{"id":1623,"date":"2026-06-23T21:06:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T21:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/?page_id=1623"},"modified":"2026-08-30T16:16:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T16:16:30","slug":"raise-27","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/raise-27\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"font-family: Georgia, Arial, sans-serif;color: #1a1a1a;line-height: 1.7;max-width: 950px;margin: auto;padding: 20px\">\n<p><!-- HEADER STRIP --><\/p>\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 2px solid #8a1f1f;padding-bottom: 15px;margin-bottom: 25px\">\n<h1 style=\"font-size: 40px;font-weight: bold;color: #0066cc;margin-bottom: 5px;text-align: center\">RAISE-27<\/h1>\n<h3 style=\"font-size: 20px;color: black;margin-top: 0px;text-align: center\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Artificial Intelligence &#8211; Informatics &#8211; Data Science AI Competition<\/span><\/h3>\n<h2 style=\"margin-top: 15px;color: #cc0033;font-style: italic;font-weight: bold;font-size: 34px;text-align: center\">AI Came, AI Saw, AI Conquered?<\/h2>\n<h4 style=\"margin-top: 15px;color: #0066cc;font-weight: bold;font-size: 25px;text-align: center\">Promise of Value Creation <span style=\"color: grey\">versus<\/span> Illusory Irrational Exuberance<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- IMAGE (SUBTLE, NOT HERO) --><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 25px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1698\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1121\/2026\/08\/Final.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"903\" height=\"352\" \/><\/div>\n<p><!-- INTRO --><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 30px\">\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">RAISE-27 invites undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines to explore one of the defining questions of our time: What can we realistically expect AI to accomplish, under what conditions, with what limitations, and with what evidence of value?<\/p>\n<p><b><i>AI came. AI saw. But has AI conquered?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">RAISE-27 invites students to examine the evidence, challenge the assumptions, separate value from illusion, and help shape a more informed understanding of the AI-driven future.The challenge is to examine what we realistically expect AI to accomplish. Can AI solve every important problem facing humanity? Do we understand the kinds of problems AI is well suited to solve and the problems it cannot? Where does genuine technological progress end, and where does irrational exuberance begin?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- QUICK FACTS --><\/p>\n<div style=\"background: #f6f6f6;padding: 18px;border-radius: 10px;margin-bottom: 30px\">\n<div style=\"font-weight: bold;margin-bottom: 10px\"><b>Quick Facts<\/b><\/div>\n<ul style=\"margin: 0;padding-left: 18px\">\n<li><b>Open to:<\/b> Undergraduate &amp; Graduate Students (All Disciplines)<\/li>\n<li><b>Prize Pool:<\/b> Up to $17,000<\/li>\n<li><b>Format:<\/b> Virtual Submission + Final Event at Rutgers<\/li>\n<li><b>Finals Date:<\/b> April 16, 2027<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- KEY QUESTIONS --><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 30px\">\n<h2 style=\"color: #8a1f1f;font-size: 22px\"><b>Key Questions<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 18px\">\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 18px\">\n<li>Has AI truly begun to transform society, or are expectations moving faster than measurable outcomes?<\/li>\n<li>Where is AI creating genuine economic, scientific, social, or human value and where is it mostly hype?<\/li>\n<li>Is the race toward AGI driven by realistic technological progress, competitive pressure, speculative enthusiasm or all three?<\/li>\n<li>Are AI agents and increasingly autonomous systems delivering meaningful productivity gains, or simply adding new layers of technological complexity?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"color: #cc0033\"><b><i>Most importantly: what would responsible, sustainable, and genuinely valuable AI progress look like?<br \/>\nAI came. AI saw. But has AI conquered?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3 style=\"color: #8a1f1f;font-size: 22px\"><b>Information Sessions<\/b><\/h3>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f9f9f9;padding: 12px;border-radius: 6px;font-size: 0.95em;line-height: 1.5;margin-bottom: 20px\">Virtual information sessions will be hosted to provide information and guidance on the competition structure, materials, schedule, and expectations. All sessions will cover the same topics and will be followed by an open Q&amp;A. All instructions will be provided in the documentation which will be shared with registered participants. However, due to the large number of participating student teams from all over the US, it is advisable to attend one of these sessions as it may be difficult to respond to all emails promptly with the required clarity.<\/div>\n<h3 style=\"color: #8a1f1f;font-size: 22px\"><b>Certificates<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul style=\"font-family: Georgia, Arial, sans-serif\">\n<li>Participation Certificates: Digital certificates for all registered participants<\/li>\n<li>Finalist Certificates: Digital certificates for teams that submit their final entries<\/li>\n<li>Winner Certificates: Digital + Printed certificates to be provided to winning teams who are present in person at the event<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- THEMES --><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 30px\">\n<h2 style=\"color: #8a1f1f;font-size: 22px\"><b>Focus Areas<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Participants may explore topics including agentic AI, artificial general intelligence, human-AI interaction, ethics and governance, misinformation, digital behavior, computational social science, and data-driven societal analysis.<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 30px\">\n<h2 style=\"color: #8a1f1f;font-size: 22px\"><b>Understanding the Theme<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">AI risks being viewed as a technological elixir: a force expected to continuously deliver productivity, intelligence, prosperity, and solutions to humanity\u2019s most difficult challenges. AI may contribute to addressing these challenges, but it does not follow that AI can conquer them.<\/p>\n<p>The goal is not to reject technological optimism, but to develop <b>disciplined optimism<\/b> &#8211; an evidence-based understanding of what AI can realistically contribute without mistaking powerful tools for universal solutions.<\/p>\n<p>RAISE-27 asks students to investigate the space between AI&#8217;s extraordinary promise and its real-world impact.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Rather than treating AI simply as an inevitable technological revolution, participants are encouraged to question its assumptions, evaluate its successes and failures, and explore what meaningful AI-driven progress should actually look like. Where is AI improving productivity, discovery, decision-making, creativity, accessibility, and quality of life? Where is it merely replacing existing processes without creating meaningful value? And where might the excitement surrounding AI be obscuring its limitations, risks, costs, and unintended consequences?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">This cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence, Informatics, and Data Science Competition from the MPI Program at the Bloustein School, Rutgers University invites students to investigate the opportunities, contradictions, risks, and responsibilities emerging from an increasingly AI-driven world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- STUDENT CALL --><\/p>\n<div style=\"border-left: 5px solid #8a1f1f;padding: 15px 18px;background: #fafafa;margin-bottom: 30px\">\n<h2 style=\"margin-top: 0\">Students \u2014 This Is Your Moment<\/h2>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0\">Whether you code, design, research, write, build, or imagine, RAISE-27 is your platform to explore how AI is transforming humanity and the material world.<\/p>\n<p>Students from all disciplines are welcome.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- REGISTRATION --><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;margin: 40px 0\">\n<p><a style=\"background: #8a1f1f;color: white;padding: 14px 26px;text-decoration: none;border-radius: 6px;font-weight: bold\" href=\"#\">Registrations Opening Soon!<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 12px;font-size: 13px;color: #666\">Questions? informatics@ejb.rutgers.edu<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 style=\"color: #8a1f1f\"><b>About the Hosts: Public Informatics at Rutgers University<\/b><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The Bloustein School\u2019s Master of Public Informatics is a distinguished program for educating highly talented professional student cohorts in the competencies needed in public informatics, advanced data science, and analytics, which includes topics such as machine learning, global data analytics, artificial intelligence, textual analytics and natural language processing, statistics, programming, data management, GIS, visualization, spatial analysis, domain applications, and the application of these skills for domain-specific value creation. The MPI program at Rutgers provides excellent state-of-the-art research-driven project opportunities. Graduates of the MPI program will provide a deep understanding of advanced data science and analytics methods, context, and public benefit perspectives in this fast-growing and high-demand domain.<\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Interested in being a RAISE-27 Collaborator or Speaker or Contributor \/ Donor? <\/strong><\/h5>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center\"><em><strong>Please contact our team: <\/strong><a href=\"mailto:informatics@ejb.rutgers.edu\"><strong>informatics@ejb.rutgers.edu<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/h5>\n<section id=\"raise-26\" style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;line-height: 1.6;max-width: 900px;margin: auto;padding: 20px\">\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 40px;text-align: center;color: #cc0033\"><span style=\"color: #808080\"><strong><em>Thanks to Our Collaborators and Supporters!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<table style=\"margin: auto;border-collapse: collapse;text-align: center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding: 20px;width: 200px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/radcollaboratory.rutgers.edu\/\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1029\" style=\"max-width: 450px;height: auto\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1121\/2025\/09\/RAD-1-300x71.png\" alt=\"RAD Logo\" width=\"450\" height=\"106\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1121\/2025\/09\/RAD-1-300x71.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1121\/2025\/09\/RAD-1-1024x243.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1121\/2025\/09\/RAD-1-768x182.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1121\/2025\/09\/RAD-1-1536x364.png 1536w, https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1121\/2025\/09\/RAD-1.png 1737w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 20px;width: 200px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jbdai.org\/index.php\/JBDAI\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-width: 195px;height: auto\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1121\/2025\/08\/JDBAI-300x171.png\" alt=\"JBDAI Logo\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding: 20px;width: 200px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/njbda.org\/\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-width: 195px;height: auto\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1121\/2025\/08\/NJBDA-300x142.png\" alt=\"NJBDA Logo\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 20px;width: 200px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aixosphere.com\/\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-width: 195px;height: auto\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1121\/2025\/08\/Aixosphere-300x81.png\" alt=\"Aixosphere Logo\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/section>\n<div style=\"border-top: 1px solid #ddd;padding-top: 15px;font-size: 18px;color: #666;text-align: center\"><a style=\"color: #8a1f1f;text-decoration: none\" href=\"https:\/\/go.rutgers.edu\/rutgersinfx\"><br \/>\nPublic informatics: <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Informatics\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Informatics<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RAISE-27 Artificial Intelligence &#8211; Informatics &#8211; Data Science AI Competition AI Came, AI Saw, AI Conquered? Promise of Value Creation versus Illusory Irrational Exuberance RAISE-27 invites undergraduate and graduate students &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/raise-27\/\" class=\"\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4128,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1623","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>- RAISE<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/raise\/raise-27\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"- RAISE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"RAISE-27 Artificial Intelligence &#8211; Informatics &#8211; Data Science AI Competition AI Came, AI Saw, AI Conquered? 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