AI and Data Science are opening new areas for scientific breakthroughs that have been out of reach in the past, and they are also creating pressing new challenges that universities are uniquely positioned to address. Thought Summits are Cornell’s mechanism for identifying and developing inter- and intra-institutional collaborations in the fields of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.
Five interdisciplinary teams have been selected to lead Cornell’s 2026-2027 Thought Summits, bringing researchers and leaders from across disciplines together to explore bold ideas, identify emerging research frontiers, and lay the groundwork for transformative, multi-institutional partnerships in data science and AI.
Supported by funding from the Cornell AI Initiative and the Cornell Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society (CDSES) the summits are built around open discussion and bring diverse perspectives to complex questions surrounding AI with the goal of identifying emerging research frontiers and sparking new collaborations across institutions.
“Thought Summits create the space for conversations that do not often happen within traditional disciplinary boundaries,” said David Shmoys, Laibe/Acheson Professor of Business Management & Leadership Studies in the Cornell Duffield College of Engineering and director of CDSES. “By convening leaders from academia, industry, government, and the nonprofit sector, these gatherings help identify emerging research frontiers and build the relationships needed to tackle society’s most complex AI challenges.”
Each summit is a fully funded, multi-day symposium at Cornell, bringing together a select group of Cornell faculty and distinguished experts from academia, government, industry and nonprofit sectors. Participants work collaboratively to develop white papers and strategic insights that capture emerging opportunities, key challenges, and forward-looking research directions.
“Each Thought Summit is identifying an area that is either a pressing challenge or a novel opportunity for research, but either way we are looking for transformative impact where Cornell can provide thought leadership” said Thorsten Joachims, vice provost for AI strategy and director of the AI Initiative and Radical Collaboration.
The upcoming Thought Summits span topics ranging from climate resilience and animal communication to the future of work, formal methods and the effects of AI on human learning and creativity. While participating in summits is by invitation, each includes a public talk or discussion open to the Cornell and Ithaca communities.
Previous summits have explored topics ranging from creating standardized, high-quality datasets tailored to veterinary needs to fundamental questions about AI governance, including who benefits from AI systems, who bears the costs, and who has a voice in shaping them.
Upcoming 2026-2027 Though Summits
Adapting to Climate Uncertainty through AI-Enabled Microbial System Design
Dec. 8 – 10, 2026
Explores how AI can be used to design engineered microbial communities for applications related to climate resilience.
January 19 – 21, 2027
Formal methods offer mathematically grounded verification to complement AI’s pattern recognition, moving outputs from plausible to provably correct. This summit brings together experts across AI and formal methods to develop a research agenda for integrating the two fields to advance trustworthy scientific progress.
HUMAN AI Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking
March 22 – 24, 2027
Examines how AI is reshaping cognition and learning, creative practices, and evaluation and institutional knowledge systems.
March 29 – April 2, 2027
Examines how AI and large datasets can help reveal structure in animal vocalizations, including those of cetaceans, bats and birds.
Building Bridges Towards Worker-Centered Design, Implementation, and Governance of AI
May 24 – 26, 2027
Explores how AI can be developed and deployed in ways that support workers, strengthen organizations and promote democratic values.
Together, the summits reflect Cornell’s effort to bring diverse perspectives to emerging questions in artificial intelligence and data science and to turn interdisciplinary conversations into new research directions and collaborations. Visit thoughtsummits.cornell.edu
/mental-health-and-substance-use-(msd)/mental-health-(mhe)/pesticide-sprayer-cc.tmb-768v.jpg?sfvrsn=205c56b3_1)
