This $100,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) program (CFDA 47.070) will support a planning phase for a larger research project focused on incorporating large language models into recommendation systems. The project aims to investigate novel algorithms for leveraging foundational AI models in recommendation systems, with a focus on addressing fairness, robustness and trustworthiness. During this planning phase, the University of Louisville's Office of Research & Innovation will engage with diverse stakeholders to assess needs, refine research ideas, and develop a comprehensive plan for a future, larger-scale CISE core project proposal. The planning grant will allow the team to incorporate their preliminary research into use-inspired work and further mount a competitive, impactful proposal targeting ambitious research, education, and broadening participation goals related to responsible AI-powered recommender systems.