AI@USC
Breakthrough meets responsibility.
At USC, artificial intelligence is more than just code. It is a catalyst for discovery, creativity and social good. Across USC schools, Trojans are pioneering ethical, human-centered AI that saves lives, expands opportunity and deepens our understanding of what it means to be human in the age of intelligent machines. Together, our scholars, students and innovators are working to ensure that AI serves humanity, not the other way around.
“The future of AI isn’t just technical — it’s interdisciplinary. At USC, we’re convening experts across every field to ensure AI is developed and deployed with both innovation and integrity. It’s a responsibility we take seriously, and a challenge we’re uniquely positioned to meet.”
Geoff Garrett, Dean, USC Marshall School of Business
USC AI Summit Recap
The first-ever USC AI Summit at University of Southern California brought together students, faculty and industry leaders to explore AI’s impact on education, business and society, and featured a discussion with Eric Schmidt, former CEO and Chairman, Google; Chair and CEO, Relativity Space.
Other Featured Presentations from the USC AI Summit
David Nelson
David Nelson, director of mixed reality research and development at USC ICT, experimented with AI tools to create a short film, discovering creative freedom but also the loss of human collaboration, urging creators to understand AI’s risks and keep humanity central.
Phebe Vayanos
Phebe Vayanos, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering, worked with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LASA) to develop AI with community input to equitably allocate scarce housing, navigating fairness trade-offs and improving homelessness outcomes, showing how tailored, transparent AI can better support vulnerable populations.
Sam Nastase
Sam Nastase, a neuroscientist from USC’s Center for Computational Language Sciences, shows how large language models illuminate how brains encode and share meaning, mapping AI representations to human activity and revealing synchronized speaker–listener dynamics during real conversations.
Nathanael Fast
Nathanael Fast, director of the Neely Center for Ethical Leadership and Decision Making, addresses how AI must shift from profit-first to purpose-driven systems that support human flourishing, using public input, accountability, and collective power to ensure technology aligns with society’s aspirational goals.
Ron Guerrier
Ron Guerrier, CTO at Save the Children, highlights his experiences with bias to introduce concerns about digital redlining, algorithmic discrimination, and the need for ethical, equitable AI governance.
Megan Jordan
Megan Jordan, USC’s VP of executive communication and strategic initiatives, discusses how her team built low-cost synthetic audiences to rapidly test messaging, refine sustainability outreach, and improve personas, using public data and iterative prompts to enhance accuracy and marketing insight.
How Does AI Fit Into Your Life?
Share your experience with AI. Take this quick survey to reflect on utility, applications and concerns.
Featured Events and Art Installations
Experience AI innovation across every corner of USC.
Discover how AI is transforming education with interdisciplinary perspectives across campus.
This is AI beyond the lab — spanning disciplines, sparking conversations, and reimagining what’s possible.
President’s AI Strategy Committee
The President’s AI Strategy Committee meets regularly with Interim President Kim to ensure USC’s contributions to artificial intelligence remain forward-looking, ethical and impactful.
Discover stories of ethical innovation, breakthrough research and human-centered technology.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping our world — and USC is leading the way. From classrooms to clinics and creative studios, Trojans are designing AI that empowers people, amplifies imagination and ensures technology serves humanity with purpose and integrity.
AI@USC
Discover stories of ethical innovation, breakthrough research and human-centered technology.
Wide range of application for artificial intelligence is focus of inaugural USC AI Summit
The event featured business leaders along with faculty, staff and student presentations and a conversation with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
In the AI Boom, a Room of Their Own
FoundHer House, an all-female hacker house started by two students at the USC Iovine and Young Academy, aims to accelerate the growth of female-led, AI-driven tech startups.
AI and higher ed: USC’s ‘big tent’ approach to artificial intelligence
USC Marshall Dean Geoffrey Garrett talks about the university president’s AI Strategy Committee and leading university-wide efforts to integrate AI ethically and responsibly across all disciplines.
What if AI could learn like a human apprentice?
For a federal defense project, USC researchers built an AI system that observes experts at work and shares their know-how with others when needed.
Robotaxis keep riders safe, but what about their data?
Although well-established frameworks help engineers identify privacy risks, there is little practical guidance for choosing the actual tools that are supposed to safeguard data, research from USC experts and colleagues finds.
AI is changing how students learn — or avoid learning
A USC study reveals most students use tools like ChatGPT to shortcut assignments, unless professors actively guide them toward deeper, more thoughtful usage.
Tour the home of USC’s cutting-edge AI work
To celebrate the launch of the USC School of Advanced Computing, USC Viterbi partnered with JayByrd Films to create a drone “fly through” video of the facility.
Pioneering AI Research at USC
USC’s artificial intelligence community spans a diverse network of research centers driving innovation, ethics, and real-world application across disciplines. These include:
- AI Research for Health (USC Information Sciences Institute)
- USC + Amazon Center on Secure and Trusted AI (USC Viterbi School of Engineering)
- Center for Research and Education in AI and Learning (USC Viterbi School of Engineering)
- Center for AI in Society (USC Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and USC Viterbi School of Engineering)
- Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center (USC Viterbi School of Engineering)
- Machine Learning Center (USC Viterbi School of Engineering)
- Center for Responsible AI and Decision Making in Finance (USC Viterbi School of Engineering)
- Center for Autonomy and AI (USC Viterbi School of Engineering)
- Neely Center for Ethical Leadership and Decision Making (USC Marshall School of Business)
- Initiative on Digital Competition (USC Marshall School of Business)
USC is investing in the next generation of artificial intelligence leaders through its new Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence program, with the first cohort enrolling in fall 2026. Learn more at viterbiadmission.usc.edu/ai
Join the Future of AI
Ready to be part of something bigger? Whether you’re a researcher, student, industry partner or community member, there’s a place for you at AI@USC.
Connect with us to explore collaborations, attend upcoming events, or discover how you can help shape AI that serves humanity.
Contact us at AIUSC@usc.edu.
