AI has genuinely transformative potential, with high stakes, great possibilities and significant risks. It was a natural choice to be the first focus area for our Wisconsin RISE Initiative.
A focus on this area builds on our strong foundations in data science and computer science while integrating the social sciences, humanities and human ecology, with the goal of putting people at the center of these solutions.
—Jennifer L. Mnookin, Chancellor
UW–Madison faculty, staff, and students are using AI to unlock new capabilities in disparate arenas — in medicine and materials science, in agriculture and communications — to answer hard questions and discover new possibilities in their research. UW–Madison researchers have employed AI to improve the diagnosis of genetic disorders, help farmers detect disease in their crops before it spreads, and to predict new materials based on the properties that would be most useful.
AI technologies are enabling researchers to process and connect vast amounts of text, image, video, and other types of media. This is a transformative technology for areas like law, mass communication and medicine, providing powerful new ways to search and gain insight from oceans of data. In turn, the use of automated approaches like these will drive research into fundamentals of AI to address questions of accuracy, trustworthiness, and privacy.
Our north star is for UW–Madison to serve as a trusted partner for Wisconsin and the world as we navigate the complex issues that artificial intelligence raises.
—Kyle Cranmer, David R. Anderson Director of the Data Science Institute and RISE-AI Collaboration HQ lead
The RISE‑AI Collaboration HQ catalyzes connections across UW–Madison, bringing together faculty, staff, and students advancing scholarship in the field of artificial intelligence. Housed within the Data Science Institute and led by Kyle Cranmer, the RISE-AI HQ supports a coordinated portfolio of events, positions research teams for external funding opportunities, and contributes to shared research computing resources. These efforts encourage steady collaboration in teaching, outreach, and industry engagement, as well as industry partnerships.
Artificial intelligence offers tremendous possibilities for improving the human condition, but it also carries with it a concerning set of risks. To address these realities, RISE-AI is integrating researchers with expertise in fields such as law, economics, psychology, education, philosophy, journalism, and sociology. The new Center for Humanistic Inquiry into AI and Uncertainty, for example, serves as a collaborative hub for gathering people, ideas, and resources from across UW–Madison in order to engage in scholarly and public debates around the significant uncertainty emerging AI technologies generate.
UW–Madison researchers are also running studies to help guide decisions around new AI technologies. For instance, researchers in the Department of Medicine are evaluating whether “ambient AI” — AI-based scribes — can improve job satisfaction and reduce burnout for medical practitioners. Similarly, our Center for Teaching and Research in Writing is studying how tools like ChatGPT influence how students learn to write. Similar studies will inform the impact of AI on legal practice, software development, and areas where use of AI risks losing essential skills.
We already know that AI is and will be accelerating discovery in fields such as physics and atmospheric science. Because AI is becoming so pervasive in all aspects of our lives, it is inseparable from the social sciences and humanities; it is critical that we engage these disciplines in this work, particularly in thinking about the safe and ethical use of AI.
—Eric Wilcots, Dean of the College of Letters & Science
Over the next three to five years, RISE will accelerate the growth of UW–Madison’s network of AI innovators, adding up to 50 new faculty positions at all levels across campus to complement regular hiring. Wisconsin RISE stands to more than double campus investment in AI and related fields than could otherwise have been achieved. New AI-focused faculty will join schools, colleges, centers, institutes and other units across campus.
The Madison AI for Proteins program through the RISE-AI HQ is going to provide crucial opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and professional development for my lab in data science methodologies. The combination of computational infrastructure support and community-building initiatives will significantly enhance both the scope and impact of my lab’s work.
Hannah Wayment-Steele, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and RISE-AI faculty member
Join an upcoming AI event
- April
- April 10Geospatial Data Science Speaker Series: Dr. Di ZhuSpatial Networks and AI for Social Sensing12:00 PM, 250 Science Hall
- April 16Ground Truth: AI for Business Summit Spring 2026Hosted by the AI Hub for Business9:00 AM, Memorial Union
- April 17Ground Truth: AI for Business Summit Spring 2026Hosted by the AI Hub for Business8:30 AM, Memorial Union
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