AI for Social Impact: Deployed Resource Optimization and Future Acceleration with Foundation Models

Abstract: For nearly two decades, my team’s work on AI for Social Impact (AI4SI) has focused on optimizing limited resources in critical areas like public health, conservation, and public safety. I will highlight field test results from our deployed work in India, demonstrating measurable improvements in effectiveness for the world’s two largest mobile health programs for maternal and child care, which have served millions of beneficiaries. We have leveraged innovative restless and collaborative bandit algorithms to achieve these gains, revealing new technical directions in the process. Additionally, I will touch upon our previous work on influence maximization for HIV prevention among youth experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. Deploying end-to-end AI4SI systems requires us to repeat three essential steps: understanding stakeholders’ resource allocation challenges, building a tailored model, and rigorously testing in the field. I’ll share initial results on how we can leverage foundation models and LLMs to accelerate this AI4SI process, potentially revolutionizing the speed and scale of social impact applications that focus on resource optimization.

Bio: Milind Tambe is Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science and Director of Center for Research on Computation and Society at Harvard University; concurrently, he is also Principal Scientist and Director for “AI for Social Good” at Google Deepmind.  Prof. Tambe and his team have developed pioneering AI systems that deliver real-world impact in public health (e.g., maternal and child health), public safety, and wildlife conservation. He is recipient of the AAAI Award for Artificial Intelligence for the Benefit of Humanity, AAAI Feigenbaum Prize, IJCAI John McCarthy Award, AAAI Robert S. Engelmore Memorial Lecture Award, AAMAS ACM Autonomous Agents Research Award,  INFORMS  Wagner prize for excellence in Operations Research practice, Military Operations Research Society Rist Prize,  Columbus Fellowship Foundation Homeland security award and commendations and certificates of appreciation from the US Coast Guard, the Federal Air Marshals Service and airport police at the city of Los Angeles.  He is a fellow of AAAI and ACM.