On Thursday, November 13, the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, the Constance and Martin Silver Center on Data Science and Social Equity (C+M Silver Center), and the NYU Silver School of Social Work brought together researchers, academics, and AI experts for an engaging mini-conference on AI and poverty. Hosted at the Silver School, and live-streamed to a wider audience, “Mini-Conference on AI and Poverty: Advancing Health, Education, and Equity” examined how state-of-the-art AI technologies can expand access to care, strengthen equity-driven solutions, and prepare the next generation of researchers and professionals to lead in an AI-powered future.
The successful event was the first organized by McSilver’s new Faculty Director, Dr. Fred Ssewamala, and McSilver Research Faculty Affiliates. Opening remarks were provided by Dr. Ssewamala, who is also the Constance and Martin Silver Professor of Poverty Studies at NYU Silver School of Social Work; Dr. Ruopeng An, the Constance and Martin Silver Endowed Professor in Data Science and Prevention and Director of the Constance and Martin Silver Center on Data Science and Social Equity; and Dr. Michael Lindsey, Dean and Paulette Goddard Professor of Social Work at NYU Silver School of Social Work, and an Aspen Health Innovators Fellow. He presented on “Leading AI Transformation in Social Work Education” highlighting the ongoing work at NYU Silver in laying the foundation for growth in this area.
Two distinguished experts from the fields of AI and poverty issues—Dr. Charlton McIlwain and Dr. Chenyang Lu—opened the event with their keynote presentations. Dr. Charlton McIlwain, Vice Provost for Faculty Development, Pathways & Public Interest Technology at NYU Steinhardt, where he is also Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, presented his remarks. “Freedom Dreams: An AI Story,” helped focus the conversation at the intersections of computing technology, race, inequality, and racial justice activism.
Participants then heard from Dr. Chenyang Lu, the Fullgraf Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, who has joint appointments in Anesthesiology, Medicine, Neurosurgery, and Public Health. Dr. Lu’s keynote remarks, “AI for Health: Predicting Risks and Understanding Disparities in Low-Resource Settings,” sought to show how uniting AI researchers and health professionals can help address critical health challenges through innovative, data-driven approaches.
Two distinguished panels of experts provided important insights and offered key strategies for the application of AI in health and poverty reduction. The first panel consisted of Dr. An; Dr. Samuel Kizito, Research Assistant Professor at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University, and a member of Dr. Ssewamala’s team at NYU McSilver; Dr. Mengmeng Ji, a junior faculty member in the Division of Public Health Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; and Dr. Shaddy Saba, an Assistant Professor at the NYU Silver School of Social Work, and a licensed clinical social worker. The panel presentations showcased the broad variety of emerging AI applications relevant to healthcare systems, especially in identifying at-risk patients and targeting efforts in resource-constrained communities, such as those in developing nations.
The second panel brought together Dr. Cheng Ren, an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University at Albany, SUNY; Jingyi Huang, a Visiting Scholar at Silver School of Social Work; Claire Najjuuko, a third-year PhD student at McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as a mentee/student of Dr. Ssewamala with over five years of experience using big data and AI; and Dget Downey, a third-year PhD student at the NYU Silver School of Social Work. The panel expanded the conversation to encompass public health policy and social determinants such as housing and discrimination, and how AI techniques can enhance decision-making.
In their closing remarks Dr. Ssewamala and Dr. An committed to continuing to investigate the intersection of AI and health going forward, through research hubs like the C+M Silver Center and the AI Hub at NYU McSilver, and by supporting up-and-coming scholars at the leading edge of social science research.
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