Cornell Tech today announced that longtime supporter and Cornell alumnus Frederic Rubinstein ’52, LLB ’55 has donated $1 million to the campus’ Public Interest Technology (PiTech) program to support research that helps to mitigate risks posed by artificial intelligence.
In recent years, corporations, governments, and nonprofits have adopted artificial intelligence processing to increase their efficiency. However, with an alarming rise of deepfake photos and videos emerging and algorithmic biases and imbalance, it’s clear that as AI and machine learning are incorporated into aspects of our everyday lives, the tech ecosystem must elevate public need and intentionally shape these new innovations with a focus on ethical implementation.
“Due to the lack of AI regulation, this technology has the potential to be an increasingly dangerous threat to democracy if it continues to be permitted to be misused,” said Frederic Rubinstein. “We need urgent and effective research to ensure that AI benefits society, rather than becoming a danger to it. Cornell Tech is uniquely qualified to address this problem, which is why I wanted to invest in the development of PiTech. Cornell Tech’s outstanding faculty and students are among the brightest and most effective in the world, and have already demonstrated a deep and serious commitment to building a more ethical tech sector. I am privileged to be associated with their efforts.”
The gift will establish the Frederic and Susan Rubinstein Impact Fellowship Fund, which will support the PiTech Initiative’s Ph.D. Impact Fellowship in sustaining up to five additional fellowships per year, and the Frederic and Susan Rubinstein Innovation Fund to support projects and partnerships with significant long-term potential for serving public good.
Rubinstein’s generous new funding for PiTech comes at a time when New York City’s AI sector is rapidly growing, with the city ranking in terms of total venture capital funding for AI companies and third nationally in job listings for generative AI jobs.
A retired partner at law firm Kelley Drye & Warren, Rubinstein is recognized as a leader in corporate law representing both investors and entrepreneurs in the tech sector, and a noted philanthropist in the field. He has made previous donations to Cornell Tech including a $1 million gift to the campus in 2018 to establish the Frederic and Susan Rubinstein Fund for Social Benefit in Entrepreneurial Programs to provide loan-repayment assistance for graduates serving the public sector, reducing graduate students’ debts by a third. In addition, he has helped facilitate mentorship for new entrepreneurs by developing relationships between Cornell Tech Runway postdocs and legal experts at his firm.
Since its founding in 2021 by Robert V. Tishman Founder’s Chair and Associate Dean for Impact Deborah Estrin, Cornell Tech’s PiTech Initiative has been a leader in integrating hands-on public interest engagement into tech graduate education. The Rubinstein Ph.D. Impact Fellowships support students in tech and AI fields in working with NYC-based nonprofit and public sector organizations, allowing them to gain exposure to the tech challenges facing public interest organizations and contribute their skills and expertise. It is an expansion of the Siegel PiTech Ph.D. Impact Fellowship launched in 2021. The fellows have explored a variety of topics from whether and how specific social services organizations can safely use LLM-based chatbots and how tech-enabled vehicles manage consumers’ data to how custom devices can be developed with 3D printers to improve communication for patients with disabilities.
“We are deeply grateful to Mr. Rubinstein for allowing us to advance our leadership in public interest tech innovation,” said Cornell Tech Jack and Rilla Neafsey Dean and Vice Provost Greg Morrisett. “Public Interest Tech is an essential initiative on our campus for fostering social responsibility in AI worldwide, and is critical to Cornell Tech’s commitment to using research and entrepreneurial excellence to advance lasting economic and social prosperity. Mr. Rubinstein’s gift ensures that we can further examine the intersection of technology and ethical accountability to benefit communities and minimize risks.”
In addition to the Ph.D. Impact Fellowship, Cornell Tech also established The PiTech Impact Studio, which provides master’s students with the opportunity to help public partners adopt and adapt emerging technologies, and a Visiting Practitioners (ViP) Program, which hosts practitioners from a range of impact-oriented organizations to advise students.
PiTech Initiative leader Estrin, a 2018 MacArthur Fellow, brings her own track record of tech innovation in the public interest to bear on her leadership of the program. Estrin is a pioneer in patient-centered digital health, and co-founded the non-profit startup Open mHealth, which promotes open innovation and standardization in the field.
“Mr. Rubinstein’s generous gift will allow us to meet students’ growing demand for meaningful public engagement, while enabling many more community partners to work with our talented technical students,” said Deborah Estrin, Associate Dean for Impact and Professor of Computer Science at Cornell Tech. “Since our founding, Cornell Tech has fostered collaboration to bring pressing societal needs to the forefront of emerging technology development. PiTech’s new Rubinstein Innovation Fund is a vital advancement of that work.”
