Want to get up to speed on the ways Cornell scientists are using artificial intelligence in their research? Ask the university’s statistical experts.
The Cornell Statistical Consulting Unit (CSCU) will host a special workshop, “Ask the Statisticians: AI in Scientific Research,” to provide space to discuss the ways researchers across Cornell are integrating AI into their statistical workflows. The free, virtual session takes place from 3-4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, and is open to all Cornell faculty, students, and staff. Attendees should register via the CSCU registration form.
“The goal here is to have a conversation so that participants’ scientific research retains its integrity and can be reproducible when AI is introduced to the analytic workflow,” said Stephen Parry, a statistical consultant with CSCU, who will co-lead the workshop with fellow CSCU consultant Matt Thomas.
The workshop will also address concerns around ethical uses of AI. Participants will be able to submit questions during the discussion.
“Ask the Statisticians” was born out of the success of four workshops on AI for statistical analysis and data science that Parry and Thomas led in June. Those sessions – which can be viewed along with more than 100 other workshop recordings on the CSCU website – tackled topics like data analysis, data preparation, data visualization, and study design, all through an AI lens.
More than 70 Cornell researchers attended the summer sessions, and many shared unique ways they use AI in their scientific processes, whether to help with a first pass on literature reviews, compile statistical findings across published articles, aid in the design of research experiments, or assist in visualizing and analyzing data. Though he led those workshops, Parry gleaned insights from participants.
“I got a lot out of it, and I think it opened up my mind and the attendees’ minds to other ways they could be utilizing AI,” he said.
This session on Sept. 24 expands on those idea-sharing workshops from the summer and homes in on ways to use AI for data analysis, Parry said.
“It’s important to have these dialogues and have a space where we, as researchers and community members, can share what we’re doing with AI and learn from each other,” Parry said.
Based in the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, CSCU has provided data consulting, dozens of free workshops each year, and contracted data services to thousands of Cornell researchers for more than 30 years. To contact CSCU, drop in during their regular virtual office hours or schedule an appointment.
Louis DiPietro is a writer for the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.
