Taylor Black, director of AI & Venture Ecosystems in the Office of the Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft, has been named the founding director of a new interdisciplinary institute on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies at The Catholic University of America. He will travel regularly to campus while continuing his work with Microsoft.
“Taylor’s background in innovation, AI, and entrepreneurship; studies in philosophy and law; and his formation as a deacon candidate make him the ideal person for this new venture,” said H. Joseph Yost, Ph.D., senior vice provost of research for Catholic University. “From our first conversation, we knew he was the person we wanted to lead Catholic University’s expansion of AI programs and innovation.”
Catholic University achieved R1 status earlier this year, which puts it among the top 5% of universities in the United States in terms of research funding and research doctorates. The University also launched new undergraduate and graduate programs in AI that incorporate ethics and interdisciplinary problem solving and established the Newton-Bennett Endowed Chair of Engineering, which is held by AI expert Professor Hanseok Ko.
Black says this opportunity comes at the right time.
He has seen an increasing interest from his secular colleagues in what it means to be human, a question central to the Catholic faith. The new institute will provide a platform to pursue innovation while engaging in dialogue with the tech and scientific worlds about larger human issues.
He also says that “universities are for the formation of human persons. If you're well-formed, you generally do a better job in the workplace.” But he notes that technology focuses on deliverables, and its increasing use has accelerated a focus by universities on evaluating students based on outputs.
He is interested in “how we reinvigorate the heart of what the university is – its human formation roots – while still providing the tools and training necessary from an entrepreneurial perspective to take this new economic paradigm in stride.”
The new institute will bring together faculty from across disciplines — such as engineering, business, science, art, philosophy, and theology — and engage in collaboration with other universities globally as well as outside organizations. Black also anticipates fellowships, and opportunities for graduate students, including technology commercialization.
He received an undergraduate degree in philosophy and classics from Gonzaga University, and a master’s in philosophy and a law degree from Boston College. He got his entrepreneurial start as a student. A web development business he and a friend started in graduate school was so successful by the time he finished law school that he never practiced law. He has since held a number of consulting, business development and venture positions. Black joined Microsoft in 2021. He is a deacon candidate for the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix. He and his wife are adoptive parents of three children and foster parents.
For questions about the new institute on AI & emerging technologies, contact [email protected].