# Schmidt Sciences names five MIT faculty 2026 AI2050 Fellows

Digest AI · Research · published 2026-10-30T20:15:00Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/schmidt-sciences-names-five-mit-faculty-2026-ai2050-fellows

## Summary

Schmidt Sciences, the philanthropic initiative of Eric and Wendy Schmidt, has announced its 2026 cohort of AI2050 Fellows. The program, co-chaired by Eric Schmidt and James Manyika, aims to address long-term challenges in artificial intelligence by asking how society can ensure AI remains beneficial by 2050. Seven individuals were selected, including five MIT faculty members and two alumni.

The Senior Fellow is Sendhil Mullainathan, a Peter de Florez Professor at MIT with dual appointments in Economics and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. His project focuses on translating patterns detected by AI into testable theories. He is also a co-founder of ideas42 and Dandelion Health.

Five Early Career Fellows were also named: Alex Damian, whose work centers on the mathematical foundations of deep learning; Bailey Flanigan, who applies algorithmic tools to political methodology and democratic participation; Yunha Hwang, who uses machine learning for microbial evolution and biological discovery; and Manish Raghavan, who studies algorithmic fairness in hiring. MIT alumni Irene Chen and Allison Z. Koenecke, along with former postdoc Juan Carlos Perdomo, were also selected for the Early Career track.

## Key points

- Schmidt Sciences named five MIT faculty and two alumni to the 2026 AI2050 Fellows cohort.
- Sendhil Mullainathan is the Senior Fellow, focusing on translating AI patterns into testable theories.
- Early Career Fellows include researchers working on deep learning math, democratic algorithms, and biological AI.

## Why it matters

The AI2050 program highlights a strategic shift toward long-term societal alignment and foundational research, identifying key academic leaders who will shape the ethical and technical trajectory of AI over the next two decades.

## Sources

1. [MIT affiliates named 2026 Schmidt Sciences AI2050 Fellows](https://news.mit.edu/2026/mit-affiliates-named-schmidt-sciences-ai2050-fellows-1030) (MIT News on AI, 2026-10-30, primary source)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Schmidt Sciences names five MIT faculty 2026 AI2050 Fellows", 30 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/schmidt-sciences-names-five-mit-faculty-2026-ai2050-fellows

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