UC Berkeley AI Community

How to Join

Any current UC Berkeley staff, faculty or student is eligible to join, regardless of knowledge or experience with AI. Sign up here: https://groups.google.com/a/lists.berkeley.edu/g/ucb-ai-community/ (CalNet ID required) 

Our Goals

• Provide a hub for people across Berkeley, working on all forms of AI, to find each other

• Provide a space for institutional expansion of knowledge, skills and abilities, and a culture of inclusive, responsible innovation for Berkeley staff from many departments and divisions

• Foster community discovery, evaluation and sharing of AI related use-cases (scenarios), needs and approaches (including policy, services, etc.) that may effectively serve Berkeley's mission

• Support the community in discovering trade-offs, better understanding risks and learning together about where different forms of AI are fit for various purposes

• Provide input to campus governance bodies (e.g. IT Architecture & Infrastructure governance committee), on policies for using and deploying AI services

• Leverage community voices in shaping campus technology capabilities as they relate to AI and automation (including security, identity management, network)

• Foster input on Berkeley's AI technology investment priorities (both in staff time to support things and for funding needs to purchase services) and identifying economies of scale

• Identify opportunities and areas of the most need to advocate for training related to AI – including to support career lattice and opportunities for staff, and also to support each other when jobs change

• Create a collection of staff from among which leadership can identify subject matter experts to engage on projects or provide input on campus decisions

Why We Created This Community

Artificial intelligence is just beginning to come of age. Although the field of AI in all its forms has been around for more than seventy years, the latest waves of new AI capabilities have transformed what's possible in meaningful ways, reminiscent of the rise of the internet or the inception of public cloud and mobile computing. These technological advances along with the rise of computing power and the acceleration of new capabilities will deeply impact core functions of teaching, learning, research and administration at all universities. Advances are occurring across many domains of AI-- and the Berkeley AI Community encompasses this wider interpretation-- from machine learning, natural language processing, and robotics, including generative AI and also inquiry into AI ethics, explainable AI and knowledge representation.

In order to meet this moment effectively, UC Berkeley will benefit from a loosely-coordinated, community-driven approach to learning, spreading information and developing expertise for the University. Note that this is NOT a Community of Practice, it's an inclusive, big tent to bring together all interested people in whatever way they would like to engage on AI. It may contain communities of practice that may emerge! The UC Berkeley AI Community is being chartered with the sponsorship of several campus units to engage people, collectively spread our best ideas and thinking, and to act as an umbrella for work with, and in support of, AI at Berkeley. The UC Berkeley AI Community provides an inclusive environment for interested people of all abilities and backgrounds, from beginners to expert practitioners.

Guiding Principles

We are inclusive, innovative, collaborative, cross-cutting (staff/faculty/student, interdisciplinary). We listen to each other. We show respect to all people. We help Berkeley move nimbly and with agility. We adhere to UC Berkeley's Core Values. We balance grassroots with leadership perspectives for the good of the institution.

Planning Group

The Planning Group bears primary responsibility for the culture, charter, and outcomes of the UC Berkeley AI Community events and activities. 

Advisers

The following people are formal advisers to the UC Berkeley AI Community

Join an Event

Check our calendar for upcoming events and catch up on recordings of AI Community events on our YouTube playlist.