For the Common Good
In 2018, Carnegie Mellon alumnus and the former co-CEO of Salesforce Keith Block and his wife, Suzanne, made the lead $15 million gift to establish the Block Center for Technology and Society. This groundbreaking initiative is dedicated to interdisciplinary investigation of the economic, organizational and public policy impacts of technology.
Housed in the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, the Block Center examines the impact of technology on the ways in which workers at all skill levels will make their living in the 21st century. The Block Center complements multiple existing CMU ventures such as Metro 21, CMU’s smart cities program; the Simon Initiative; and CMU’s learning science and engineering programs.
The Blocks’ gift to launch the Block Center was made during an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the merger that formed Carnegie Mellon University on Feb. 21, 2018.
“CMU sits at the intersection of technology and policy, uniquely positioned to bring together the public and private sectors to make the world a better place.” — Keith Block (DC 1984; HNZ 1984)
The Block Center for Technology and Society fosters interdisciplinary research that addresses the complex challenges posed by rapid technological advancements through two focus areas: the future of work and the responsible use of artificial intelligence. The Center is working toward a future where technology serves the common good.
“We are thrilled that Keith and Suzanne have included CMU in their extraordinary generosity, supporting outstanding work on some of society’s greatest challenges.” — President Farnam Jahanian
Block Center researchers are hard at work on critical questions of our time: use and deployment of AI by workers in industries like hospitality; research-informed training for the regional robotics industry; mitigation of deceptive generative AI in political campaigning; AI risk management across many sectors; and many more.