Latest news with #HastingsInitiativeforAIandHumanity
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Netflix's Reed Hastings Donates $50M to Launch AI and Humanity Initiative at Bowdoin College
Netflix chairman and co-founder Reed Hastings has donated $50 million to launch the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity at Bowdoin College in Maine at a time when artificial intelligence continues to be a hot-button issue. The largest gift in the college's 231-year history will be 'a step forward in Bowdoin's growing engagement in this breakthrough technology and ensure that students graduate well-prepared to lead in a world reshaped by AI,' it said. 'Funding and fellowships will allow current and new faculty to explore the pedagogical and scholarship opportunities – and challenges – generated by the vast AI revolution.' More from The Hollywood Reporter Powder Player: How Reed Hastings Is Disrupting the Ski Industry Netflix's Reed Hastings Backs Kamala Harris With $7M Donation 5 Big Hollywood Donors No Longer Supporting Biden (And 5 Who Remain Silent) Initial priorities include hiring 10 new faculty members in a range of disciplines; supporting current faculty who want to incorporate and interrogate AI in their teaching, research, and other work; and 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 Bowdoin'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 Bowdoin in 1983 by earning his MSc in artificial intelligence at Stanford University. 'Just as Bowdoin'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.' Bowdoin president Safa Zaki, whose research focuses on building and testing computational models of mind, emphasized that a world recast by AI needs an infusion of humanity. 'Bowdoin is ideally positioned to meet the challenges and opportunities of AI,' she said. '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.' Concluded Zaki: 'Ethics, human values, and human understanding inform the technological progress, scientific advancements, and new norms that will emerge from this revolution.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Netflix's Reed Hastings Donates $50 Million to Fund AI Research for the Humanities at Bowdoin College
Reed Hastings is giving $50 million to his alma mater, liberal arts school Bowdoin College in Maine, to fund AI research and teaching within 'ethical frameworks.' The $50 million gift from the Netflix co-founder and former CEO is the largest in the college's 231-year history. After graduating from Bowdoin in 1983, he went on to earn a master's in artificial intelligence from Stanford University in 1988. More from Variety Deepfake Detection Firm Loti AI Expands Access For All Users: 'These Threats Are No Longer Limited to Celebrities' (EXCLUSIVE) A Quarter of All Broadcasters Now Using AI, More Than Doubling Last Year, New Report Finds Ahead of PGA Awards, Guild Says Fighting Runaway Production Is Top Priority: 'We Have to Stand Up and Fight for Los Angeles' 'This donation seeks to advance Bowdoin'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 in a statement. The Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity will 'be a step forward in higher education's growing role to provide ethical frameworks for technology,' according to Bowdoin. Initial priorities include hiring 10 new faculty members in a range of disciplines; supporting 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. Funding and fellowships will allow current and new faculty to explore questions and pedagogical and scholarship opportunities generated by AI, Bowdoin said. '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 Bowdoin education more essential to society,' said Bowdoin College President Safa Zaki, whose research focuses on building and testing computational models of the mind. Hastings added, 'As AI becomes smarter than humans, we are going to need some deep thinking to keep us flourishing. I know Bowdoin can make a significant contribution to these fundamental issues, and that President Zaki, a cognitive scientist, can lead the way.' Founded in 1794, Bowdoin is located in Brunswick, Maine. It has about 2,000 undergraduate students and offers more than 40 majors. Hastings cofounded Netflix in 1997 and became executive chairman in 2023 after 25 years as CEO. Hastings is an active educational philanthropist and served on the California State Board of Education from 2000-04. 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. After graduating from Bowdoin and before attending Stanford, Hastings served as a Peace Corps high school math teacher in Swaziland. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
