have a new group of leaders that represent our diverse world. That is why we’re expanding our high school summer programs this year to reach 500+ young women, people of color, young people who may be first-generation college students, LGBTQIA students, and students who identify with other groups underrepresented in AI.
Our 14+ AI4ALL Summer Programs will educate over 500 high school students from around the world this summer, growing 67% over last year. We continue to work towards our goal of reaching students in areas without consistent access to AI education opportunities, including the US South. We’re doing this by ensuring all our programs are free, low-cost, or offer substantial scholarships, and by collaborating with universities like Georgia Tech who will provide access to AI education for high schoolers in the Atlanta area through Georgia Tech AI4ALL.
In 2020, we’re excited to launch programs at:
- Georgia Tech(Atlanta, GA)
- Seattle University(Seattle, WA)
- University of Pennsylvania(Philadelphia, PA)
- University of Washington(Seattle, WA)
These programs will run alongside existing AI4ALL programs at Arizona State, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Princeton University, Simon Fraser University, Stanford University, University of California San Francisco, University of Maryland, and University of Michigan. Additional summer 2020 sites will be announced as they are confirmed.
Each program works to identify and support high school-age emerging leaders who are underrepresented in AI. Programs offer technical skill-building, peer support, exposure to role models in the field, and a focus on tangible applications for AI that can solve problems within students’ own communities. After graduating from an AI4ALL Summer Program, students enter our Changemakers in AI program, which provides ongoing training, community, and connection with professional and educational opportunities. AI4ALL programs and alumni have impacted over 9,250 people globally with approachable AI education.
SoftBank Group recognizes the power of AI4ALL’s programs through a multi-year sponsorship
SoftBank Group, a global tech investment and telecommunications company, believes in the promise of AI to improve the world and is committed to making it possible for AI to benefit all people. In recognition of the fact that today’s youth will live with the AI technologies we’re seeding today, SoftBank has committed to a 5-year sponsorship of AI4ALL’s programs and activities, including AI4ALL Summer Programs.
“SoftBank invests in the technology of the future, and through AI4ALL’s initiatives, we are helping to diversify the AI talent of tomorrow,” said Ziad Ojakli, Senior Vice President and Global Government Affairs Officer of SoftBank Group.
“As we train and empower the AI leaders of tomorrow, we are grateful for the long-term support of sponsors like SoftBank, who help make our work possible,” shared AI4ALL CEO Tess Posner.
AI4ALL is an Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit that opens doors to the artificial intelligence industry for underrepresented talent through education and mentorship. We nurture a global community of students who learn AI fundamentals and who then apply those principles to solve society’s most pressing problems in deeply innovative and ethical ways. By telling a new story about who can be a maker in AI, we’re creating tomorrow’s AI leaders and changing technology’s future. AI4ALL has received funding from Melinda Gates/Pivotal Ventures, Jensen and Lori Huang, Google.org, Prudential Financial, Microsoft, EY, The Micron Foundation, and SoftBank, among others.
About SoftBank Group
The SoftBank Group invests in breakthrough technology to improve people’s quality of life around the world. The SoftBank Group is comprised of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO: 9984), a holding company that includes telecommunications, internet services, AI, smart robotics, IoT and clean energy technology providers; Arm Limited, the world’s leading semiconductor IP company; and the SoftBank Vision Fund, which is investing to help extraordinary entrepreneurs transform industries and shape new ones. To learn more, please visit https://global.softbank.