{"668879":{"#nid":"668879","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Best Charts Expansive Vision for Institute for People and Technology","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn August 1, Michael Best began his new role as executive director of the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT) at Georgia Tech. As the first Interdisciplinary Research Institute executive director with a primary faculty appointment in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Best plans to build on IPaT\u2019s greatest strength: the reason that \u201cpeople\u201d come first in the institute\u2019s name.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIPaT is and will continue to be the heart and soul of Georgia Tech\u2019s research enterprise, bringing a human-centered approach to understanding the impact and potential of a very broad range of technological innovations,\u201d says Best. \u201cIt\u2019s the Interdisciplinary Research Institute that most robustly unites the humanitarians, policy experts, and social scientists of Ivan Allen College with designers, architects, artists, ethicists, scientists, and engineers.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen IPaT brings together these different mindsets, each with an equal seat at the table, Best says, they can have the greatest possible impact on humanity\u2019s challenges. He cites the explosion of capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) \u2014 and the attendant problems that are also emerging \u2014 as one example of how this approach puts people at the center of any inquiry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe need to put the questions of responsible and sustainable AI first and foremost,\u201d he says. \u201cAny time we\u2019re thinking about the next deep learning algorithm, we need to have all the right people in the room \u2014 ethicists; policymakers; cultural anthropologists \u2014 experts capable of addressing the whole range of issues we\u2019re seeing.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EUnderstanding Challenges Around the Globe\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBest also believes that a global perspective, as well as getting out of the lab and into the field, are key to IPaT\u2019s future. He wants to expand the institute\u2019s international footprint. He has conducted most of his research outside the United States, primarily focusing on understanding the impact of information and communication technologies \u2014 such as mobile phones \u2014 on social, economic, and political development. He was also director of research for the Georgia Tech-Shenzhen campus and founding director of the United Nations University Institute on Computing and Society in the People\u2019s Republic of China.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf we try to solve our global challenges from a domestic, blinkered viewpoint, we actually won\u2019t solve them at all,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can\u2019t solve a global challenge without understanding the challenge from a global perspective.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile leading IPaT, Best will retain his appointment as a professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and the School of Interactive Computing, where he directs the Technologies and International Development Lab. He says that his students are always in the field.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy students are conducting research, working with community partners, engaged with civil society or community-based organizations,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is always life-changing for them.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Living Organization\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince its inception, IPaT has gained recognition for its work in health and assistive technologies, in addition to smart cities and infrastructure technology. Best sees IPaT\u2019s focus broadening to include human-centered approaches to a wider range of technological innovations in areas such as sustainability, entertainment and the arts, and others.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn consultation with its stakeholders, faculty, and staff, IPaT will be looking to identify some of these new challenges and potential new directions over the next few months. Best expects they will look closely at areas where people and technology intersect with political and social justice issues.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Best\u2019s view, this is very much in keeping with IPaT\u2019s history and character.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIPaT is a living organization and always has been \u2014 rethinking, recommitting, and occasionally pivoting,\u201d he says. \u201cWe are identifying what the next generation of research challenges will be. We\u2019re a research community, and we know that every once in a while, you need to embrace a new question.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ENote: The College of Computing\u0027s GVU Center merged with IPaT in 2023.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAs the first Interdisciplinary Research Institute executive director with a primary faculty appointment in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Best plans to build on the greatest strength of the Institute for People and Technology: the reason that \u201cpeople\u201d come first in its name.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"As the first Interdisciplinary Research Institute executive director with a primary faculty appointment in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Best plans to build on the greatest strength of the Institute for People and Technology: the reason that \u201cpe"}],"uid":"35777","created_gmt":"2023-08-10 15:09:35","changed_gmt":"2025-07-07 13:39:42","author":"Stephanie Kadel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-08-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-08-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"671372":{"id":"671372","type":"image","title":"Michael Best, Executive Director of the Institute for People and Technology","body":"\u003Cp\u003EMichael Best began his new role as executive director of the Institute for People and Technology on Aug. 1, 2023.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1691698765","gmt_created":"2023-08-10 20:19:25","changed":"1691698765","gmt_changed":"2023-08-10 20:19:25","alt":"Michael Best, executive director of the Institute for People and Technology, seated in a round chair.","file":{"fid":"254408","name":"Mike Best3647RTP (1).jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/08\/10\/Mike%20Best3647RTP%20%281%29.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/08\/10\/Mike%20Best3647RTP%20%281%29.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":453255,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/08\/10\/Mike%20Best3647RTP%20%281%29.jpg?itok=e4Tgc8Df"}}},"media_ids":["671372"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/michael-best-selected-executive-director-institute-people-and-technology","title":"Michael Best Selected as Executive Director of the Institute for People and Technology"}],"groups":[{"id":"69599","name":"IPaT"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"907","name":"Michael Best"},{"id":"12888","name":"IPaT"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:stephanie.kadel@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EStephanie N. Kadel\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["stephanie.kadel@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}